It seems I’ve always lived in a climate where the average Halloween costume necessitates long underwear and Sorel’s. Boulder was graced with nearly twelve inches of heavy snow before the 31st this year, ripping limbs from trees and causing serious power outages to Xcel’s clusterfuck of a power grid. That’s all I have to say about the municipal utility. But Halloween is over, kids. And that means that new snow is on it’s way to the Rockies. If you haven’t already been out to get some of the snow that’s up high, you’ve hopefully at least endured the lift lines at your local resort’s “opening” weekend to squeeze in some turns. As fall officially turns into winter we will inevitably start seeing more tall-tees, goggle tans, and most importantly — fresh crystalline precipitation.
But there is perhaps something more exciting than new snow in the beginning of the season — new gear. This year, I have labored over the selection and acquisition of my new equipment, something every outdoor enthusiast can relate to. Being a college student, funds are pathetically limited. So I was forced to be creative if I was going to get what I really wanted. My roommate, Cheyne (you can read his blog here, he’s doing some really awesome stuff in the climbing world), is a Craigslist junkie. He outfitted himself for a summer-long big-wall climbing jaunt in Yosemite entirely by swapping out his old, unneeded equipment for the gear relevant to the routes planned on his trip. Cheyne’s dirtbag thriftiness inspired me to do the same myself. One thing was for sure. I needed new boards. My skis had gotten absolutely gored last spring when I was skiing Dead Dog Couloir on Torreys. Here is a photo of my attempt to mend the damage.
The last two seasons have been really rough on my Volkl’s, which are notorious for having a soft(er) base. But even though I didn’t really need anything besides skis for the upcoming year, I didn’t see the harm in turning over my inventory for some fresh hardware. So I wrote up a budget…I mean, that is the rational thing to do, right? If I was going to whore myself off to consumerism, I might as well do it with style and poise. So this was my game plan…
The green column on the left was everything that I was hoping to sell, mostly old racing gear, but some miscellaneous big-ticket items as well. And the green column on the right was my wish list. So if all went as planned, I would come out with a surplus…not a bad prospect. By using my PSIA discount, and by making some crafty phone calls to reps, I was able to get everything in Green column #2 on Pro-forms. As you can see in my riveting, multi-colored spreadsheet, If I had to pay MSRP prices, I wouldn’t have been able to afford new equipment.
This final price of my new equipment was to be inflated with the additional costs of having my bindings repaired — a painfully slow and dreadful process. Marker’s customer service department is less than exceptional. But even after the binding ordeal, I still had money to burn. PLUS, I am on a roll with my craigslisting. Since getting rid of all my old gear, I have gone as far as selling old graphing calculators for spare cash.
Beyond feeling even more like a dirt-broke college kid with an expensive pastime, I was immensely satisfied with my dealings on craigslist. It feels good to make a deal with a complete stranger, knowing that both of you walk away from the exchange with something you didn’t have before but desperately wanted. Using craigslist and industry deals to outfit myself for this season was definitely time consuming, but totally worth it in my opinion. Because even though I feel like a broke college kid, I probably don’t look like one when I’m all booted up. Don’t take this the wrong way…I consider myself to be a minimalist. But who doesn’t like updating their quiver?
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