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You know the Start Haus for skis. Our goal each winter is to make skiing better by giving you the expert knowledge, the perfect tune, the custom boot fit that means each day on the hill is your best day.

Starting in 2015, the Start Haus is excited to enter into a new venture, bringing that same passion and expertise to the cycling world. We pledge to provide the same world-class service, the same World Cup caliber tuning and the same passion that's made us your ski shop in the winter to bikes.

The Start Haus staff on their bikes.

It's really a no-brainer - our staff is already passionate about the sport, their free time spent on the trails of Truckee, Tahoe and beyond, their names on the Strava leader boards, and their fingers covered in bike grease any chance they get.

You know the Start Haus for skiing, but we're getting pretty serious about summer fun around here. You've seen our stand up paddleboards and summer clothing, but we decided to add something else to the mix: 3G Cruiser Bikes.

These cool cruisers are the epitome of summer - comfortable, practical and stylish, perfect for cruising around town, to the beach or to a barbecue.

Here's James building one of the New 3G Santa Cruz Cruisers up at the shop:

James and Allison took a pair out to Donner Lake and had a blast. Swing by the shop or check them out online today.

One of the biggest events at the Start Haus, the Labor Day Weekend Consignment Sale, comes back this year August 29 through September 1, bigger and better than ever.

Along with the best selection of used gear under one tent, we have special sale items in store available, making this year's selection of gear the best ever - including special closeouts from our top ski and clothing brands.

It's the perfect way to make some money or get some credit off old gear toward new gear, and a great way to save big on used gear from your fellow skiers in the Truckee Tahoe area. We aren't accepting boots, mid & base layers, goggles, gloves or helmets.

If you've got stuff to sell, we accept skis, ski bindings (new in-box please) and speedsuits (clean please) in good condition, starting August 1. Our staff will help you price your items to move. When it sells, you get your choice of 60 percent of the sale in cash, or 80 percent in store credit.

Here's what it looks like the first day setting up:

Sale hours

I’d say “they'rrre baaaack” ... except of course, these frontside biased all mountain skis never really left. What did happen though, is that the trend of wider and ever wider skis gradually pushed this category of skis onto the back burner for a while.

Then, a not so funny thing happened. Out west, we’ve had three years in a row with unusually long periods of firm to downright hard snow. For sure, there were pockets and patches of weather here and there but we were all skiing on the snow rather than in it much if not most of the time.

So skiers were coming into the Start Haus looking for something better than their powder skis for prevailing conditions. And the skiers that really don’t ski off the groomers all that much anyway were starting to look at narrower skis than they might have just a year or two ago.

If you're looking at the skis in our Nordica Blem Ski Sale, but you're still not sure about the whole blemished ski idea, we've collected emails, forum posts and Facebook comments from our customers describing their experiences with the blems, in the hopes that it'll help you out.

We also have in-depth ski reviews of all the skis in the blem sale from Sierra Jim to help you pick the right model, click here.

Here's what others have to say about the blem skis they've received:

"My Hell's Belles came today.  I couldn't see the blemish.  Of course, I only got a quick peek.  Since I had informed my hubby that he bought them for me as a birthday present, he grabbed them and hid them away until August!" Mustski on epicski.com

"Just received the Hell& Backs blems  Cant find the blem. I love them!" - Greg, via email.

"My Vagabonds arrived today and giving them a quick once over, I do not see the blemish.  Really stoked on this purchase. The Vagabond reminds me a lot of some Praxis Back Country's I had, that I should not of sold.  I like the lower tip rocker as compared to my TST's.  This was a great buy and should be a solid touring ski for me.  Thanks Start Haus." - Liv2 ski on epicski.com

The big batch of Nordica blemished skis arrived early this year!

If you don't know the drill, the Start Haus gets Nordica's cosmetically blemished skis each year to sell at crazy low prices, which in our opinion is the best deal going in the industry.

A blemished ski has a small cosmetic defect - like a dimple or scratch in the top sheet, that does not affect performance, still caries a normal warranty, and in most cases isn't even noticeable!

If you've been around for one of our blemish ski sales before, you know they go fast. Really fast. Like 500 skis gone in a month fast. So don't wait and miss out on the best deal around.

Need help picking? Our very own Sierra Jim reviews each ski in the new Nordica blem batch below:

The Head Adapt Edge LTD is a fairly wide-fitting ski 110 flex boot that will stand up to the advanced skier. At the Start Haus, the Adapt Edge LTD has become a go-to boot for those with wide feet and a high instep, or both.

The last couple of years the Adapt Edge has earned a valued spot in our boot stable as a got to fit option for those truly high volume feet, with a caveat; this boot skis well also.

When We first got on the Salomon Quest 98, we couldn't believe Salomon was selling it for $200 less than comparable skis. That sounds like a line, but it's true.

Now it's not going to be all things to all people, but if you're looking for a light, lively all mountain ski that's easy to drive and lots of fun, this ski is certainly worth a close look.

If you're looking for a hard-charging, straight-lining burly metal ski, look elsewhere. You can see how the Salomon stack sup against other skis in the category in our all mountain ski comparison here.

Look up at the hill here in Tahoe and you will see snow, and all the resorts are doing a fantastic job making that snow ski great.

But its not the snow for the fat powder skis you bought a few winters back, it's time for skinny skis.

We've got the perfect skis for the conditions at the Start Haus - new Nordica blemished skis starting at $149 with bindings!

These factory blemish skis - with small cosmetic imperfections that don't affect performance - are the perfect tools for the snow we've got, great at carving the man-made and old snow.

They're the perfect addition to your quiver so you don't stress about a scratch in the base of your high-end skis, and can fill in a hole in your lineup without breaking the bank.

Rock skis shouldn't be the worst skis on your wall - you still want to be able to carve and have precise control on the groomers, and these Nordicas are tailor made for that purpose.

Swing by the store or shop our complete blem ski inventory here.

We recommend the Nordica Sport

Testing powder skis for our 2014 buy was challenging in several respects. First, it’s best to test them in powder with some depth to it, and last year, we didn’t have many opportunities.

The second challenge was that the market is changing and consumer preferences are ahead of the manufacturers in what they seem to be looking for. These days, the skier is saying they want a powder ski but they are starting to ask about non-powder performance more than they have in the past.

The result is that the skier is likely to be looking for a somewhat narrower ski than in the past and sales of skis over 120mm in waist width have slowed dramatically in the last year.  In fact, the more popular powder skis currently seem to be in the 112-118mm range, and many of the skis in this width range have toned down the amounts of rocker and taper from what they might have had in the past.

Making a boot personalized to your foot is the goal of every good boot fit - the difference between a well-fitting pair of boots and poor-fitting pair is enormous, and in my opinion, all expert skiers or aspiring experts should take the time to get a pair of boots that are “custom fit.”

So how do you get your boots “custom fit?”  The best place to start is with a custom footbed.  Custom footbeds make the sole of the boot 100% custom fit to your foot.

Interested in shooting your own POV (point of view) video footage while skiing, but don't want to look like a Teletubby with a block on top of your head? The Zeal HD Camera Goggle offers a unique solution.

The Zeal Camera Goggle integrates a wide angle (170 degree field of view) camera that shoots in HD (1080 & 720) into the frame of spherical lens ski goggles, streamlining your set up.