Blog

With winter around the corner and snow on all our minds, the Start Haus is hosting a customer appreciation weekend with 10 percent off all non-race priced ski gear, clothing and accessories in the store!

We want to get you geared up for the 2013-14 winter season with our best selection yet of skis, boots, bindings, ski jackets, ski pants, ski helmets, gloves, goggles and more.

There's been a lot of buzz around K2's new ski boot line for 2013-14, with some pretty exciting innovations for both alpine and backcountry ski boot design.

What you haven't read is that Start Haus owner and one of the country's best boot fitters, Jim Schaffner, had an opportunity to provide design input in the all-new K2 ski boots. Jim is well known for his experience in ski boot R&D, as well as boot fitting and performance tweaking at the highest level of our sport.

"I had my first test in the prototype boots September 2011 in South America," Jim said. "From there I was invited to be involved in some of their debrief/design improvement sessions, and the re-testing process as design changes were made. Basically providing feedback on fit, skiability and performance."

Some of the biggest news for the upcoming 2013-14 ski season is that market-leading ski maker K2 is getting back into the ski boot business. It might come as a surprise to some when we say that K2 is back in the boot business, because many skiers won’t remember K2's brief entry into that market years ago. For sure, they were in and then out again rather quickly back then. This time around, we expect K2 to be in the market to stay and for a long time to come.

In introducing a brand new boot line into an established market, K2 wisely chose not to try and completely re-invent the wheel so to speak. Rather, K2 looked at existing boot models and shapes and chose to refine many of the existing shape and fit technologies along with the addition of an entirely new external spine/hinge feature called the “Powerfuse Spyne”.

It's that time of year again, time for the Nordica Blemish Ski Sale!

For those who don't know how this works, we get great deals on Nordica's cosmetically blemished skis, passing the savings on to you. Cosmetically blemished means the top sheet isn't immaculate according to factory standards, but for the most part, you'd be hard-pressed to find the problem.

They're perfect in any and every way that affects performance, and include normal Nordica warranty, so if they're covered in snow like they should be, the only difference you'll notice is how much money you've got left over for apres-ski drinks.

Click here to start shopping, these skis go extremely fast, so don't miss out.

Our hugely popular Labor Day Weekend Consignment Sale comes back August 30 through September 2, the perfect way to get rid of old gear you don't use anymore or save big on used gear from the Truckee Tahoe ski community.

If you're ready to sell, we'll start taking used equipment (skis) and outerwear (jackets, shells, speedsuits, armor in good condition) on August 1. Our staff will help you pick a price for each item to insure that it sells. You'll also get to choose between getting 100 percent of the sale value in Start Haus store credit or 70 percent in the form of a check. We don't accept ski boots, mid & base layers, goggles, gloves, helmets - basically anything we wouldn't sell to you.

And if you're interested in buying, swing by Labor Day Weekend between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. and our staff will help you find the right gear for your needs. We'll lend an expert eye to the condition of skis and equipment so you know exactly what you're getting.

We've got four great deals on Marker Bindings we ended up with overstock on - the Marker Jester and Marker Jester Pro for frontside skiers, and the Marker Tour F10 and F12 for those who want to head into the backcountry.

The Marker Jester is a DIN 6-16 binding with serious rigidity and power for driving wide, long or stiff skis over big terrain. Normally $359 - now $249

With rules changing on race skis almost yearly, it's hard to know when you can save big on end of the season race ski sales, or when you've got to wait for the latest and greatest to show up at the Start Haus.

This year, Sierra Jim breaks down where you can save, and wear you should wait, in this video:

Basically, if you race FIS, GS skis have a new radius, but if you don't race FIS or are looking for Super G or SL skis, we've got screaming deals worth checking out.

Click here to shop our race ski sale, or call the shop at (530) 582-5781 to find out what 2014 race skis are available now.

Welcome to our Tahoe Ski News blog - the ski season may be wrapping up but the deals are just getting started.

Send your race, ski event or results to website@starthaus.com. with the headline: Tahoe Ski News to get them listed here each week.

Racers, start your savings! Our race skis are deeply discounted, so whether you're heading to Mt. Hood, South America or just have a podium in your sites for next season, now is the time to buy. Why pay more next year for the best race skis from Atomic, Blizzard, Head, Fischer, Rossignol and Volkl?

Welcome to the Start Haus’ Tahoe Ski News blog! Find out about our latest ski sales and deals, what's going on in Tahoe ski racing, what the wax calls are for the weekend, and more.

Send your race, ski event or results to website@starthaus.com. with the headline: Tahoe Ski News to get them listed here each week.

It's time to save huge on select skis at the Start Haus! Our Ski Outlet is chock-full of amazing deals (up to 75% off) that won't last. Click here to shop.

These skis, priced between $99 and $499 are all great skis we just ended up with too many of. Mother nature didn't cooperate on the powder days this season, so our loss is your gain!

That's $299 for select powder skis, junior skis starting at $99, system skis with bindings starting at $399 and women's skis starting at $299 - from top ski brands including Armada, HEAD, Icelantic, K2 and Volkl.

Welcome to the Start Haus’ Tahoe Ski News blog!  We’ve got all the latest on ski racing & competition, the best ski deals, wax calls and other Tahoe ski related news.

Send your race, ski event or results to website@starthaus.com. with the headline: Tahoe Ski News to get them listed here each week.

The big news at the Start Haus is ski sale season! We have huge sales in store and online, so don't miss out on getting a great pair of skis, boots, bindings or some sweet new ski clothing while it's deeply discounted, because it won't last.