Snow industry pleased as powder it's Denver's turn

By Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 25, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Photo by Javier Manzano / The Rocky

Members of Icelantic AT Board, which designs and manufactures skis with heavy graphics, will attend the Las Vegas show starting Tuesday.

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The handful of employees at an upstart maker of super-wide skis have been busy packing their wares for an annual 750-mile schlep from Denver to Las Vegas, longtime host to their industry's annual blowout.

Two winters from now, Icelantic AT Board's staff won't have to drive nearly as far to mingle with the 20,000 attendees of the Snowsports Industries America group's trade show. The company's home base in the Santa Fe Arts District is less than two miles from the event's future site: the Colorado Convention Center.

"It always seems crazy to drive skis to the desert," said Sam Warren, one of the Icelantic founders who will be in Sin City next week for a convention that runs from Tuesday through Friday.

Others echoed that sentiment.

"It always seemed strange to me that the entire snow industry would choose to go out to the desert in the middle of winter instead of to a location where they could actually test products," said Lisa Branner of Venture Snowboards in Silverton.

After courting the huge trade show for years, Denver landed it late last year for a decade-long run starting in 2010. The deal represents the biggest convention booking in the city's history.

There are obvious benefits to a Denver location for the roughly 40 SIA show exhibitors who hail from Colorado.

"For anybody located here, it's going to be terrific because we don't have to pay the travel costs," said Jim Spring, president of Boulder-based Leisure Trends Group, an outdoor recreation consultancy that sets up a booth at the Las Vegas show.

Spyder, which employs about 130 in Boulder, said the Denver location will allow it to bring far more of its staff to at least part of the show during a busy time of year.

"It also makes a whole lot of sense to bring a snowsports show to the heart of the mountains," said Laura Wisner, marketing manager at Spyder, a 30-year-old skiwear manufacturer.

But even gear makers on opposite ends of the country back the trade group's decision to lock in Denver for 10 straight years. It has one of the things Sin City lacks: dozens of nearby ski areas with plentiful snow.

"I am glad to see it," said Steve Lee, vice president of sales at Hot Chillys, an apparel maker in San Luis Obispo, Calif. "I think it will be good to be in an area where the possibility for an 'on snow' event pre- or post-show is possible."

Added Tom Brady, marketing director of a Park City, Utah-based exhibitor called Skullcandy: "It's a chance to ride some Rockies' pow(der)."

At least one exhibitor sees a chance to persuade the retail buyers who come to the show to test its gear right outside the Denver convention center's door.

"As long as there's 6 to 8 inches of snow, you can strap them on and go," said Kathy Murphy, general manager of Tubbs Snowshoes in Stowe, Vt. "There's not a better message for snowshoeing. It's an accessible sport."

kelleyj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5068

Blowout?s run in Vegas down to last two years

Denver won its bid to bring the ski industry's biggest domestic trade show to the city for a 10-year run starting in 2010, a deal worth about $300 million to the metro area.

In the meantime, the Snowsports Industries America event will be held in Las Vegas, host of the gathering for the past 37 years.

The 2008 convention starts Tuesday and runs through Friday.

About 20,000 attend the huge gathering, with about 1,000 brands represented.

Among the roughly 40 exhibitors from Colorado: Spyder, Venture Snowboards, Icelantic AT Boards, Rocky Mountain Sunscreen, Backcountry Access, SKEA, SmartWool, National Ski Patrol, Fuse Snow Skate and Optic Nerve.

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