Replying to Flying on a plane with ski gear.

Hey guys so I'm heading out to Utah to look at the university of Utah and ski at Snowbird. I'm flying out with Delta airlines and it's called a hidden city flight where I fly out of Nj and it stops at Utah and ends in Washington, but I'm getting off at Park City so I can't check any bags because it would end up in Washington. I want to bring my boots and I'm allowed to bring one bag and another personal item. I was just wondering how I can pack my boots as a carry on or if I would be able to just put the booster straps together and throw em' over my shoulder. Just wondering what you guys do.