The story of Ski Trucks begins in 1969, in the back of a ’56 Chevy pickup.
His second winter at Brigham Young University, Jeff White started selling refurbished skis out of the back of his old truck… and his little company, Ski Trucks, was born! From there, the business grew into a semi-trailer, then bounced between that and a brick-and-mortar building, until he could afford a permanent place.
“We still have customers who remember buying their first set of skis out of the back of that trailer,” says Zoe White, Jeff’s daughter-in-law.
Now, skiers and snowboarders alike call Ski Trucks a Salt Lake Valley staple for affordable winter gear.
“We're working on four generations,” Monte says. “Grandparents that were buying stuff when they were kids bring their grandkids in.”
In a way, Ski Trucks has always been a family business, especially for Jeff's youngest son, Monte. For the first twenty or so years of his life, he was part of the business along with his siblings. “My childhood was either working here or using the resources here to go play in the mountains.”
In his early 20s, Monte moved to Wyoming, met his wife Zoe, and lived there for 17 years doing oil field work. Without fail, every winter, they’d make the annual trek back to Ski Trucks to outfit their three kids in gear and go skiing and snowboarding.
In 2020, Jeff was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and passed away about three months later. Amid their grief, Monte and Zoe were left with the inexorable decision of liquidating the business and its assets, or giving up everything they’d created in Wyoming to take over the ski shop.
Monte recalls asking his father if he wanted Ski Trucks to run into the future. Jeff said, “That’s what I’ve always wanted.” Staying true to Jeff’s wish to have Ski Trucks continue after his passing, Monte and Zoe decided to move back to Utah and take over.
Between losing his father and the global pandemic, 2020 was a rough year for Monte and the business, both emotionally and economically. “It has been a struggle beyond anything I’ve ever had to experience,” Monte says.
So what keeps them going? For Monte, the answer to that question is easy—legacy and community. That’s the foundation upon which his father built Ski Trucks, and Monte wants to continue shaping the business on those values.
Central to Ski Truck’s legacy is a commitment to the customer, which Monte learned from his father. He says that although his father was a bit of a hoarder, it came from a place of resourcefulness. “He grew up in poverty. He learned how to value something for the value that it had, not what somebody assumed the value was. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure… that was his tagline.”
But Monte and Zoe have done it together, as a family, working alongside their children, extended family, and employees who become family. “At the end of the day, it’s worth it. It’s great having people that you love and care about around you all the time.”
Monte says that his father was old school. “He didn’t get technology,” Monte says. When he and Zoe took over, there wasn’t an inventory of the over 200,000 items in the shop. “He literally ran it out of his head... He just winged it the way he thought it needed to be done, which worked for him.”
But in this modern era, with industry standards and competition, technology is an important part of the playbook. Now, Monte and Zoe are working to improve Ski Trucks’ website, and are finally taking stock of inventory to sell gear online, all while maintaining Monte’s father’s legacy of care for the community and affordability.
“It’s expensive to live,” Monte says. “Regular people are being outpriced,” Zoe adds. “Resort tickets are expensive. Getting up there is expensive. Gear is expensive.” Ski Trucks aims to close that gap—at least for gear.
And it stems from a desire to help people have the best experience outdoors as possible. Monte says, “Regardless of what you’re doing out there or your experience level, there’s the perfect equipment here for you.” The Ski Trucks mindset is that winter sports shouldn’t be elitist, but available to everyone.
“Don't be afraid of having to get six brand new ski sets for your kids,” Zoe says. “We have all kinds of ways of trying to get people on the right gear for the right price.”
Part of this commitment to the community is an awareness of accessibility. Ski Trucks is a 25,000-square-foot building full of equipment ranging from boots to goggles to skis to snowboards. That much stuff in that much space can be overwhelming, especially during the peak season, when there are often over a hundred people in the shop at once.
Mindful of the overwhelm, Ski Trucks offers off-hour appointments to the elderly, those with sensory sensitivities, or others who’d prefer to shop in peace and quiet.
Monte says he simply thinks about how he’d like to be treated when going in to get outfitted for skis, and models the business after that.
“Everybody’s treated like family,” Monte says. “We firmly believe that if we offer a service and we offer the experience, the product’s going to sell itself.”
Customers feel that sense of care and community. Andrew Stott, a local father of five, has been outfitting his family at Ski Trucks for more than 15 years. Andrew recalls meeting Jeff White as a teenager, when he bought a pair of backcountry skis out of the back of Jeff’s truck. He’s kept coming back ever since.
Ski Trucks’ community focus extends beyond the in-store experience. The business still holds fast to its founder’s “one man’s trash, another man’s treasure” mindset. Monte and Zoe partner with local recycling companies to grab gear on its way to the dump. “If it’s on the way to the landfill, we’ll process it,” Monte says. Sometimes, they even repurpose skis into custom furniture.
Ski Trucks is even trying to create a nonprofit aspect of the business and develop a sliding price scale for families in need. They offer military discounts, work with the YMCA, and make donations to local organizations.
Andrew teaches adaptive skiing and snowboarding at the National Ability Center in Park City, where Monte’s generosity shows up on the mountain as well. “Monte donated five brand new snowboards to NAC last year for adaptive snowboard training, which was really, really needed,” Andrew says. “They are very genuine, very kind people. They take care of people.”
Experiences like Andrew’s are what Monte and Zoe do it for. “We’re never going to get rich,” he continues. “We knew that when we signed up. We’re always going to have used carpet and duct tape on the floors, because it ain’t about that. It’s about keeping the budget down and helping people have the best experience out there as possible.”
“That’s the legacy,” Zoe says. “The legacy is Ski Trucks.”
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Ski Trucks is located in South Salt Lake at 1260 W North Temple St, Salt Lake City. Their collection includes new and used equipment, ski bikes, ski blades, and more to help elevate your mountain experience.
Grandparents that were buying stuff when they were kids bring their grandkids in.
The Ski Trucks mindset is that winter sports shouldn’t be elitist, but available to everyone.
They are very genuine, very kind ... they take care of people.”