White Pine Touring’s winter adventure and holiday gifting guide

Photo: Alpine Touring Set-up from White Pine Touring – photo: Ross Downard

PARK CITY, Utah – White Pine Touring has empowered folks to get outside and play for half a century. Guided tours, educational opportunities, equipment sales, and rentals are a few of the diverse offerings that fostered White Pine’s success over the decades. Now, White Pine Touring includes three store sites; Main Street, White Pine Nordic Center, and the Bonanza Drive location. Years of experience, knowledgeable employees, and capable guides combine with a robust selection of merchandise and rentals to make White Pine Touring a resource for gifting gear and choosing an outdoor outing suited to any lifestyle.

Matt Meacham, the manager of the Bonanza Drive location, gives a rundown of the most popular cold-weather activities. “White Pine has always been a well-diversified business. We rent backcountry skis in the winter and bikes in the summer. We offer avalanche courses and other guided services year-round. And through a partnership with the city, we operate the White Pine Nordic Center in the winter,” he said. “These services combined with the products we sell allow us to be adaptable as the times change.”

The most approachable way to start a new winter sport, touch up on rusty skills, or learn the lay of the land is through a guided tour. “All White Pine tours are private (just your party and the guide) and therefore fully customizable to our client’s interests and physical activity levels,” Meacham says. “Whether you’re flying in from sea level and want a mellow stroll through the woods, or you’re an avid hiker who wants to climb mountains, our guides will help you find your adventure.”

Meacham recommends snowshoeing for people new to winter recreation who are seeking ways to spend time in nature. “Snowshoeing is a great way to ease into the world of winter sports,” he says. “There’s very little instruction needed, and the gear (snowshoes and poles) is very intuitive. The steepest learning curve with snow sports is learning how to layer. If you take a tour, your guide will help you out with that.”

Snowshoeing is also a perfect choice for children. “Families enjoy our Local Snowshoe tours,” Meacham says. “We have kid-sized snowshoes (and a child carrier backpack for the little ones), and our guides are excellent at making sure everyone has a great time. They’ll take you on a three-hour adventure on some of the many accessible trails in the Park City area.”

White Pine’s snowshoeing tour choices are not restricted to mellow terrain. A full-day tour will satisfy adventure cravings. “If you’re itching to explore further, opt for the five-hour Wilderness Snowshoe Tour that takes place in the Uinta mountains, just 45 minutes east of Park City.” Meacham says.

People who yearn to get their heart pumping with a healthy spark of fear may choose one of the alternate guided modalities like fat biking or Nordic skiing. “Fat bike tours are a fun change of pace and offer a totally unique two-wheel experience on snow!” Meacham says. “It’s a great activity for families with older kids who want a little bit more of an adrenaline boost.”

“Cross Country skiing is also a fun, active sport for anyone wanting to break a sweat, no matter your ability level,” says Meacham, who suggests taking a lesson from one of the White Pine Touring Nordic Center instructors.

White Pine offers gear rentals for those who want to explore the winter wonderland independently. “In the winter, we rent a variety of backcountry-oriented equipment,” Meacham says. “We’ve got AT (alpine touring) skis at the Bonanza location. And the Nordic center rents skate and classic skis for use on the Nordic track.”

In addition to renting gear and providing top-notch guided tours, White Pine Touring offers avalanche education courses. “First, before anyone heads into the backcountry, they should take an AIARE-certified course,” Meacham says. “Our goal is to encourage folks to seek out this education… [which] backs up the products that we sell. There is no point in buying avalanche safety equipment if you don’t know how to use it.”

With the holiday season approaching, White Pine is gearing up to help shoppers obtain the perfect gift for outdoor recreationalists. “Getting a gift for your outdoor enthusiast friends and family members can be tough. Usually, we’re pretty picky about our gear, but we have plenty of giftable products in store for every winter sports lover,” Meacham says.

This year’s top cold-weather picks include snowshoes and poles (which sell out fast), Darn Tough durable ski socks, Ortovox and Kari Traa wool base layers, cold climate gloves and hats, and ski wax tools and accessories. In addition, camping gear like Rumpl blankets, Helinox chairs, and Big Agnes tents make excellent year-round gifts.

No matter the recipient, White Pine employees are ready to assist in finding the perfect gift. “Just remember, if you’re stumped on what to gift your outdoor enthusiast, we’re happy to help you out. All of us at White Pine play in the snow in some shape or fashion, so we speak from experience and can guide you to finding the right gift,” Meacham says.

In addition to gifts, White Pine is ready to help outfit customers with a state of the art backcountry ski sets. “We’re very excited about our new backcountry ski rental fleet this year,” Meacham says. “Once everything arrives, we’ll have almost every ski that we sell set up with demo Dynafit Rotation bindings so our customers can test out a ski before buying it. Even if you’re not in the market for a new backcountry setup, we’ll have a great variety of skis to choose from if you want to bring your out-of-town friends on a ski tour.” (Ski rentals open up on December 15)

If exploring wintery terrain, finding fresh ways to spend time outside, or picking up a perfect gift for a recreationalist is on the holiday docket, head to White Pine for diverse choices and top-quality assistance.