The weather was just right Saturday morning as hordes of people poured into the 51st annual Hesperus Ski Patrol Ski Swap. In all, about 2,000 people were expected, most looking for skis, snowboards, boots, goggles, bindings, apparel - you name it.
Mothers pulled hats and gloves on their children. Rainbows of jackets and pants came on and off in the aisles. Brazen ski and snowboard aficionados used Google to research random treasures.
The cool, wet weather was perfect for shoppers, some already decked in a dash of winter garb. The commotion at the entrance never ceased.
"It's a community kind of thing that people expect every year," said Jim Class, who has been at Ski Hesperus for 30 years. A volunteer for the National Ski Patrol, he grew up on snow. His father served on the National Ski Patrol for the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, California.
"He got my brothers and I skiing when we were 4 or 5 years old. It's kind of been a family thing," he said.
The swap, held at the La Plata Fairgrounds, is a local tradition. It's a frugal shopper's paradise full of hugs and high-fives between people pulled apart by warmer weather but reunited in preparation for winter's snowy slopes.
Durango Mountain Resort's Greg Ralph called it a blast to watch the buzz about the upcoming season, and conditions look good. With the local mountain under new ownership, the talk on the hill is that he's a skier's skier.
"I've met (James Coleman), and when he talks, he's all about the skiing," said Ralph, DMR's vice president of marketing and sales. "When there's a real ski guy driving it, that's pretty awesome."
And Durango's love of skiing goes far out of bounds.
Outside, John Strand promoted Friends of the San Juans, a new nonprofit organization providing free avalanche-awareness courses in Durango. Representatives from Telluride, Aspen and Silverton Mountain were on hand, sharing their excitement and endorsing their brands.
Inside, Buck Smith of The Boot Doctors in Telluride was giving impromptu clinics on snowboard technology. He said people were happy, and the energy of the new season was in the air.
He also said he loves his job.
"I get to share the stoke with everybody," he said, holding up a snowboard. "That's my job, I get to make people happy."
