emergency ski rental

February 8, 2011 4:43 PM

Emergency ski rental filter: I'm staying in South Lake Tahoe soon. I would like to rent a pair of demo/performance skis and a snowboard setup from somewhere in Sacramento and take them up from there. Yelp and Google are failing me. Halp?

I'm driving from LA, taking I-5 & CA-50 to Tahoe. Anything convenient to that route works. Would prefer NOT to rent in South Lake Tahoe due to some uncertainty about where we will be skiing.

Thanks in advance for saving me from my poorly planned self!

posted by annie o to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

I've heard you can rent ski/snowboard equipment at REI. Is that an option for your route?
posted by joan_holloway at 4:45 PM on February 8, 2011

Response by poster: According to the interwebs, the REI (while convenient) doesn't seem to have rentals. I'm going to call them now though.
posted by annie o at 4:47 PM on February 8, 2011

Best answer: Land Park Ski does rentals and they're on your way, but I've never used them so I cannot actually recommend them myself.

None of the Sacramento area REI stores rent skiing/snowboarding equipment.

I'd actually try farther up the mountain. Sunshine Sports is in Kyburz, so it's before you get to Tahoe, but you don't have to deal with schlepping your gear all the way back to Sacto.
posted by elsietheeel at 5:03 PM on February 8, 2011

Response by poster: I think I'm going with Land Park... REI suggested them, and they sounded competent over the phone. Thanks!
posted by annie o at 5:12 PM on February 8, 2011

House of Ski on Kingsbury Grade on the Stateline Nevada side of the line, should you end up deciding to rent in Tahoe, is a great, reputable shop.
posted by crush-onastick at 7:08 PM on February 8, 2011

Almost all (if not, in fact, all) of the major resorts in Tahoe have good, on-mountain rental shops themselves, usually within spitting distance of where you pick up your lift ticket. Generally the pricing is a bit higher than what you'll pay to one of the mom-and-pop shops (particularly for demos), but you should consider that as a back-up option, even if you are uncertain / moving around to different resorts.

Northstar in particular is great for renting demos because they have a separate rental shop up on the slope, you can ski in/out of it and change to different models / sizes as many times as you like.

I think if you're at a level where you can appreciate the difference between performance gear and regular gear, its nice to have the flexibility of trying different gear out, rather than getting locked into a single set, unless you happen to be really familiar with the set you're getting already or maybe get a particularly shining recommendation.
posted by allkindsoftime at 12:59 AM on February 9, 2011

http://www.blacktieskis.com/ these guys deliver to where you're staying and typically aren't more expensive than ski shops. my friend has used them and had good experiences, seems they operate in south lake.
posted by alkupe at 8:58 AM on February 9, 2011