We love winter in Salt Lake City. In fact, winter is fantastic throughout Utah. The skiing is great, the views are spectacular, and the people are second to none. Why would we want to offer ski rentals and snowboard rentals anywhere else?

There are other places to ski; no doubt of that. But no other locale is quite like the greater Salt Lake City area. If you’re planning on visiting for your next skiing vacation, rest assured we will do everything we can to make your trip a huge success. Let’s start with some helpful tips you can put in your back pocket and pull out when you’re ready to start planning.

1. Carefully Research Your Accommodations

Utah has tons of accommodations for every preference and budget. From the cheapest hotel rooms to the most luxurious single home vacation rentals, we have it all. So our first piece of advice is to research your accommodations very carefully. Make sure you know exactly what you’re getting and what your final price will be.

We don’t anticipate you’ll have any trouble, but there’s no need to take unnecessary chances. Cross your T’s and dot your I’s. Maintain regular contact from whoever you are choosing to stay with. And if you ever have reason to be cautious, don’t be afraid to back out.

2. Rent from a Reputable Business

If you plan to rent your ski equipment once you arrive here in town, we have you covered. Even if you don’t choose Canyon Sports for ski and snowboard rental, we still encourage you to rent only from reputable businesses.

Do an online search for reviews. Look for businesses with legitimate commercial addresses rather than residential addresses. Once you’ve narrowed down your choices to a short list, check out every business on social media. We are confident that doing your homework will result in Canyon Sports being one of your best options.

3. Check Us Out for Discount Lift Tickets

If you’re hoping to score discount lift tickets, just know that you won’t be able to get them at the resorts. We know of only two local resorts that sell discounted tickets directly to consumers. But they only do so through their websites.

You also will not find them at retailers all over Salt Lake City. To our knowledge, we are one of just two local companies given access to discount lift tickets on a regular basis. So here’s the deal: you can visit us for both discounted tickets and ski and snowboard rental. How’s that for a great deal?

4. Plan as Early as Possible

This last one may be the most important of all: start your planning as early as possible. Some 20 years ago, it may have been okay to decide on a “last-minute” trip just a few weeks out. Traveling to ski in Utah didn’t require advance planning. That’s no longer the case. Salt Lake City skiing vacations are extremely popular right now. If you are waiting until two or three weeks before travel to start planning, it’s too late.

We recommend planning 4 to 6 months in advance. The sooner you can make your reservations, the greater the chances you’ll get everything you want. And by the way, this doesn’t apply just to lift tickets and equipment rentals. Even your accommodations and flights get harder to come by the closer you get to your travel dates.

We hope your next Salt Lake City skiing vacation is a fantastic one. If we can help you with affordable and reliable ski and snowboard rental, we’d be glad to pitch in. Contact us to learn more.

Have you ever wanted to go to a Salt Lake City area ski resort and start a debate in the lodge? There’s an easy way to do it: just ask a couple of people whether skiing is better than snowboarding. Forget about things like ski tunes and discount lift tickets. Skiing vs. snowboarding is a debate that must be settled!

All kidding aside, neither winter sport is better nor worse than the other. The general industry rule of thumb is that skiing is easier to learn but harder to master. Snowboarding is harder to learn but easier to master. If you don’t know why, it boils down to technique.

It’s important to have skis and snowboards tuned. It is important to get to the slopes and get as much practice as possible. Taking lessons helps, too. But in the end, the biggest difference between the two sports is the technique.

Learning to Ski

A lot of us who snowboard actually started out on skis. Obviously, learning to ski isn’t a prerequisite. Yet skiing is easier to learn. It has been said that skiing is more intuitive simply due to the fact that it’s more aligned with the way we naturally stand and move. Consider the following two things:

• Leg Position – The leg position when you’re strapped to a set of skis is very similar to your natural leg position. Your legs are slightly spread with your feet facing forward. Additionally, your feet can still act independently to catch you if you find yourself off balance. You don’t have to change that position to get yourself moving on your skis. 
• Body Position – Likewise, your body position remains the same. This is to say that the skis strapped to your feet are parallel to your feet. They are almost like an oversized pair of shoes with a heel and toe.

Ski classes for beginners involve learning things like snowplowing, turning, and learning how to fall. Most people can learn the basics with just a couple of lessons and a day or two on the slopes. To master skiing though, you will need a lot of slope time and regular ski tuning.

Learning to Snowboard

Learning to snowboard is more difficult for the same two reasons that make learning to ski easier. It’s all about foot and body position. On a snowboard, you basically have two positions:

• Standard – Your left foot is toward the front of the board
• Goofy – Your right foot is toward the front of the board.

Though your forward foot can be slightly offset a bit, both stances have you effectively standing on the board sideways. This is contrary to the straightforward position you adopt when skiing. Going down the hill sideways goes against every natural inclination. Coupled with your legs being locked into the same position relative to each other,  it’s pretty clear what makes learning to snowboard harder.

Here’s the thing about snowboarding: the hardest thing to learn is how to use the edges of the board to keep you upright and maintain whatever direction you want to go in. Compare this to skiing, which allows for independent leg movement to stay balanced. Once your brain and body get used to the edges, the hard part is behind you. Snowboarding becomes an exercise of just feeling it.

Of course, learning and mastering snowboarding requires proper snowboard tuning. So if you’re new to the sport, make sure to get your board tuned before your first lesson. Then take it in for tunings on a regular basis.

Which winter sport is right for you: skiing or snowboarding? That’s up to you to decide. Canyon sports offers both snowboard rentals and ski rentals so you can try both. You might turn out to be one of those rare people who thinks they are both equally fun.