An eagerly anticipated annual ski and snowboard tradition will be observed virtually this year as the Christy Sports Powder Daze end-of-summer sale moves online because of concerns over large gatherings during the pandemic.

An outgrowth of the Labor Day sales that have been a Colorado staple for generations, Powder Daze is built on selling last year’s inventory at bargain prices to make room for this year’s gear. The sale will begin Friday and run through Sept. 7 on the Christy Sports website.

“We toiled for weeks trying to find a solution that was going to be safe for both our guests and our staff to be able to host thousands of people in a location, and we could not come up with that solution,” said Randy England, Christy Sports director of marketing. “At this point, I don’t believe that solution exists.”

Christy Sports rival Epic Mountain Gear will have in-store sales for its annual sale, but it isn’t going by the traditional name of Ski Rex because this year it will look very different.

“To celebrate the re-opening of our Epic Mountain Gear stores, we have reimagined our traditional Labor Day sale as a more concierge-inspired experience that will take place over six weeks — versus 12 days as it was previously — to allow for physical distancing inside all store locations,” said Johnna Muscente, director of communications for Vail Resorts. “Epic Pass holders will have priority access to appointments and shopping from Sept. 2-4. The sale will open to the public on Sept. 5 and run through Oct 12.”

Because last season was abbreviated by the pandemic, England said Christy Sports has extra inventory this year that will translate into added savings with a range of discounts of up to 70% off.

“One of the great benefits of Powder Daze is, we bring in all of our top people from all over the state to work the event so guests have all the product knowledge that we have, and they get all the advice they need to make sure they’re buying the gear that’s right for them,” England said. “We have set up an online chat platform. We have a roster of 30 employees who will be working that. It will be available from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. to answer any questions guests have about product.

“We’re trying to make a virtual Powder Daze as seamless as we can, without actually hosting in person, because it just wasn’t the right decision for everyone’s safety,” England said.

Another staple of the end-of-summer sales was ski area pass deals. That won’t be a part of Powder Daze this year.

“If guests are looking to get the best deals possible, we’d encourage them to go to the ski area they’re interested in skiing at (and buy online),” England said. “They all have a variety of deals going.”

The Epic sale will take place at Front Range Epic Mountain Gear locations in Boulder, Aurora, Colorado Springs, Littleton, Westminster and the Park Meadows Mall in Lonetree. Walk-ups will be allowed, but customers without reservations should keep in mind that capacity limits will be enforced in adherence of social distancing. Muscente said discounts will be up to 40% off.

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