In Denver and Colorado Springs, there’s a new way to gear up for ski season — and save money. 

That’s the stated aim of Rocky Mountain Ski Swaps, the Utah-based venture that expanded to Denver last year. Before the Denver Ski Swap on Nov. 14-15 at the Jeffco Fairgrounds, a two-day sale of new and gently used gear will debut Oct. 24 at the Roy J. Wasson Academic Campus in Colorado Springs. 

“We want to break down barriers to a sport that can be kind of expensive,” said Jeremy Speaks, representing Rocky Mountain Ski Swaps. That’s for families first and foremost, he said: “We believe a family that plays together stays together.”

“That said, we want to provide the best value to people regardless of their skill level. We’ll have people coming to our swaps that are black diamond skiers, and we’ll have people that are just getting into it.” 

The swap will also have people hoping to sell their spare skis, snowboards, boots, bindings and more. Speaks said last year’s first swap in Denver drew about 250 people consigning gear. The seller keeps 75%.

Speaks said another 2,000 or so buyers came to shop between the booths of traveling vendors. “Lots of brands, whether it’s K2, Nordica, Head, Solomon, Volkl, Burton, the list goes on,” he said. “We offer apparel as well — jackets, gloves, hats, you name it. It’s your one-stop shop for everything.” 

Such an opportunity seemed to be missing on Colorado’s Front Range, Speaks said: “We saw that there was an absence of a major ski swap really close, and we wanted to see if we could just help families with gearing up for the season.” 

In the case of Colorado Springs, he said operators saw the military presence. Service members can get in for free the opening night of the swap, from 5:30 p.m.-9 p.m. on that Friday, Oct. 24. (Tickets are otherwise $8 for shoppers.)

“Typically Friday is when you’re gonna catch all those great deals,” Speaks said. “Sometimes you get somebody who has like 10 boards in the garage and they just want to get rid of them, so they price them really low.” 

For those consigning, staff is available to help with pricing and tagging from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. ahead of the swap that Friday. For those with bulk, Speaks recommended filling out the consignment form in advance, posted along with other information at rockymountainsskiswaps.com. The Colorado Springs swap will continue from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. that Saturday, Oct. 25.

The Denver swap will open at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 14, with staff helping sellers between 10 a.m.-3 p.m. beforehand, and continue from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the following Saturday. Tickets $8.