Mt. Spokane Ski Swap lets winter sports fans gear up on a budget

Pushing a cart loaded with ski wear and equipment, Stephens Taylor waited patiently in line behind about 200 people Saturday at the Spokane Fair and Expo Center.

It was just before noon, and the 53rd annual Mt. Spokane Ski Swap had already attracted nearly 3,000 customers looking to take advantage of the event’s way-below-retail prices.

“I don’t mind waiting in line because I’m satisfied with everything,” Taylor said. “And it does something good for the community.”

Money from the ski swap funds the Mt. Spokane Ski Patrol, whose efforts have helped keep skiers and boarders safe on the mountain for decades.

Randy Foiles, Mt. Spokane Ski Patrol director, wove in and out of the crowd Saturday, trying to direct the retail traffic in the sizable Fair and Expo Center and handing out Skittles to those waiting in line.

For Foiles and his crew, this is their foremost money-maker. Nearly 23,000 items of ski and snowboard equipment and apparel were on sales racks Saturday morning. About 80 percent of the items are new, coming from 32 stores around the region, and the rest are slightly used.

“It’s an opportunity to equip the whole family for much less money than if you walk into a ski shop, where the prices are at least twice as high,” Foiles said. “A lot of the stuff is just unsold items from last ski season.”

Customers loaded their carts with items that would have easily cost over a thousand dollars elsewhere, according to Foiles, who used one woman’s skis an example.

“These skis right here are just $49,” he said. “They’re a little used, but anywhere else those are $400.”

Taylor said he could have bought ski wear online at a good cost, but would rather have the help the ski swap provides from its volunteer salesmen.

“The guys assisting me were excellent,” Taylor said. “You can go online and buy it cheaper, but you don’t have any expertise.”

According to Foiles, the Mt. Spokane Ski Swap started in the 1960s out of a garage in Coeur d’Alene before growing every year. He said it’s been at the Fair and Expo Center for over 30 years.

Hundreds of volunteers helped run the event, which continues today from 9 a.m. to noon. Admission is $5.

“It takes about $41,000 to fund (the Mt. Spokane Ski Patrol),” Foiles said. “Sometimes we hit that mark at this event and sometimes we don’t. Right now, we’re off to a pretty good start.”