Kathryn Penn loads a pair of skis into a Sports Express United Parcel Service shipping box at the Aspen, Colo., airport March 16, 2000. Sports Express ships skis and golf clubs for travelers directly to their hotel, golf course or ski resort.
Skiers try to maneuver through the terminal with awkward bags.
Sports gear can turn airports into obstacle courses and strain muscles before weekend athletes ever reach the slopes or the fairways. Entrepreneurs such as Doc McDonald and Bill Cippola hope to capitalize on this frustration by helping people willing to spend a bit more to ship their equipment ahead so it will be waiting for them when they arrive at the mountain or on the course. While express freight behemoths such as United Parcel Service and FedEx Corp. consider leisure travel deliveries a niche market, tiny upstarts such as McDonald's Sports Express and Cippola's Virtual Bellhop are staking their livelihoods on it. And it's not just ski equipment. While plenty of skiers still carry their stuff, and many more rent equipment when they arrive, a growing number are deciding to ship early.