The 50th annual Park City Ski Swap will kick off on Nov. 4 at Basin Recreation, ushering in anticipation of the upcoming ski season.
“It’s really Park City at its finest,” said Christie Hind, Park City Ski & Snowboard’s executive director. “It’s a community event like no other community event in this town. The scale of it is really big, the scope of it’s really big. But it’s a gathering that, I think, really matters. It’s sort of the beginning of what we hope will be an awesome season every year.”
The massive sale runs through Nov. 6, and tickets can be purchased at parkcityskiswap.com. The event is significant for Park City Ski & Snowboard while also helping keep winter sports as affordable as possible.
“It’s cool for the community, but it’s also a super important fundraiser for the club,” Hind said. “It’s our biggest fundraiser, so a portion of proceeds of items sold come back to the club and support our programs and our coaches and allows us to continue doing what we’re doing. For us, it’s mission critical, but it’s also a really important event for the community, who rely on it to outfit their families for far less than what maybe paying retail.”
The ski swap will be accepting gently used equipment starting on Monday. Equipment can be dropped off at either Jans or Cole Sport on Park Avenue through Nov. 3 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Park City Ski & Snowboard’s Jason Lance credited the community for keeping the event going this long heading into the 50th Park City Ski Swap.
“I just think that the ability that we as an organization can provide the service, but that we also have the support from the patrons that come season after season, our vendors that come season after season,” Lance said. “A lot of entities come together and help us with this and provide this. And I think that shows everyone’s willingness to keep Park City township a ski/snowboard/outdoor/winter destination.”
Tommy Eckfeldt, Park City Ski & Snowboard’s alpine director, added his favorite part of the event is when the doors open on Friday night.
“Seeing craziness ensue and people just flush into Basin Rec Fieldhouse there, it’s like, ‘Alright, we want to go skiing,’” he said. “It’s cool to see the energy.”