LAS VEGAS — Wandering the exhibition floor at the annual snow sports industry trade show is a little like skiing a mountain for the first time. One trail leads to the next; around every bend is a new discovery; and six hours later, you’re exhausted from taking it all in. Then you wake up the next day and do it all over again.
More trends than you could shake a ski pole at were on the floor of the SnowSports Industries America’s show at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center last week: fat alpine skis, built-for-women cross country skis, snow bikes, gear touted for its “green” materials and manufacturing processes, all of it in electrifying colors and emblazoned with vibrant graphics.
Retail buyers shopping for next winter had more than 800 brands of equipment, apparel and accessories to choose from, shown by 445 exhibitors.
The big brand names greeted buyers in brightly lit showrooms; the independents and those just breaking into the business or serving niche markets had modest spaces. Loud music ruled, and entertainers such as Snoop Dogg made appearances at booths appealing to the young market, while pro athletes posed for photos and signed autographs at their sponsors’ exhibits.
Twin-tip skis and fat skis (with “waist” measurements of 80-95 millimeters) continue to be a bright spot in the industry, even as the entire alpine category showed a 17 percent drop in sales over last year in the August-to-December selling period, according to the trade group’s research released last week. Sales of snowboards, boots and bindings were down 5 percent.
Equipment makers are constantly tweaking designs to provide power and stability on mountain conditions that vary from powder to hard- packed snow. This year, the buzz was still all about rockered and reverse-camber designs that let skiers “float” above the snow.
Fischer is among the companies catering to women with cross country designs that take into consideration their skiing styles and body types.
Women need skis that are light but stable to get both the grip and glide needed for Nordic tracks and ungroomed conditions, Fischer vice president Peter Ashley said. “Their skis have to be different both cosmetically and in construction.”
A blizzard of green
The whole industry is getting greener, with manufacturers including Boone and Salomon highlighting their bamboo-core skis, and Ellis selling its basalt-fiber-core Eecco snowboard.
Boot makers are getting into the act, too, using plant-based oil plastics in their designs. Atomic’s new boot design has a bamboo lining, cork footbed and cotton power strap. Natural colors are used to eliminate the need for dyes.
The same companies often are committed to greening their manufacturing processes. Tubbs, for example, has a “zero-scrap” manufacturing process in which waste is reground and reused.
Jeff Ehring, general merchandise manager for Denver- based Specialty Sports Ventures, which has 140 stores, said he’d be reviewing green products at the show. “If it’s something our customers would be interested in, we want to look at it.”
For people who want a new way to get around on the snow, snow bikes could be the thing. “It rides like a bike, but edges like a ski. I really think it’s going to transform resorts,” said Phil Broadbent, president of Geary Snow Bikes.
Geary’s 2009 Storm model drew a lot of attention during the show. A blend of a mountain bike, a BMX bike and a snowboard, the design sells for $1,295 and comes in adult and junior sizes.
Mike Love, a mountain bike racer, uses the snow bike for cross-training during the winter and said it isn’t hard to learn to ride.
While the economy might be having an effect on how much money people spend on new gear and what they buy, they aren’t going to give up their passion for snow play. Skier and rider visits to the Rocky Mountain region increased by 2.2 million between the 2000-01 and 2007- 08 seasons, according to SIA’s data.
“I don’t see people not skiing,” said Ken Gart, president of Specialty Sports. “They’re just looking for value and more affordable ways to do it.”
Suzanne S. Brown: 303-954-1697 or sbrown@denverpost.com
Who’s on snow
Here are the numbers for snow-sports participants from 2007 and how gender breaks out:
Alpine: 5.49 million, 60 percent male, 40 percent female
Snowboarding: 5.06 million, 74 percent male, 26 percent female
Cross country: 1.66 million, 53 percent male, 47 percent female
Source: National Sporting Goods Association
