The Swett Family
Lease on Life IT WAS A LEAP OF FAITH, in some ways, to allow customers to rent skis for the season instead of buying them outright. But since 1995, the Alpine Shop’s leasing program has become one of the most successful in New England, serving thousands of skiers and riders each year with a fleet of new and used skis and snowboards that now number more than 12,000. (The entry-level kids’ price, meanwhile, has stayed steady at $99 for the season-long rental of skis, boots, bindings and poles, plus unlimited tunes.) Here, some longtime leasers share their stories.
“Four years ago our son tried twin tips. After skiing on them for one day, he decided they were ‘too wiggly.’ We brought the skis back to the Alpine Shop and they exchanged them for a high-performance pair of skis. After another day of skiing, we concluded the skis were too long for our son and his current level. Back to the Alpine Shop we went, and they exchanged them for a shorter pair of skis. The shop employees have always been helpful and courteous. It’s best to lease right after Labor Day! Our oldest will lease skis this year. I think our son is leaning towards a snowboard. Back and forth, until he decides which he wants to stick with!” TESS AND PHIL SWETT, WILLISTON Kids: Hanna, 13, and Cullen, 11 Ski areas: primarily Sugarbush; also Bolton and Jay Years leasing at the Alpine Shop: 9
Seth Boffa
“Leasing equipment from the Alpine Shop has been a great option for us. We’re able to get new or well-maintained used equipment for our boys at a very reasonable cost. This year Seth is opting for the race lease: two brandnew Head slalom racing skis, plus new Lange boots, and poles. It’s excellent equipment, on par with what we would have bought for him had we chosen that route. If he grows out of his boots, we always know there’s the option to switch sizes mid-season at no additional charge, so we don’t have to go through the headache of buying more than one pair of boots in a season. For Cole, my backcountry skier, we’re leasing a pair of Head slalom skis so that he’ll have some fun on the groomers with the family. The staff is always helpful, and equipment leasing comes with free, season-long ski tuning — we take full advantage of that! In fact, we were the family with the most shop tunes on a leased ski in a season!” NANA BOFFA, CHARLOTTE Kids: Cole, 13, and Seth, 11 Ski area: Sugarbush (Seth races for Green Mountain Valley School, based at Mount Ellen) Years leasing at the Alpine Shop: 7
18 ALPINE SHOP CELEBRATES 50
“Kids grow so quickly and their Abby and ability level increases so quickly Ellie Sowles that leasing just makes sense. We’ve always leased used skis because they’re in good shape, freshly tuned and a bit less expensive. Last year, Jake at the Alpine Shop walked my daughter, Ellie, out back to ask her which ones she wanted. There were plenty of used skis to choose from, but her eye caught a pair of new purple skis with cool graphics over in the corner, and she couldn’t take her eyes off of them. But we were there for used skis, so she dutifully picked out a used pair that weren’t nearly as cool but still a perfect choice for her. We went back earlier this year, and now those purple skis are in the used pile (although they still look new). Ellie ran right for them, and I think she and Jake are making plans for him to join us at Jay some day this winter.” KYLE SOWLES, COLCHESTER Kids: Ellie, 10, and Abby, 7 Ski areas: Smugglers’ Notch, Cochran’s, Jay Peak Years leasing at the Alpine Shop: 5