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Its that time of year again folks- time to clear out the garage, unload the attic, and bring us your used skis!  The 2017 Ski Consignment Sale is always huge, so don't miss out!  Customers line up around the block early to snap up the best gear, so don't miss out on this opportunity to purge the old gear and get yourself some new sticks. As always, we're accepting used and new skis, new bindings, and race suits in good condition.

We'll help you price your gear and make it move.  Pick either 80% store credit (the popular option) or take 60% as a check.

Sale happens Labor Day weekend, Friday through Monday, September 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.  Lets make it bigger than ever!

Accepting gear now!

As the season moves forward and more days are spent in the boots, liners begin to pack out and it changes how your foot is held in the boot.  In this video, Start Haus explores the options how to mitigate this, as well as how to do a check-up on your boot soles.

Got cold feet in those race boots?  Check out what the man Jim Schaffner does to remedy that:

2016 Race and rec gear is piling up at the Haus for next season.  Racers! Come in now or forever hold your peace!  This gear is ready to move, and its beginning to fly out the door.  Here is a quick snap-shot of whats come in this past week.

2016 POC and Briko race helmets have arrived!  Both meet the new 2016 FIS requirements and are ready to race.

New this year is Artica Race Gear!  Some fresh new speed suits will aid in your aerodynamics and protect you from the ice on a crash.

2016 Race skis and boots are arriving weekly- pick up your favorite brand today!  These will not last long. All race skis are priced at racers pricing, so no need to price compare.  These are the lowest prices you'll see till sale season.

There is much confusion in our marketplace on how and why a ski should be ground a certain way.  Not all grinds are created equal.  Even two different shops with the same machine will turn out different results depending on the specs that are used on the equipment, and by what technician.  Whether race gear or rec, this brief side by side comparison should help you cement your decision to bring your equipment to the specialists:  Start Haus!

Please note:  These images are not doctored (other that the addition of text or illustration) and have been uploaded in full resolution for you to better see the detail.  Click on em to see the detail!

Here is a side by side with a pair of skis ground by our techs, and a pair ground by the "other guys".  Both grinds are a pattern WS09.  The ski ground by the Start Haus tech is smooth, consistent, and otherwise perfect.  The grind by the "other guys" is far too deep a pattern, inconsistent, and was done with multiple passes creating

Start Haus is well known for our World Cup caliber downhill ski tuning and waxing, but what you may not know is we bring the same level of excellence to cross country skis. One could argue (maybe not with a World Cup ski racer) that a proper tune and wax is even more critical on xc skis than on alpine because you have to work for every inch of movement, rather than with the aid of gravity.

First thing on a cross country skiers list should always be the bases - are they flat? A concave base, sometimes caused by lack of waxing, makes the ski slower and harder to turn. A convex base, caused by normal usage and wear, is also slow and makes the ski unstable. A grind will flatten out the base, clean up any nicks or dings, and take away oxidized base material that can make it harder for fresh wax to stick.

The grind also sets the pattern of the base - critical to the glide of the ski in different snow conditions. Using our Wintersteiger grinder, we can set different patterns - two of which are

As we gear up for another ski racing season, now is a great time to brush up on some of the basics - wax selection for race conditions and how to use the Start Haus #Waxcall when waxing your race skis.

First up, Jim walks us through all the waxes, overlays, additives & more, explaining what conditions each is for:

Next up, Jim shows you how to take a typical #Waxcall and use it when waxing your race skis:

Follow these tips, and stay up to date with our #Waxcalls throughout the winter so your skis are ready for the best performance in current snow conditions.

Find all the ski tuning tools and ski wax you need at Start Haus.

We've been getting a lot of questions recently on how to properly size junior race skis - both gs and sl - for junior ski racers, so we put together this video guide to help out:

If you're trying to decide from home, use a measuring tape to hit those heights to figure out the closest ski length for your young racer. Still having trouble? Swing by the shop, give us a call or shoot us an email and our experts will advise.

We wanted to put something together for you, to help you figure out what you or your junior racer needs when getting ready for the season. Swing by the shop, call, email or Live Chat to get more details on your specific needs for your age group, events, ability level, etc - our experts are here to help!

The biggest event for ski racers comes October 18-19 this fall - Start Haus Race Weekend.

Race weekend is your chance to get all the ski racing equipment you need at race price with expert advice. With our racing expert staff on hand and reps from the top brands in the sport, we'll make sure you get the right gear with the perfect tune and the right ski boots with the perfect custom fit.

Start Haus has the best selection of race skis and equipment in the region with brands including Blizzard, Fischer, Head, Nordica, Rossignol, Stockli and Volkl, but if we don't have it in stock we'll get it ordered for you - racing equipment availability is limited, so if you miss this weekend, you may not get what you're looking for this season.

We will also have a full selection of protection, race suites, goggles, wax and tuning equipment from brands like POC, Briko, Spyder and more so you're dialed in.

So make sure to be at the Start Haus October 18 and 19 and get ready

In our 2015 ski testing, Start Haus staff was extremely impressed by Stockli's race ski lineup for this year. In the video below, we took the Stockli Laser SL, Stockli Laser GS and Stockli Laser SX out for a spin and talk about what makes them shine.

While all FIS skis have to meet the same standards, that doesn't mean they're all created equal, and the Stockli skis really are something special. To learn more, swing by the shop or give us a call.

Today the Start Haus covers the whole range of the skiing world, from powder skis to frontside rippers - but our roots are in ski racing.

One of the services we provide as a part of our ski racing community is a wax call for all the ski races happening in and around the Lake Tahoe area, giving Jim Schaffner's (a World Cup ski technician and owner of the Start Haus) expert advice on how to get the most performance out of your skis for a given race.

Some of you have been following our wax calls for years. But if you haven't we have two videos explaining the process, and how to best utilize the information we put out each week.

First, the selection process of waxes for a given race, based on wax hardness, flouro content and the use of anti-stat:

And second, what to do with that information - properly waxing your skis with the suggested waxes, anti-stats and overlays:

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to shoot us an email at online@starthaus.com, or call us at (530) 582-5781.