About Us

Our Story

The TRAPSKI story starts with Sal and his family of 5 heading from Connecticut to the mountains of the Northeast every weekend in the back of his truck was a mess - 5 boot bags, 5 duffel bags, 6 pairs of skis and poles, a Yeti cooler, case of water, bags of food, etc. It was disorganized to say the least but worse of all the 3 boys would throw the skis in and overtime major issues developed. Bent poles, bent brakes, broken brakes, marred edges, scratched/gouged skis and finally a lifted binding toe! Not good and unsafe, Sal searched for a product that could help.

He looked at all the rack companies from Thule to Yakima, Rhino Racks, KUAT and a few others. To his dismay, none of these companies or others made a product to solve the 3 things he sought after. Sal wanted to Organize, Protect and Store all the gear while in transit as well as when not in use.

Nothing existed so for 2 years Sal designed and handmade his own solutions. He immediately got Chris involved to help with the engineering and development until TRAPSKI was born and field tested back and forth to the family home mountain, Stratton, VT.

Finally, the product was patented in June 2022 and production began. There are now accessories in flight to make the rack a full system and an all-in-one design. There will be a hitch mount, wall mount and a wheel kits to roll a loaded rack around a garage!

Our Team

  • Sal DePino, Sales Guy

    Nearly 30 years in big corporate America leading national Sales and Marketing teams, Sal made the bold decision to pursue his lifelong love and passion for skiing and riding. Since a boy, he has shredded many mountains, from racing slalom on the local circuit, mogul bouncing, glade running to taking TUX by the horns; Sal is returning to the industry where he worked before his professional career. Sal did the resort life at two mountains, from lifts, food service, lots, ops, and his fondest job as a ski technician helping everyone get dialed in the way they like to ski or ride. Time to chase his dreams and help the team bring TRAPSKI to life!

  • Chris Wells, Ops Guy

    After completing five years and two deployments in the United States NAVY, Chris started his career at aerospace technology companies that manufacture jet engines for both military and commercial use. Chris’ nickname became “MacGyver” early on, he is known by friends and neighbors to fix just about anything you bring him. His passion for innovative process development and lean manufacturing, along with his drive for perfection, makes him worthy of the self-proclaimed status of master. Chris has a unique way of balancing the nerdy engineering stereotype with the happy go lucky party animal (old school of course). We enjoy having his manufacturing excellence in the TRAPSKI family.

  • Jon Stewart, Tech Guy

    From leading large scale site redesigns in the Chicago and New York Agency world for brands such as Intel, HP, SAP, the U.S Treasury, to Dove and some of the biggest health systems in the country, Jon brings over 14 years of experience in digital marketing, user experience and technology development.  Jon has also been on skis since he was 6 and has travelled the world looking for fresh lines ever since.  At TRAPSKI, Jon combines his roots in skiing and technology to help grow digital delivery of the product. 

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  • Sarah DePino, Number Cruncher

    Growing up in the Northeast, Sarah is no stranger to snow and the sports that thrive in the cold white conditions, in fact, she welcomes them!  She started skiing as a young teen and continues hitting slopes with Sal and their three children during the winter months.  You’ll usually catch them in VT, NH or ME.  No matter the season, she loves visiting the mountains whether for a nice hike or for local mountain festivals!   Sarah brings 20 years of accounting experience to the TRAPSKI team and even longer managing the CEO!!