Skiers and snowboarders wear a very unique facial expression. It's the one of people paying through the nose for their sport while silently weeping inside.

But this year the Ski Club of Great Britain (SCGB) are trying to ease the collective pain of the winter sports community by launching an enormous second-hand kit sale, just as the lifts start opening.

The idea is simple: sell your used kit at this event and not on eBay. The result is budget clobber and gear. Which makes shelling out £200 on a week's lift pass slightly more bearable.

SCGB have teamed up with Natives.co.uk – the site for seasonaires – and Mad Dog Ski to host this mammoth ski jumble sale in London on 11 November.

Kate Whittaker from Mad Dog Ski said: "A lot of people don't want to fork out for kit if it's their first time or if they are feeling credit crunched."
Bear in mind though that a glass of on-slope mulled wine will still set you back at least seven million pounds so you may still feel slightly squeezed if not crunched entirely.

The event kicks off at 6.30pm at the Ski Club HQ - The White House, 57-63 Church Road, Wimbledon Village, London SW19 5SB with sellers paying a fee of £5, but buyers getting in for free.

• Tickets can be bought from the Mad Dog Ski website.