Ski shops in NW Washington?

Can anyone recommend any good ski shops in northwest Washington state? In
particular I'm looking for Rossignol dealers who carry x-ium skate boots.

Thanks
Eric

If you really mean NW, the only place would be in Spokane. I grew up
a bit North of there, but have no real knowledge of the shop scene.
Nevertheless, I've heard of a place named, IIRC, Fitness Fanatics,
that might fit the bill.
There are probably also a couple of places in Northern Idaho.

In North Central Washington, in the town of Winthrop, in the Methow
Valley, is Winthrop Mtn Sports, which I can vouch for as a good shop.

HTH,
Erik Brooks,
Seattle

----- Original Message -----
From: "Eric"
To: "Multiple recipients of list NORDIC-SKI"

Sent: Saturday, August 28, 2004 5:04 PM
Subject: Ski shops in NW Washington?


Can anyone recommend any good ski shops in northwest Washington
state? In
particular I'm looking for Rossignol dealers who carry x-ium skate
boots.

Thanks
Eric

Neither REI in Seattle nor Marmot in Bellevue list these boots on their
respective websites, although I think I have seen them at Marmot in seasons
past. If you know your size and are willing to mail order, then I think Rita
at Winthrop Mountain Sports in Winthrop carries these; she has a pretty good
selection of higher end gear.

Marmot in Bellevue has been good about supporting the local XC race scene,
and unlike my experiences at REI, has actually had people that work there
that understand the sport, so I give them what business I can. Apart from
that, good XC shops an endangered species. Seattle used to have Swallows
Nest, and I've heard that Steve Hindman used to have a shop up in
Bellingham; both are gone.

--
Chris Esposito

"Eric" wrote in message
news:cL8Yc.25554$A8.11622@edtnps89...
Can anyone recommend any good ski shops in northwest Washington state? In
particular I'm looking for Rossignol dealers who carry x-ium skate boots.

Thanks
Eric

Embarrassing, I answered for northEAST :-(

Erik "better read more carefully" Brooks

----- Original Message -----
From: "Erik Brooks"
To: "Multiple recipients of list NORDIC-SKI"

Sent: Saturday, August 28, 2004 9:12 PM
Subject: Ski shops in NW Washington?


If you really mean NW, the only place would be in Spokane. I grew
up
a bit North of there, but have no real knowledge of the shop scene.
Nevertheless, I've heard of a place named, IIRC, Fitness Fanatics,
that might fit the bill.
There are probably also a couple of places in Northern Idaho.

In North Central Washington, in the town of Winthrop, in the Methow
Valley, is Winthrop Mtn Sports, which I can vouch for as a good
shop.

HTH,
Erik Brooks,
Seattle

----- Original Message -----
From: "Eric"
To: "Multiple recipients of list NORDIC-SKI"

Sent: Saturday, August 28, 2004 5:04 PM
Subject: Ski shops in NW Washington?


Can anyone recommend any good ski shops in northwest Washington
state? In
particular I'm looking for Rossignol dealers who carry x-ium skate
boots.

Thanks
Eric

Thanks for the replies. You both mentioned Winthrop Mtn Sports, I'll have
to check them out some time - although it's quite a drive from Vancouver...

Eric

"Erik Brooks" wrote in message
news:00e201c48d83$e95599f0$0a0110ac@Merlin...
In North Central Washington, in the town of Winthrop, in the Methow
Valley, is Winthrop Mtn Sports, which I can vouch for as a good
shop.

HTH,
Erik Brooks,
Seattle

"Chris Esposito" wrote in message
...
If you know your size and are willing to mail order, then I think Rita
at Winthrop Mountain Sports in Winthrop carries these; she has a pretty
good
selection of higher end gear.

Some time ago, I compared x-c gear retail prices north and south of the
border. I noticed that distributors pricing policy did not bother with
exchange rates. As an example, I remember that the suggested retail price,
at that time, for a pair of RCS classic was 500$US in the US and 500$CAD in
Canada. With the exchange rate at that time, suggested Canadian prices were
1/3 lower.

I do not know about the US shops, but prices in Canadian small shops are
quite negotiable and end up much lower than sugg. retail. Total for my RCS
with bindings and the 15% tax was lower than the sugg. retail. If the
pricing policy didn't change since, with the current exchange rate, XC gear
in Canada should still be at least 25% cheaper.

Check with Rossi Canada ((450)-378-9971), they may have a retailer around
Vancouver or other locations in western BC.



JMC




"Eric" wrote in message
news:KDuYc.72900$X12.60201@edtnps84...
Thanks for the replies. You both mentioned Winthrop Mtn Sports, I'll have
to check them out some time - although it's quite a drive from
Vancouver...

Eric

I agree, pricing is generally as good or better in Canada, however selection
isn't always as wide. I'd explored all the local options in Vancouver
without success and had hoped that the larger market to the south would
offer the product I was looking for - unfortunately no such luck. Seems
like more of an east vs west issue than a US vs Canada thing in this case.
In Vancouver there is one XC store and apparently Seattle has none. I'm
sure that skiers in places like Toronto and Ottawa have several good shops
to choose from and rarely have to search far to find a common brand like
Rossi.


"JMC" wrote in message
.. .
Some time ago, I compared x-c gear retail prices north and south of the
border. I noticed that distributors pricing policy did not bother with
exchange rates. As an example, I remember that the suggested retail price,
at that time, for a pair of RCS classic was 500$US in the US and 500$CAD
in
Canada. With the exchange rate at that time, suggested Canadian prices
were
1/3 lower.

I do not know about the US shops, but prices in Canadian small shops are
quite negotiable and end up much lower than sugg. retail. Total for my RCS
with bindings and the 15% tax was lower than the sugg. retail. If the
pricing policy didn't change since, with the current exchange rate, XC
gear
in Canada should still be at least 25% cheaper.

Check with Rossi Canada ((450)-378-9971), they may have a retailer around
Vancouver or other locations in western BC.



JMC




"Eric" wrote in message
news:KDuYc.72900$X12.60201@edtnps84...
Thanks for the replies. You both mentioned Winthrop Mtn Sports, I'll
have
to check them out some time - although it's quite a drive from
Vancouver...

Eric