The 62nd annual SIA Snow Show in Denver started with a bang this year as U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy opened the Show alongside Aspen Director of Sustainability Auden Schendler. In addition, we welcomed 956 brands, including 110 new and debuting exhibitors, and 18,000 industry members to the four day Snow Show this year, bringing energy and a community vibe to the Colorado Convention Center.
US EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and Aspen VP of Sustainability Auden Schendler
The Show commenced with Administrator McCarthy doing the honors of opening the 2016 SIA Snow Show. In partnership with Protect Our Winters (POW), SIA hosted invited guest Gina McCarthy who spoke to the impact that climate change imposes on the snow sport industry, noting the importance of immediate action from the global community.
“We have to keep building momentum. Your voice matters. Look at how many young people [the snow sports industry] can connect with at a moment’s notice,” said Administrator McCarthy. “People who are feeling through their own experience that the world is changing and they want to do something about it. You give them a platform for that – you give them a voice.”
Following the keynote, the Administrator walked the SIA Snow Show floor and met with industry leaders for a more in-depth roundtable discussion.
As the Show floor opened, excitement was high as the entire snow sports community gathered to view the latest innovations and trends for 2016/17. The Backcountry Experience exhibit was buzzing with the introduction of Project Avalanche, a new, focused messaging program about avalanche safety and awareness.
“Backcountry Experience is a great area to highlight products and to help share these tools we’ve developed with Project Avalanche. Having the opportunity to be a hub for this messaging and interaction with this community is invaluable,” said Tim Bennet, executive director at the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE).
New innovations and ideas were everywhere on the Show floor, including cutting edge snowboard design at Franco SnowShapes at CRAFT@SIA, self-heating gloves at Seirus Innovations, and “top secret” lens technology at VonZipper, to name a few.
The new I+I Live seminar space continues to provide insights and information throughout the Show, including sessions on Passion Driven Branding, Learning the New Digital Playbook and Creating Loyalty in an Un-Loyal World.
“The Passion Driven Branding seminar was very useful to me because it’s a perfect fit for our demographic and really spoke to our business,” said Gretchen Morgan, content editor at Gorsuch. “The Show is great – it’s so good to get out and network and be a part of the greater snow sports community.”
Closing out the day was the Outdoor Industries Women’s Coalition (OIWC) happy hour, where the anticipation builds for Saturday’s OIWC Bacon & Bloodies award ceremony. SIA’s own Kelly Davis, Director of Research, will be honored with OIWC’s Pioneering Woman award. The award ceremony and keynote inspiration by Mark Satkiewicz, president and GM of SmartWool, will be at 7:00 am on Saturday.
Stay tuned to Snow Source for more details, updates, photos and recaps of the 2016 Snow Show in the days to come! Meantime, check out the social feed from the Show by searching #SIA16.