Crashing the Snow Show

Location: Denver, Colorado

January 31, 2010

Adventure #5

Hey, my name is Lutz. Sure, I'd like to hear about your new line. And yeah, the powder's killer this week; I got fresh tracks yesterday ...

All of these previous statements are lies. My name is not Lutz, and I am not a German ski rep. I don't want to hear about the newest skiing/snowboarding equipment, and my feet have not been locked in snow boots for more than two years. This is merely the conversation I imagined unfolding if someone mistook the name from my Colorado Convention Center access pass as my real identity.

While I am no snow bunny, what I do like to do is support my sister and brother-in-law, and they were in Denver for the SIA Snow Show - the snow sports industry's largest trade show where more than 1,000 brands showcase their goods. My bro works for one of these companies, so he was there strutting his proverbial stuff (the product line), while my sister accompanied him to literally strut her stuff as she modeled the company's clothing line to potential buyers. Since I was in Denver for one of the days of the show, I couldn't miss the opportunity to see my family and to potentially heckle my Heidi-Klum sister.

The show is not open to the public, but I was smuggled an unclaimed pass, reserved for a man name Lutz. My partners in the convention-crashing crime also had ill-fitting names, but luckily, the inattentive security guards were no critics. The show itself was overwhelming - booth after booth of the anticipated skis, snowboards and equipment in every color and pattern imaginable, along with less obvious products, like sleds, sunscreen and beauty products. I didn't even know where to start examining the stuff, so I usually just peered into booths from a distance.  Fortunately, no one stopped me to give me a pitch, so I didn't have to use my lame talking points. I guess I don't have the look of a ski expert.

What I enjoyed most was crossing the invisible, yet very obvious line of demarcation between the skiers (placed at the front of the convention hall) and the snowboarders (relegated to the back of the hall). You know you're getting close to the snowboard area when you begin to feel/hear the bass blasting from stereos and see the booths become more unkempt, flyers spilling into the aisles or unwatched booths altogether. Perhaps it was because we were at the show in its final hours, but the snowboarding side did feel like the party side - reps were cracking open beers, the music's volume was growing and no one looked interested in showing me a thing.  Maybe there is a future for me as a snowboarder after all.