Traveling with ski gear

[Chic pea]

I still carry my boots, not because of damage concerns, but because I want to make sure they are with me at my destination.
Although I haven't had a lot of lost luggage, I really don't want to take the chance of losing my boots. I'm kinda married to those babies!

Speaking of which, Volklgirl, Tom brought back the boot bag he borrowed from me. You can use it on our trip if you'd like.

Likewise. I've had way too much customization done on my boots (plus the recent addition of Intuition liners) and I don't think I could enjoy skiing if I had to settle for rental boots. So my boots go where I go--I don't care if I have to wear them onto the plane. :D

I totally endorse boots as carry-on. I take mine as carry-on. And the best part about the threat of wearing them on the plane is that it is win-win. Either the gate agent is a skier and gives you carte blanche, or an anal-retentive jobsworth who will attempt a cover of the Spice Girls hit song Stop. Evenso, there is no counter argument in the latter scenario, no rule or regulation to prevent you from clomping down the jet bridge with your pieds in their plugs!

 

[Jilly]

all of us associated in some way or another with a certain Canadian airline.

Ah, we only have 2, so I would suspect a certain logo with a maple leaf??
I've a friend, that last time we went to Colorado (february), got her skis in July!! Ah possibly same airline!

 

[Severine]

Can I add to this question?

How the heck do you manage to travel with everything anyway? LOL! I was thinking about it this morning... I'll have the Sportube with 1 pair of skis (would have liked to have brought both, but silly me bought the single instead of double), Transpack with boots inside for carry-on, a bag for clothes, my camera bag (which isn't your typical little bag because it's a digital SLR w/3 lenses, plus I might bring my camcorder and definitely hubby's point-and-shoot little digital camera to ski with)... And I have to figure out how to pack my pump, since I'm still nursing DS and don't want to lose my supply while away. I've decided to leave the laptop at home (even though it would be nice to post pictures ASAP!) because it's just going to be too much STUFF. And no purse either (again, too much stuff...plus who needs a purse while skiing anyway ).

Those of you who travel often, how do you manage all that crap?

 

[SnowHot]

My seasoned Ski Travel system:
1-Ski bag with my skis(2) and whatever I can pack around them, like an ski jacket, camelback, Paste Ski Wax, poles
2 - Large Duffle bag with wheels(emphasis on Large), with Helmet, ski clothes, hair dryer, power strip(never know what outlets you will have) Camera charger, phone charger, toiletries
3 - Boot Bag with one change of essentials plus a plastic bag with toothbrush and hand lotion.
4 - Slim profile messenger bag with lap top point and shoot camera, bandaids and travel papers.

I usually wear a vest with my wallet, and other necessities you'd have in your purse. Heck, my vest is my purse these days.

Because my Boot bag is a back pack, I can put my messenger bag over my shoulder, boot bag on my back, and grab a handle of my ski bag(on wheels) and my duffle bag(on wheels) and pull them along.

Severine, I think where you're getting into trouble is your camera passion. IMO you could leave one of them at home. I'll be glad to share my hair dryer with you, but I don't have a pump. :D

When we traveled with my husband and his broken hand, he was truly limited on his Pulling capabilities, so we paid a sky cap to handle our luggage. For the three of us it was 30.00/tip, well worth the 10/each.

 

[Chic pea]

Ah, we only have 2, so I would suspect a certain logo with a maple leaf??
I've a friend, that last time we went to Colorado (february), got her skis in July!! Ah possibly same airline!

Jillylock Holmes,
You are correct! Its official name is the/le Rondelle.
Your poor friend - that is bad. It makes me cringe in fact.

 

[Jilly]

At least we were on our way home when the skis went where-ever. Westjet is the one to fly now, but they don't fly everywhere!!
At least we do have a choice most of the time. The American airlines are starting to talk mergers etc. Should be interesting to see how that all pans out.

 

[marge]

I have to tell you that I bought a hard "skitube" this year for travel and after this last trip I was horrified at how damaged the tube was (it's pretty hard plastic too). I emailed the airlines and told them how horribly unhappy I was about treatment of my "precious cargo". :yell:

 

[Severine]

Severine, I think where you're getting into trouble is your camera passion. IMO you could leave one of them at home. I'll be glad to share my hair dryer with you, but I don't have a pump. :D

I think you're probably right. I wasn't planning on bringing the DSLR at first... but then I thought about it and figured that since I spent a lot of money on it to get great photos, I should bring it when I'm going to be somewhere that's worthy of great photos. However, it's way too bulky and heavy to ski with, so if I want shots while skiing, I need hubby's camera (which is very small). The camcorder... I guess I don't need it. The DSLR doesn't do video, but I think the small digi does.

The Transpack is a backpack. The Sportube can be carried by the handle, slung across a shoulder (precariously, I feel), or pulled on wheels. I have several size bags to pick from for my checked bag. At least 3 have wheels and extendable handles. The camera bag is technically a backpack, but would not be able to be used that way with the Transpack on. The pump has it's own messenger style shoulder bag, but I'm not bringing it in that. I'll put it in the checked bag (and pray that it survives or arrives! ). (I'll also have that Camelback in my checked bag, but that will take up nil space.)

I don't need my laptop, right? It's just a few days. I think I can manage the rest as long as I don't convince myself that I need the laptop.

Oh yes, and be grateful you don't have a pump! Nothing like feeling like a dairy cow to add a sparkle to your day. MOO!

I have to tell you that I bought a hard "skitube" this year for travel and after this last trip I was horrified at how damaged the tube was (it's pretty hard plastic too). I emailed the airlines and told them how horribly unhappy I was about treatment of my "precious cargo". :yell:

That's a scary thing you just told me! I bought the Sportube to prevent damage!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

I have to tell you that I bought a hard "skitube" this year for travel and after this last trip I was horrified at how damaged the tube was (it's pretty hard plastic too). I emailed the airlines and told them how horribly unhappy I was about treatment of my "precious cargo". :yell:

Sounds like this is eligible for a damage claim?? I'd sure try to file one, probably would have done so at the arrival airport. Bummer! Are your skis, etc., okay?

 

[Chic pea]

Definitely see the baggage agents and make a claim. When accepting your skis in the first place, airlines stipulate they be packaged in a suitable ski bag or hard shell case. If your case has been damaged to the extent that the structural integrity of it has been challenged, you are definitely due repair (if possible) or replacement. If handled properly, skis do not undergo any sort of processing that would cause such damage. It sounds like you didn't claim upon arrival at your destination, which, is when it needs to be done if it is to be paid out by the airline. Next time you travel with it, ignore that anything is wrong with your sport tube when you check in, then make your claim on your arrival. It's only fair if the same airline is responsible for the original damage.

 

[marge]

That's a good idea. No, I really wasn't willing to wait in line at the horrendous line to make a claim. THAT in and of itself told me that there was some sort of problem. Plus the fact that it came back missing the end handle and my other luggage took 45 minutes to get there on the WRONG carousel! We thought it was lost only to look at the flashing light AGAIN and they had moved it to another carousel (not sure why as all the other passengers got theirs on the carousel we were waiting at).

I digress. Can you tell I'm still honked off?

Oh... and just to let some of you know that my can of mousse stored pretty much in the middle of my LARGE suitcase had a dent in it about the size of a quarter and had lost it's "spray" so I'm not sure how careful I would be about my helmet in there.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

^^^^^^^ Oh boy, this sounds like some of my misadventures in air travel----most of which usually occurred when I was traveling with my elderly mother...(obviously not ski trips)