It’s not that we weren’t excited to attend the Outdoor Retailer Winter Show in Salt Lake City last week. But before spending a few days on the conference floor hob-nobbing with industry folks, we thought it seemed important to… you know… get outdoors.
So we hit up nearby Solitude Mountain, where dozens of outdoor brands allowed conference-goers to test their wares in true winter conditions. It had been a very snowy week, so there were fresh tracks to be had all over the mountain.
The Demo had a backcountry theme, so several snowshoe vendors were there to pitch their perspectives on the sport. Mainstays like MSR were there of course (they demoed the Ascent and Evo models), but we also got to see several lesser-known brands. Yukon Charlie’s Airlift Emergency Inflatable Snowshoes, for example, were “floating” around all over the place.