Outdoor Retailer Winter Market Update — Martinis and Sushi

SNEWS will be running regular Outdoor Retailer Winter Market updates through late January. We are doing this as a service to the industry to assist retailers, reps and exhibitors with trade show attendance and planning.

Remember, children are now welcome at OR trade shows.
Outdoor Retailer has announced that the show will continue its new policy of allowing kids on the show floor. (OR first tested the idea at the 2003 Summer Market show, and declared it a success.) There are guidelines that must be followed, however. All children must be officially registered at check-in, and must be accompanied by the parent whenever present on the show floor. OR asks that everyone use their best judgment when bringing children to the show, in order for this new policy to continue and work effectively for all.

Backcountry Base Camp Looks To Be A Must-Attend Event!
Wow! We’re getting previews of the BCBC, and we’re getting excited for the day ourselves. Mark your calendar for January 29 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Getting to the base of Brighton’s Mount Millicent:
  7:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. — Shuttle buses will pick up attendees at Salt Lake City hotels and stop at the Salt Palace for Backcountry Base Camp check-in and registration Shuttles will pick up from hotels every 20-30 minutes.
  8 a.m.-1 p.m. — Shuttle buses depart from Salt Palace to Brighton every hour on the hour.
• Once there: OR’s Backcountry Base Camp visitors will be using the Millicent Lift for the entire day. The following events have already been scheduled as ongoing activities:
  
  MSR Backcountry Kitchen
  Just off the Millicent Lift, MSR will be cooking up the best in backcountry cuisine and demonstrating the latest and greatest in backcountry cooking techniques.

Everest Base Camp – sponsored by GoLite
Stop by Everest Base Camp, located by BBC registration, for hot chocolate with Peppermint Schnapps and Sherpa Tea.

Beacon Basin – sponsored by Backcountry Access
Learn the basics of beacon use and avalanche awareness with the team from Backcountry Access.

Ortovox Transceiver Test Range
Sharpen your beacon skills, test new avalanche tools and ask the on-hand experts questions about search techniques.

Solitude Nordic Center – sponsored by Salomon
Just a short walk over to Solitude and BBC attendees can kick, glide and skate on the latest Nordic equipment from Salomon.

Snow Shoe Testing Area and Tours- sponsored by MSR, Tubbs, Atlas and Princeton Tec
Take a pair of snowshoes on a test run. Pick from a short tromp in the nearby forest or a longer trek to nearby Silver Lake. 

Do you have a trade show event you think is worth noting?
If you have a trade show event that’s scheduled, confirmed, and more than just an introduction of a new product (as in, entertaining and educational), fire an email to the SNEWS team at orevents@snewsnet.com.

The SNEWS® team is continually weeding through all the press release fluff and mounds of show announcements to bring you only events we believe are really worth the time. To that end, mark your calendars for the following:

• Freeskiing Champion and accomplished adventurer Alison Gannett will be screening her film Betties in Bhutan and hanging around to sign posters and (we love this) give hula-hoop lessons at the Fox River booth 2019, on Saturday, January 31st from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m.
• No way can you beat martinis AND sushi in tandem, and Canada Goose will be serving up both on Saturday, January 31, from 3:30 p.m. until they run out of the goods. Where? Well, while we were tempted to keep the booth number to ourselves, we’re willing to share as long as you promise not to eat all the sushi — booth 2505.
• Be sure to attend the Conservation Alliance Membership Meeting from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Saturday, January 31, in the Marriott, Salon D. As always, the speaker is a special treat, and this year is no exception. Brock Evans, one of the most accomplished leaders and successful lobbyists of the environmental movement will deliver a timely talk about “Politics, The Environment and the Outdoor Industry”.
• We’ve heard the folks in Iceland know how to throw a party, so that’s reason enough for us to recommend that you head to the 66ºNorth Launch Party, co-sponsored by IcelandNaturally.com, on Saturday, January 31, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. (Heck, the sushi and martinis will be long gone at Canada Goose, so this will be the perfect way to wrap up the show.) Where? Booth 641. Oh, as an added bonus, they’re giving away a free trip to Iceland.
• Yeah, we know, another party on Saturday afternoon, but this is for a good cause. Clear the Air, a coalition working to clean up the polluted air in our national parks and wilderness areas, is sponsoring a clean air happy hour on Saturday, January 31, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Stop by booth 5110 for drinks and a chance to win a digital camera —with good planning, you should be able to go from sushi and martinis to beer and a good cause to Icelandic frolicking. Outstanding!
• The North Face and Teton Gravity Research are holding what they’ve dubbed a “Jump into the High Life” party on Friday, January 30, beginning at 9 p.m. at the Port O’ Call. Agua Dulce, a seven-piece Latin funk band will fire up the voices and instruments at 10 p.m. Invitations will be available at The North Face booth at the show, or you can download your invitation directly from TNF’s website beginning on January 15—www.thenorthface.com.
• We’ve already attended one Mountain Hardwear 10-year anniversary celebration party and it was a hoot—doubtless this will be equally entertaining. If you can remember the Chill Factor Jacket and the cardboard booth in the early years, heading to the Port ‘O Call at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 31, is a must. Music provided by the band Insatiable.
• Beginning at 5 p.m. on Saturday, January 31, join Ed Viesturs, Carlos Buhler and the Outdoor Research gang for a celebration and some fine ale. And, if becoming a field tester for OR is in your dreams, they’d love to talk to you about that too at Booth 1327.
• Thank goodness—an event on Sunday evening. Let’s face it. It’s hard being on your feet for hours at the Outdoor Retailer trade show. What’s needed at the end of the day is a chance to relax and nosh on delectable appetizers, sip a glass of wine (or beer) and share good conversation. The Outdoor Industry Women’s Coalition (OIWC) is holding its annual Winter Gathering on Sunday, February 1, from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in Abravanel Hall, adjacent to the Convention Center in Salt Lake City. Women or men are extremely welcome, and new this year, for those who are having too much fun and can’t tear themselves away, there’s a buffet dinner available at 8 p.m. for a cost of $10.
• It’s not free, but we’d have to say it is well worth the investment of time and money to purchase a copy of the book “Himalayan Quest: Ed Viesturs on the 8,000–Meter Giants.” You can buy the book at the Leki booth (2801) on Saturday, January 31, from 1-2p.m. and Sunday, February 1, from 1-2p.m. Book purchasers will be entered into a raffle to win the signed life sized cut-out of the explorer on the summit of Makalu—the perfect conversation piece in the store or, if you’re lonely, at home (but please don’t tell anyone). Prices for the signed books are $32 hardcover and $20 soft cover.