Skiing Online • The Links Every Skier Must Have

Buying Gear • Lodging • Ski Area News • Ski History • Suppliers • Ski Sizing • Boot Sizing • How-To Sites • Ski Clubs • Condo Rentals • Share Houses

Ski Safely

Understand Tree Wells: Such a pretty evergreen, with so much untracked powder around it! Well, there's a reason it's untracked: Experienced powder skiers understand how deadly a tree well can be. click here for more information.

Ski Area Discounts

Easy Way to Save Money on Lift Tickets: It's a "clearinghouse" of sorts that many ski areas use to raise cash by selling discount tickets in advance, called Liftopia . If you haven't used this service, it is important to know for certain that you are going on a specific date. The deeply discounted tickets must be purchased in advance; generally up to two days out. The sticking point is that some ski only make a limited number of tickets available to Liftopia for any given day, so they might be sold out if you wait too long...so, as soon as you are absolutely, positively sure that you will be skiing on a certain day, click this link to get deeply discounted tickets . I've used this service many times, but again, ONLY when I am absolutely certain I will be skiing on a specific date. You need to have access to a printer to print out your receipt, and you have to take identification with you to the mountain. I've knocked a third off the price of some tickets. Not every area participates, but it's well worth checking if you've got a date nailed down.

Condos & Cabins...some good values can be had at CabinRentEL.com. And no, that's not a typo, the "EL" part stands for Essential Listings. Who can keep track of all these internet acronyms? Regardless, this site will help you nail those hard-to-find chalet, cabin, and quirky lodge rentals.

If you can live with just about anybody (think of J-Woww and The Situation) then you may be a candidate for a share house. This is exactly what it sounds like...you pay a portion of a seasonal rent, then you have a room in the house for the season. Or maybe not; some houses run half shares, quarter shares, every Nth weekend shares, etc. If you're unfamiliar with the process, or think you might be inclined to look into it, this share house page is a great place to learn about and/or get involved in the process. We have it on good authority that Snookie doesn't ski.

And of course if you want to do that "family" thing with friends and neighbors, you've got to rent your own slopeside digs, or whatever, Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO) is the place to start. And don't forget to look at Craigslist for last minute offerings.

Buying & Selling Gear

Thinking of going the cheap way to gear up? Click here for some insight on purchasing ski equipment on Ebay. This is our own webpage, included here by popular demand.

Another way to save money on equipment is to buy online. If you're leery of the mishmash on ebay, you'll be pleased to know that you can buy all sorts of skis, boots, poles, wax, tune-up kits, racks -- you name it -- on good old Amazon.com. Problem is, few people know this, and it isn't all that easy to find the stuff on Amazon. So here it is, for your convenience: The official SkierNet.com link to the one and only main page for Ski gear and accessories on Amazon.com. Nice thing about Amazon is they discount the stuff, and you can return it if it doesn't fit or isn't right.

Utah-based SkiTrucks is one of the largest used equipment stores in the land. They put together used equipment packages, priced about the same as a yearly rental. And if you're ever in Salt Lake City, it's a must-visit.

Gear & Accessories

Helmet covers, you know those plush gorilla and panda bear looking things you see kids wear? One of the more affordable manufacturers is CrazeeHeads.com.

Out of the Main Stream

Ersatz Ski Areas includes domed areas, artificial slopes, artificial snow indoor areas. Everything from Ski Dubai to the shopping complexes in England, and proposed ski areas in Texas and Las Vegas...a treasure trove of links indoor and artificial slopes, on the SkiResorts.de website.

Lost Ski Areas, Ski Memorabilia and Stuff

Lost ski areas are ski areas that have shut down and left to the elements. The leading site in this field is NELSAP, which focuses mostly on New England ski areas.

NELSAP has a discussion group, which focuses on lost ski areas but is also an excellent way to keep abreast on skiing news in the Northeast. It's at SnowJournal.com.

Other, more intense Discussion Forums can be found at Alpine Zone, which focuses on the Northeast, and at Teton Gravity Research, which has more of a western "big mountain" orientation. TGR also has a great forum for technicians.

Please click here for the main SkierNet.com page.