AVON — In Colorado, there are plenty of good reasons to go into the ski building business.
Product testing comes to mind. Then there’s the freedom of being your own boss at an independent operation. And with more than 12 million browsers visiting your home state every ski season, the market isn’t half bad, either.
But for Avon-based Liberty Skis founders Dan Chalfant and James Satloff, the inspiration to get in the game five years ago essentially came down to a simple question: Do you want to be part of the problem or part of the solution?
“We always believed there was a need for a performance-oriented freeride ski, and we just happen to think that a twin tip is a better tool for a wider variety of conditions,” Liberty president and CEO Chalfant said from his office overlooking Beaver Creek. “We’re based in the heart of the Rockies, the core of skiing in the U.S., so we have a good idea of the tools people need to enjoy it.”
Idea and application aren’t necessarily kindred spirits, however, particularly in a European-dominated industry these impassioned pioneers were attempting to crack with little more than desire and about $27,000 in seed money earned the old-fashioned way — on a hot streak at the craps table during the SnowSports Industries America trade show in Las Vegas.
Chalfant, a former ski coach and fly-fishing guide with a skiing retail background, already had a notion as to where the applications of good ideas had gone awry among industry giants. Trendsetting designs like the noodly Salomon 1080 and later the Pocket Rocket, he says, “basically took a mediocre ski and turned up the tails.” Liberty wanted no part of that design philosophy.
Unfortunately, the small startup would have to live through its own problem phase before reaching the solution portion of its corporate tenet. With only enough money to experiment on a small run of skis at another manufacturer’s factory, nearly every pair of their first 200 skis broke.
Liberty went back to the drawing board and eventually hit its stride three years into the endeavor when the company found a dedicated manufacturer capable of applying its ideas. Chalfant’s fly-fishing background led to a successful experiment with bamboo to add spring to the ski’s core. He sought out premium materials for every piece of the planks, from Swiss P-tex bases to German- built edges with extra-wide metal anchors to bombproof the boards from rocks and rails — all of it backed up by the industry’s only three-year warranty.
The end result was last winter’s surprise ski of the season: the Liberty Helix. The big mountain freeride skis have earned accolades throughout the industry as versatile, easy-riding twin tips that ski a wide variety of terrain and conditions well, especially in the West.
“Getting our own production facility was big for us,” said Chris Sears, who joined the team as chief operating officer two years ago. “We’re not a marketing company with a cool graphic we put on someone else’s skis. We design everything from the ground up.”
The Helix is just one of five twin-tip models Liberty now offers in 14 sizes, all shaped by Chalfant and a small team of pros. With a wide 121mm waist, the new Double Helix is turning the heads of deep powder lovers this season. Canadian park skiing pioneer Phil Larose endorses Liberty’s signature jib model.
With a good year, the company could press 5,000 pairs of skis for next season, qualifying Liberty among the top three independent ski manufacturers in the States. But unlike some pricier boutique ski companies, Liberty builds skis customized to the conditions, not specifically to the consumer. For all the attention to detail, the strategy still allows the company to come in at a competitive price point of about $700 for the Helix.
“We make skis for big Western mountains that are versatile enough to go from open powder bowls to tight trees to groomers and even the terrain park,” Chalfant said. “The Helix does a lot of things well. It skis Vail and Beaver Creek, and it does pretty good in Jackson too.”
To buy Liberty skis: For a list of dealers, go to .
Scott Willoughby: 303-954-1993 or swilloughby@denverpost.com
