Park City Ski Swap
Every year, Park City, UT has one of the largest ski swaps in the United States. I was just there yesterday, and I was shocked by how many people were there. When I arrived, there were about 500 people waiting in line in front of me just to get in.
Snowboarding is a new thing for me. What I mean is, it will be a new thing for me the first time I do it. I’d already invested $375 in a season pass to the Park City Mountain Resort before this ski swap, so I was committed to buying hundreds of dollars worth of gear. I went with a veteran snowboarder, hoping to mooch off of his knowledge to find out what I really need.
I lost track of him within five minutes.
I’ve rarely felt so lost and helpless as I did at the ski swap. Sending me into a ski swap to get ready for winter is like sending a five-year-old to Home Depot for materials to build a house. I didn’t know where to start. Snowboards all look like flat pieces of wood to me, but some cost $50 and some cost $500.
Fortunately, I caught up with my guide later and bought a snowboard with bindings, boots ($120!), a helmet, a ski jacket, and snow pants. All in all, it came in at just under $500.
It’s a good thing my helmet was only $40, because it doesn’t fit at all with the goggles I bought earlier at Cosco. So one of the two has to go, and they cost about the same. The irony kills me. I can put together a computer from parts, and choose all parts that work together well, but I can’t even buy a helmet and goggles that fit together.
But hey, snowboarding should be enough fun to make up for all of this 