2013 On-Snow Demo/Ski-Ride Fest Recap

Clear Skies, Great Snow and Industry Friends Come Together
for SIA’s On-Snow Demo/Ski-Ride Fest

More than 3,000 retailers, reps, brands and media took to the snow under bluebird skies during the SIA On-Snow Demo/Ski-Ride Fest, February 4–5, to test Nordic, alpine, AT/backcountry and snowboarding gear from more than 130 snow sports brands. While the industry was hard at work during the 2013 SIA Snow Show (Jan. 31–Feb. 3), a foot of snow fell in the mountains, making conditions ideal for the two-day On-Snow Demo at Winter Park Resort and one-day Nordic Demo at nearby Devil’s Thumb Ranch.

“Getting on skis and sharing lift rides with the industry is the best possible way for me to wrap up the Snow Show,” said David Ingemie, SIA president. “We have had perfect weather conditions the past two days and a great industry turn-out to enjoy it all. I couldn’t ask for more.”

Check out Demo highlights at: http://vimeo.com/59033852

The On-Snow Demo was hosted in conjunction with the Western Winter Sports Reps Association’s (WWSRA) Rocky Mountain Demo and the Nordic Demo was held in partnership with the Cross Country Ski Areas Association (CCSAA) at Winter Park Resort.
“This demo is so valuable since there is no other opportunity to test equipment side by side like this,” said Joshua Stephen of Outdoor Gear Exchange in Burlington, Vt.
“It’s great to be here with everybody trying everything out on the hill,” said Transworld Business’ Mike Lewis. “It’s awesome.”
Fischer participated at both the Winter Park demo and Nordic at Devil’s Thumb Ranch. “This is a great opportunity for us to connect with our retailers outside, not under fluorescent lights,” said Matt Berkowitz of Fischer. Over at the Nordic Demo, Fischer’s Peter Ashley said, “The traffic has been nice and steady with very little downtime – perfect. All the right people are here.”

Attendees took in the mellow feeling of the Demo coming off an energy-packed four days at the SIA Snow Show. “The vibe here is so much more relaxed,” said Jason Lybeck of Faction Board Shop in Alexandria, Minn. “It’s a lot easier to get together with people after hours. On top of all that, you are out on the mountain riding!”

“It’s always nice when there’s a little bit of fresh snow and people are out having fun,” said Brad Gobdel, Rockies sales manager for Rome Snowboards. “We’re always having fun – we had a whole crew in Hawaiian shirts yesterday.”

After a day of hitting the trails and slopes, hundreds of attendees took the gondola to party at the Shindig at the Summit at Winter Park’s mountaintop Sunspot Lodge. While everyone was enjoying food and drinks, SIA’s own Board Member Billy Treacy of Easton Bell Sports performed live with his band the Willbillys along with cameos from SIA Board Member Dan Sullivan of Rome Snowboards on the harmonica and SIA’s own Tom Davis on the guitar.

“We had a huge crowd – way more people than expected,” Billy Treacy said. “We had good support from the crowd and it was super fun for me to be able to play in front of my SIA peers.”

The annual Uphill/Down Challenge at Winter Park sponsored by Scarpa had dozens of finishers, covered 1,700+ vertical feet and raised more than $1,100 for the US Ski Mountaineering
Association (USSMA). The COSMIC male was Marshall Thompson, who finished two laps in 49:00, and the COSMIC female was Eva Hagan, who finished two laps in 1:00:43. The Industry male and female winners, Mike Hagen and Ellen Miller, finished one lap in 38:08 and 47:21, respectively. Team Dynafit 1 took first (2:06) and Team Dynafit 2 took second (2:16). Third place went to Team Hagan (2:30) and fourth went to Team La Sportiva (2:37).

“It was better than ever – the international contingent was bigger, but it was much more inclusive than ever before,” said Scarpa CEO Kim Miller.

Member-owned, industry-inspired and dedicated exclusively to snow sports, the SIA Snow Show is the industry’s largest annual global gathering. It’s where the most influential and visionary brands connect with leading retailers, resorts and media to unveil innovations, exchange ideas and build solid relationships that shape the industry.

For more news and highlights from the Show and On-Snow Demo, read the 2013 SIA Snow Show Dailies, watch the Snow Show Daily Dose and check out the SIA Snow Show photo round up. Stay connected to SIA news year-round with the SIA Social Dashboard, with feeds from the SIA Facebook page, SIA’s Latest and @siasnowsports on Twitter. Use #SIA13 to join Twitter and Instagram dialogues with thousands of snow sports industry professionals sharing their experiences from 2013 SIA Snow Show and On-Snow Demo/Ski-Ride Fest.

– SIA –
SnowSports Industries America (SIA) is the national not-for-profit, North American member-owned, trade association representing suppliers and service providers of snow sports products with constituents in the retailer, rep and resort communities. Annually producing the SIA Snow Show, the largest snow sports industry trade show, on-snow demo and networking environment globally, SIA delivers invaluable data/research reports including the Snow Sports Market Intelligence Reports, SnowSports RetailTRAKTM and Executive Market Summary. SIA also produces the Supplier Show, Sourcing Snow, at the SIA Snow Show; learn more at siasnowshow.com/sourcing. SIA is dedicated to growing the industry through consumer initiatives and websites, snowlink.com and wintertrails.org, marketing resources, services and collaborative programs to increase participation and move product. Ford is the official partner of the 2013 SIA Snow Show. For more information, visit snowsports.org. SnowSports Industries America, 8377-B Greensboro Drive, McLean, VA 22102-3587 (Washington, DC Area). Phone: 703-556-9020, Fax: 703-821-8276, Email: SIAmail@snowsports.org.