“It’s sad for local skiers, sadder still for the staff of the shop, many of whom worked there for over a decade”

4300 Fordham Road, NW via Ski Center

Ed. Note: This follows the closure of Hudson Trail Outfitters last December.

A reader reports:

“Ski Center, DC’s only specialty winter sports store and one of the top ski boot fitters in the USA, is shutting its doors. Official note here:

It has been my pleasure to continue the business that my parents started in 1959. After working here for 38 years, I am ready to retire, and looking forward to findng someone else to carry on.

We are starting a Retirement Sale Tuesday, February 2nd at 11am. We will be closed Monday, February 1st to prepare.

Please come in and take advantage of all the great prices during our Retirement Sale. Everything is on sale and must go. Clothing, equipment, and accessories. Brands like Atomic, Canada Goose, Fischer, Head, Kjus, Lange, The North Face, Obermeyer, Rossignol, Salomon, Spyder, and Volkl are all at incredible prices. Sorry, limited bootfitting and no leases during the first few days of the sale.

Growing up with and managing Ski Center has been a rewarding experience for me and I know I will miss it greatly. Our family has been extremely fortunate to attract and retain such an extraordinary group of committed employees, whose passion and knowledge were instrumental in building and maintaining the business. Many have stayed for so long and made personal sacrifices to build our reputation as one of the country’s leading ski shops. They have given our business a sense of community and soul, which has become rare in business. Over the past five and a half decades, Ski Center has become a Washington institution.

Ski Center also could never have succeeded without such an enthusiastic and loyal customer base. The friendship and support we have received over the last 50+ years from all of our customers has meant so much to everyone here. Thank you for giving us your business, and sharing with us your passion for the sport we all love. We truly couldn’t have done it without you.

It has been a great run.

Sincerely,
Stuart Kahane

Closed Monday, February 1
Sale starts Tuesday, February 2 at 11 am.
4300 Fordham Road, NW

Store Hours:
Monday – Thursday, 11-8
Friday 11-7
Saturday 10-5:30
Sunday 11-5

This is really devastating news for skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts in the greater DC area. Ski Center’s staff knows the ins and outs of every product they sell, as well as many they don’t sell. Their knowledge, especially of high-performance, racing, big mountain, and alpine touring equipment was second to none east of the Mississippi. Their boot fitting services are held in high regard by skiers worldwide – they are the place to go for skiers with hard-to-fit feet. They also were the only shop many local skiers would trust with tuning and repairs of their beloved skis.

And now the place is calling it a day. It’s sad for local skiers, sadder still for the staff of the shop, many of whom worked there for over a decade.”