When Luke Lubchenco and I started our drive Thursday at about four thirty in the afternoon, we didn’t’ know what to expect. We knew we were going to a big winter trade show that was going to have a lot of companies. When we pulled up to the owner of Chums eyeglass retainers house just south of Salt Lake City, we realized that this trip was going to be a whole not more than just checking out the new gear that industries have to offer. The Chums house was going to be our place to sleep as well as a place for many other ski bums and reps from other companies. As I called the owner of Chums to get the final direction he told us to, “take a left and look for the guy peeing in the front yard – that’s me.” A little taken back, I figured it had been a late night for him and his buddies, so I didn’t think much of it. So, after a long talk and helping tuck some of the boys into bed, we called it a night and were left only anxious about what the next couple days had in store.

 

Eight thirty came around and it was time to hop in the car and get to the trade show. Parking under the convention center we took the elevator up to the show and as the doors slid apart Luke and I were both taken back by the true mass of the trade show. People scurrying back and fourth everywhere, banners, signs and company logo’s went on forever, and then noise was over whelming. Alright – game on, let’s get going. We grabbed our credentials and headed into the heart of the beast. Smith Sport Optics on our left, K2 on are right, Dynafit straight ahead and BCA straight behind us, we were immersed in the companies and had no clue what to do. After Shannon and Jimmy (the founders of Skiing the Backcountry) met up with us – we got our direction and all four of us headed out to see all the new toys.

Stickers, Chap Stick, and playing with new products were all big factors of what made up the first days, but then something that I did not expect happened. 3:30 came around and people started running, and cheering.

I looked to my left, then right, and saw it. Out from the booths came beer and lots of it – free beer! We obviously this made the day better but decreased the days productivity by a whole lot. Before I knew it… Luke was driving me back to the house, and our first true day at the trade show was in the books!

 

Day two came around and it was all about meetings. Going from Garmin GPS company to La Sportiva to Black Diamond, to Dynafit, to BCA, to North Face… it all blended into people just talking talking talking – Quite the learning experience. Then we got our final task. Play with all the airbags at the show. From BCA to Snowpulse and everything in between, Luke and I set them all off and got to pick the company’s brains about why they thought theirs was the best. This was a great experience to have a goal and go out and really produce information for the viewer. Again the cheers came around at 3:30 and the day productivity fell apart and the night’s party began.