Tell it True: What to Tell Your Ski Butler About Your Ability
Ski Butlers rent skis, snowboards, boots, ski poles, helmets and goggles. The unique renting experience is tailored specifically so you can have a seamless experience during your vacation. It all starts during your initial reservation, where a ski technician finds out your specific gear needs.
Here, Shawna McGowan, Ski Butlers Utah Regional Manager, shares her advice about what to tell your personal Ski Butler so you can get the best-fitting gear and experience.
Safety First: Safety is our first priority. We check equipment routinely to ensure they are in great condition. We ask you about your ability level during your initial reservation to decide which ski and package you should be in. We need to know what kind of skier you are so that we can properly set your bindings (and your DIN). Our techs adjust bindings to industry standard, according to weight, height and ability level to what Rossignol recommends. The bindings are adjusted according to the length of the renter’s boot. We can even adjust bindings on the hill if you want to switch out skis during the ski day.
Men are from Mars; Women from Venus: Women tend to underestimate their ability so it’s up to the ski tech ask lots of questions. For example, I helped a woman from the East who said she was an okay skier. As we talked, I found out that she skied her whole life and raced in college. It’s important for us to know your true ability so that we can pair you with the correct gear.
Get Down to the Details: When you make a reservation, we’re going to need your name, birthday, height, weight, shoe size and ability level. Don’t worry about your ski technician: We are non-judgmental about your ability; weight and what kind of gear you’re looking for. We like to know how many days a year you ski or how many years you’ve been on snow. We like to know if you rip double black diamonds all day or if you’re taking lessons. You can make requests if you want to ski or ride on a certain model. If you don’t know what you want, we’ll make a decision that we think will give you the best experience based on the information you give us.
The Long and Short of It: It’s good to have a conversation about ski and board length. There’s a range of ski lengths that is appropriate for each renter’s height. So, if you say you’re a beginner skier, I’m going to give you a shorter ski than I would give an expert who is the same height. Shorter lengths are easier to turn than longer skis. That being said, there’s a sweet spot with finding the right length. Sometimes women want really short skis, but they can overpower a short ski and the skis can end up feeling squirrely. On the other hand, if you’re on a ski that’s too long, it can be hard to turn or they might get away from you a little, throwing you into the “backseat.” I often ask people, “Where do you feel you’re on the ski?” If they say, “I can’t get forward on these skis,” then I bring a shorter length.
Switch It Up: Sometimes the snow conditions change. Remember: We are a switch-out service. We’ll give you a different ski if you’re unhappy with what you originally got. Otherwise, your personal ski butler will find you on the mountain or meet you at your accommodations and switch out your gear. At the end of your vacation, we’ll pick everything up. All you have to do is leave it for us and we’ll come get it.
