The usual wintertime inversion traps air pollution over the Salt Lake Valley, completely covering downtown Salt Lake with a solid blanket of fog. If you talk to the locals they would start moaning about it and try to dampen your enthusiasm of being in the place with “the greatest snow on earth”. But you soon forget about this because a 30 minute-drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon will take you to the Solitude resort, right in the heart of the Wasatch Mountains. You leave the thick and gloomy layer of unbreathable air behind you and as the road winds up you start feeling the sun heat on your skin and an amazingly clear blue sky is suddenly above your head.
They couldn’t have picked up a better location to host the Outdoor Retailer Mountain Demo 2013. This fair warm-up is an easy and effective way to get people to try out the latest and most innovative products already on the market or just about to be launched. Directly at the foot of Solitude ski slopes, next to the main chair lift, the Demo booths are arranged into two main fenced-in areas. All the major brands that will later take part in the tradeshow have their booth at the Demo. Leki, Scott, La Sportiva, Dynafit, Scarpa, Tecnica, HH, Tubbs, Wolverine, Bollé, Native, Vasque, Volkl, G3, Goode, Atomic, Baseline, Salomon, Marker, Black Diamond, Jones are just some of the many labels featuring at the event. The atmosphere is vibrant and there’s a great turnout of people: journalists, athletes, photographers, businessmen, brand and marketing mangers, professional skiers and mountaineers. Everybody’s there to check out the new products cutting-edge technology and innovative design.
The Demo Day is probably the most fun event within the trade fair and surely a good chance for these well-established brands to get instant feedbacks from both loyal and future customers. It’s extremely easy to get the gear, but it’s definitely harder to make up one’s mind about which ones to pick out. All brands offer their wide range of top and newest articles, from boots, bindings and skis, to goggles, ski poles and backpacks.
Walking around the booths you are likely to bump into world famous freestyle athletes such as Eric Hjorleifson and Greg Hill, both sponsored by Dynafit and Arc’teryx; they are definitely the best people to stop and ask for some tips about what to borrow. Once you are fully equipped and comfortably wrapped up in your sophisticated clothing it’s time to get going and hit the slopes or give it a try with off-piste skiing.
La Sportiva and Dynafit new ski touring boots are people’s top choices and the feedbacks are extremely positive. While the European ski market keeps shrinking, the world of backcountry skiing, ski touring and ski mountaineering registers an impressive growth worldwide. People seek new exciting experiences and these challenging activities perfectly meet their needs.
Jim Lamancusa, Dynafit North America Director of Sales and Marketing, talks enthusiastically about the incredibly fast expansion of what was once considered a niche market and which is now “the future of winter sports”.
The main issue to be faced now is the fierce competition that grows at light speed. Not only want costumers the latest technology but also the coolest design and extreme comfort.
Carl Moriarty, Senior Design Manager at Arc’teryx, says that what is particularly difficult is to be creative and innovative without shifting the focus from high quality and durability, which are the concepts the brand was built on, to style and fashion. Nevertheless, new challenges are what the outdoor world is all about, for both consumers and brands, and the Demo Day seems to prove that they are doing a great job.
