For NEW CUSTOMERS: Click on the Blue "Winter" button located on the homepage. Choose any ski or snowboard package to begin. It will walk you through the process of entering the height, weight, shoe size and birth date of the skier/rider. You can also choose to rent a helmet, pants, or jacket. Then add the person to your reservation. Next, choose to "Add Another Skier/Rider" and follow the same steps for any additional people OR choose "Go to Checkout". You will be asked to pay in full or pay a $10 per person deposit (up to $50 max) with your credit card.
For RETURNING CUSTOMERS: If you've rented from us in the past five years, click on the Blue "Winter Customer Login" button at the top right of the homepage. Select anyone from your account that you want to reserve equipment for. Follow the steps to update the height, weight, shoe size, rental dates, etc., and add them to the reservation. You can then choose to add new people if necessary. Follow the steps to choose their equipment and enter in their personal information. When you're finished, click the "Go to Checkout" button. Make sure to update your contact information if needed, and then complete the reservation by either paying in full or paying the $10 per person deposit (up to $50 max) with your credit card.
We do not accept reservations after 8am Mountain Time the day before arrival. You can pick up the equipment any time after 3pm on the day before your reservation begins at no additional charge.
You must call us to cancel your reservation. Any deposits/payments are fully refundable up to 24 hours prior to arrival. If a reservation is not cancelled at least 24 hours in advance, we do not refund the $10 per person deposit.
Yes. If you rent for 5 consecutive days, you only pay for 4. If you rent for 6 days, you pay for 5, and so on. If you rent for 10 consecutive days, you pay for 8.
No. Unfortunately, Breckenridge Ski Resort keeps a very tight monopoly on lift tickets – and lessons – within Breckenridge. However, you can go to their website (snow.com) and save by ordering tickets in advance. They also offer equipment rentals. Go ahead and check it out to see how much you’ll save by renting from Blue River Sports and Mountain Wave.
Nothing. In fact, we think you’ll find our equipment newer and better maintained than any you’ve ever rented. The better question would be why do the corporate shops in town charge so much? Don't let the discounts fool you. 20% off of their rates is still more than our rates!
We carry 1,700 skis and boards, probably the largest single shop fleet in Breckenridge. This season, approximately 65% are brand new, 35% are one season old and 10% are two seasons old.
The Recreation Ski and Silver Snowboard packages are both meant for the beginner to early intermediate snow rider. The Performance Ski and Gold Snowboard packages are performance upgrades, meant for someone who is comfortable on intermediate runs and occasionally getting on some expert runs. If you want to try more specialized, high-performance equipment, look at the Specialty Ski or Titanium Snowboard packages ('Demos' in many shops). You don't have to upgrade for comfort! Our Performance and Specialty ski boots are stiffer (higher performing) and in that respect may actually be less comfortable than the Recreation ski boot. You may have had to upgrade at another shop to get ‘comfortable’ or ‘decent’ equipment. Not with us. Pick the package most appropriate for your skill level.
With the old 'straight ski' you indeed had to be a pretty good skier to handle the high-end equipment. Not so with current skis. The Performance or Specialty skis do not demand expert technique in order to enjoy them, although a beginner or early intermediate skier may not realize the full performance potential of the package.
Learning to snowboard is like learning to ride a bike. The first ½ day you will be convinced that snowboarding is impossible. After lunch you will probably link a couple of turns, the light will click on and the next thing you know, you’ll be snowboarding. After you ‘figure it out’ you will find that your skill level will increase sharply. Beginners can often progress to intermediate runs in 2-3 days. Be tenacious!
A step-on binding must be aligned perfectly with your boot to work properly. This can be awkward, especially when the board is not on a pretty flat surface. It also is non-visual, much like a clipless bike pedal, which can be frustrating. Though maybe not as quick, we feel a strap binding is a better all-around system and provides better support and control of your snowboard. Our Burton Step-On binding rentals can be used with any adult package and cost an additional $10/day.
Women-specific snowsport equipment has been the fastest growing segment of the industry for years. Men and women are built different and among other things, it makes a difference in how they ski and snowboard. Essentially, women’s lower center of gravity and less strength (generally speaking, of course) makes it harder to edge the front part of the ski or board to initiate a turn. To compensate, manufacturers make women’s skis lighter, softer flexing and move the mounting point forward. Women’s snowboards are made more narrow, softer and with more narrow options for stance. Our experience is that experienced women snow riders notice and appreciate the difference. And yes, some shorter, lighter-weight men might like them too!
Up to size 16 in ski boots, size 15 in snowboard boots. After that, we just wax up the bottom of your shoes!
Ski boots are made for the average foot. Since few, if any, people have an ‘average’ foot, reality does not always meet expectations. We will personally fit you. Tell us if you have a pronation, supination or any other foot issue. We can often add fitting aids to make your foot more ‘average’. If you use orthotics, have us fit your boot with them. The biggest problem we see is actually not feet, but sore shinbones from inappropriate socks, wrinkles in the sock or stuffing long johns or pant legs into the boot. Remember, you lean forward into the boot while you’re skiing. Any crease or lump along your shinbone will inevitably cause problems.
Bottom line, if you ski a few runs and the boots don’t feel quite as good as they did in the shop, come back in and let us work on the problem, sooner rather than later! Often a small fitting aid or different model boot will do the trick. Don’t stay out there and get mad at us. That doesn’t do either of us any good.
Yes, yes and yes! Virtually everyone who works here, skier or boarder, wears one. Snowsport helmets are where bike helmets were years ago. Now, everyone wears a bike helmet. Probably 60-70% of the snow riders on the mountain are wearing helmets and nearly 100% of the kids. Ski school doesn't mandate a helmet, but makes parents sign an extra release if their kids don't wear one. We particularly recommend helmets for kids and beginning snowboarders. One often overlooked advantage of helmets: They’re warm!
Yes. We rent warm, insulated, waterproof pants and jackets perfect for skiing and snowboarding. We carry a full range of sizes for toddlers and adults up to size 4X. We wash and dry every piece of clothing after EVERY rental!
Most missing skis/board are usually the result of someone, maybe even you, picking up the wrong one by mistake. Look through the racks carefully. If you don’t find your equipment, check again later and at the end of the day. If at the end of the day, your skis/board still aren’t there but some similar ones are, note the model and any rental shop tag or engraving. Come see us. We’ll try to track down the mystery skis/board. Their owner may have yours. In the meantime, we’ll set you up in replacement equipment at no additional charge.
The local shops, ski patrol and bus drivers are pretty good about returning mixed-up equipment. Chances are good that your skis/board will eventually show up. But if you rented higher performance equipment or a snowboard, chances are better that it was stolen. You should not let this equipment out of your sight except when locked or checked at a ski check. Last season we had 12 truly lost/stolen skis of almost 100 reported lost, from over 24,000 rentals. Keep track of your equipment and hopefully you won’t have a problem.
Lessons can ease the apprehension and shorten the learning curve for just about everyone. They may very well determine if a beginner stays with the sport. Having said that, let us warn you about several things not mentioned in the fancy brochures:
Ski and Ride School starts at either 9 or 9:30 am. One of the saddest things we see is the family strolling into our shop at 8:45 am saying they have lessons. In all likelihood we can get them fitted in time, but no way are they going to get dressed, find where they need to go, park and get there in time or condition to enjoy their lesson. Allow plenty of time the morning of your lesson. Better yet, get your equipment the night before and enjoy some hot chocolate while you watch everyone else frantically trying to find their lesson.
The Ski and Ride School will try to bundle equipment with your lesson, lift ticket, and equipment rentals. In Economics 101 this is called a vertical monopoly. They will however, give you a reduced price if you have your own equipment. The difference between the bundled and reduced price is the cost of their equipment rental. Guess what. Our rates are less. Much less.
It can be. We're two miles up and cookbook recipes only have adjustments for one mile. Some people are affected more than others, but a little common sense will help anyone. Don’t drive all night and then try to ski all day the day you arrive. Drink more water and juice fluids than usual and lay off the alcohol and caffeine. Don’t be surprised or panicked if you’re occasionally short of breath. If it’s severe or persistent, call for help (911). It could be serious.
For those not used to it, our cold can be intimidating. Wear a hat, or better, a helmet. It’s always nice to have a neck gator and heat packet in your pocket in case the weather turns for the worse while you're on the mountain. On really cold days, check your buddy. Little white spots on a nose means it’s time to go in, immediately! Frostbite is no fun. Always wear eye protection and sunscreen on the slopes. Snow blindness and sunburn is no fun either. Dress in layers. Two or three layers are warmer and provide more flexibility for changing conditions than a single big parka. Look for a technical material rather than cotton for your base (long john) layer, and wool or fleece for your mid-layers. A water-resistant, breathable jacket and pant is very desirable. Whatever you do, loose the cotton socks. After you perspire a bit, it’s like having a wet towel wrapped around your foot. Hint: You can find a good selection of any of these items right here in Breckenridge, probably at a better price than at home. Competition among the many shops here is an effective form of price control. And we sell most, if not all, of the items you'll need right in our shop. We also rent helmets, snow jackets and pants if you need them!
Not really, especially if you're staying in town. Breckenridge is not a huge place. Most everything is within a 10-minute walk. There is a FreeRide bus service in town and there are reliable shuttle services from the Denver airport. Several resort lodges have their own in-town shuttle service. The free Summit Stage bus will take you to the nearby towns of Silverthorne, Frisco and Dillon as well as the Keystone and Copper Mountain ski areas. We also have Lyft and Uber. Click on the "Breckenridge Maps & Lodging" link at the top of the page for more information.
The FreeRide bus only operates within town limits. The free Summit Stage bus serves many out lying areas but less frequently and can be a slow process to farther destinations. Shuttle costs from Denver for 5 or 6 people may pay for a rental car. If you bring a vehicle, be aware! As with most resort communities, Breckenridge has its share of traffic and parking issues. All in-town Breckenridge parking lots require payments by the day. Minimize your stress by walking or using the FreeRide bus service once you're here.
It can be. The vast majority of lodging in Breckenridge is handled by lodging management companies that are contracted by individual condominium or homeowners to manage the rental of their units. Even larger complexes which appear to be hotels are actually condominiums managed by an on-site management company. Most buildings have several management companies offering rentals in that building. In addition, there are out-of-town booking companies that sometimes don’t know much about our town. Before leaving home, make sure you know which management company you are booked with, where their check-in is located, and how to check in after hours. If they don’t have a local number, insist on a 24/7 toll-free number to call if there is a problem. You’ll save a lot of aggravation by booking with one of our lodging partners on our Breckenridge Maps & Lodging page.