Alex D.
Yelp
Avoid this place! Their rental tactics are downright predatory and the management is so sleazy its hard for me to understand how they have not been fired yet. If you like your ski rental experience to feel like buying a used car though, I guess you could go here.
I did a 5 day premium ski rental from Four Mountain on a recent trip to Aspen. The rental experience in of itself was pretty par for the course. Skis worked fine and the free ski valet was a nice benefit, though it is on the pricier side compared to the local competition.
What makes me give this a 1 is the return. Upon return of my skis, one of the junior employees pointed out that I had a small (emphasis) chip in the base, presumably due to early season conditions. The employee and I both agreed that this was a no big deal minor base repair, (using a substance called P-tex) which one can easily do themselves for the cost of supplies (less than $5). Any shop charging more than $20 for something like this would be highway robbery.
At this point, the junior employee called over the shop manager who asked if I purchased the $6/day insurance. I did not under the assumption that given my skiing style, really the worst that could happen is about this, which I knew from prior experience is so minor that most shops wouldn't even bother charging you for it. Boy was I wrong. The manager informed me that I would be charged $65 for a "Platinum Tune" to repair the damage. I asked if he disagreed with my assessment that all that was required was some P-tex, which he did not, but nonetheless insisted that he absolutely had to do a full platinum tune of the skis.
Suffice to say, this was obviously nonsense. I grew up racing and used to do part-time ski tech work, so I called them out, and it seems like the manager knew it was BS too. The rough answer I came away with was we can charge you whatever we want, so we will. At a minimum, I'd call this flagrantly unethical, and depending on your view, possibly fraudulent. Especially considering the fact I'm deeply suspicious any shop in fact conducts a "Platinum Tune" for a pair of rental skis.
Aspen Mountain should be ashamed to have sales practices like this associated with their brand. These tactics may work on unsuspecting tourists and merely leave them frustrated, but for me it was infuriating to know I was being conned and ensures I will do my best to never give them another cent of my money.