2015 On Snow Demo/Ski-Ride Fest – Daily Dose 3 from SnowSports Industries America on Vimeo.
At this week’s 2-day On-Snow Demo/Ski-Ride Fest & Nordic Demo (Feb. 2-3) at Copper Mountain nearly 140 brands were on hand showing off next year’s models of skis, snowboards, boots, poles, helmets and accessories for buyers and media to compare side-by-side on the snow. Hitting the mountains and trails is the perfect follow-up to last week’s 2015 SIA Snow Show and Sourcing Snow (Jan. 29 – Feb. 1) at Denver’s Colorado Convention Center.
The industry was rewarded with fresh snow both mornings and bluebird skies in the afternoons, bringing good vibes and big smiles all around.
“It’s been amazing. All of us girls, we just got together and had a champagne toast for Nikita. Now we’re all out riding, and having such a great time. It’s really exciting to be one of the only women-specific snowboard brands here today. Just being here, joining in the spirit of everything, it’s great. For us to all be able to ride together, with our reps from all over the country, our global team, and Heida, our founder who’s here from Iceland, it’s super special.” – Kristen Archdeacon, National Sales Manager and Vicki Vasil, Brand Manager, Nikita.
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“It’s been great. Fresh snow in the morning and now we have bluebird skies so everyone’s happy. We think the Demo is a great representation of our brand. We feel like it’s so important for us to be here, to talk to all our retailers, and for them to be able to see us face to face, and for us to hear what they have to say.” – Joey Herman, Demo Manager, Never Summer
“It’s really fun for us to get out on the mountain to try some new product. It’s been going great for us today, we’ve demoed a lot of boards and it helps us so much to test them out in person after seeing them at the Show. We’re having an awesome time,” said Christopher Lee, buyer, Empire Sports, Montreal Canada.
The On-Snow Demo is held in-conjunction with the Western Winter Sports Representatives Association (WWSRA) Rocky Mountain Demo and in partnership with the Cross Country Ski Areas Association (CCSAA) for the Nordic Demo. A complete list of On-Snow Demo alpine, snowboard and Nordic exhibitors is available here.
The Nordic Demo, located in Copper’s East Village, featured the latest in skate skiing, classic cross country, touring and snowshoeing. The Demo’s custom built 5K Nordic trail system incorporated short test loops and varied terrain – perfect for testing, product comparisons or just enjoying the view. Nordic Demo exhibitors include Atomic, Fischer, Madshus, One Way, Rossignol, Salomon, Start, and SWIX.
“This is our second season and we came as a team so we can bounce ideas and discuss what we have seen. To have the ability to have firsthand knowledge of the product gives us great confidence in the selling. That is how we get repeat customers,” said Patrick Coffey, White Pine Touring, Park City, UT.
The Demo’s annual Uphill/Downhill Challenge once again gathered “the weak, strong and the thirsty” to help raise funds for The American Institute of Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE). Teams competed against their own best times and COSMIC levels.
In the COSMIC level, First Place Men’s was Marshall Thompson and Women’s was Sari Anderson. For the Industry level, First Place Women’s was Annelise Loevlie and Men’s was Mike Genaver. First place in the Team level was Dynafit’s “Colorado Edibles,” Second place went to La Sportiva’s “Uno,” and Third went to Team Mowhawk.
“Race was fantastic! Brutal climb in the beginning – the descent through the trees was heinous – so awesome though! Overall, super fun and so glad to be here again.” – Marshall Thompson, US Ski Mountaineering Team.
“I took it more like a ski tour, not a race – I enjoyed it a lot!” – Kimberly Plake, Elan
This year’s Demo also played host to its first Rhythm Rally, a banked slalom race to benefit Adaptive Action Sports (AAS) winter programs. Teams of five riders (including one female rider) put together a cumulative time for the title of Rally Champs.
1st place team winner was Surf N Turf which included Cameron Hunter, Silas Morgan, Mike McKellar, Cody Warble, Terri Mayrer, 2nd place went to Team Weekly News and 3rd place was Team Hard Boot. Men’s Adaptive results; 1st place Zachary Miller, 2nd Jay Gaines and 3rd Dustin Fleming. Women’s Adaptive 1st Brenna Huckaby, 2nd Amy Purdy and 3rd Meghan Harmon. Men’s Able Body; 1st Lucas Dehmlow, 2nd Alex Pashley, 3rd Christian Deoliveira. Women’s Able Body; 1st Adi Smith, 2nd Teri Mayrer, 3rd Courtney Newberg.
“The event was very successful the course was fast and fun some people even re-registered just to run it again. The after party was packed and the silent auction and raffle was smooth and successful!” said Mallory Gemlo, AAS Events/Programs Assistant Coordinator.
Adaptive Action Sports, based in Copper Mountain was co-founded by U.S. Paralympic snowboarder Amy Purdy in 2005, also SIA’s keynote speaker at the Snow Show’s INDUSTRY + INTELLIGENCE gathering before the Snow Show.
For more information on 2015 SIA Snow Show go to: SIAsnowshow.com. For 24/7 updates on all things 2015 Snow Show, check SIA’s Latest and follow SIA on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. We’ll be sending highlights before and during the Show to keep you in the know. Use #SIA15, #SIA15intel and #SIA15demo to join the conversation.
