i dont know how much you are paying and how often you ski, but i good friend of mine is very advanced and he always hires as he hates carrying skis
however, rather than get the usual hire dirge, he goes in when its quiet on day 1, chats to the owner of a decent shop about snow conditins, off piste stuff, fresh trax skiing, and then says "got any decent skis I can take" - pretty much never fails
sorry cant help with the oriignal question
