Photo by Colin Bane

Venture Snowboards onwers Lisa and Klemens Branner at Winter Park during SIA Snow Show's On-Snow Demo Days

​Now that the SIA Snow Show is officially over, after two days of on-snow demos at Winter Park following the trade show at the Colorado Convention Center, it's hard to imagine the snow sports industry ever got away with having this thing in Las Vegas.

Anovia Daniels, spokeswoman for SnowSports Industries America, says numbers were up across the board at this year's show and that one of the biggest areas of growth was in the on-snow demos: That's a win for Winter Park and for the city of Denver, which just wrapped the second year of its 11-year contract with SIA. Governor John Hickenlooper and other city officials have said they're hoping to see that contract (the single biggest convention contract in state history) extended far beyond the year 2021.

"We've been swamped both days," said Daniels, despite below-zero temperatures on the mountain. "I haven't even had a chance to get a run in yet, it's been so crazy."

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Photo by Sarah Austin

Never Summer Snowboards co-founder Tim Canaday shows off his 2011/2012 line at the SIA Snow Show

​We sifted through a mess of 893 snow sports brands representing at the SIA Snow Show to find the Colorado companies we love most, then asked them to show off their best boards for the 2011/2012 season. Click through for a fast-forward look at the boards locavores will be craving next season (listed by the companies' proximity to Denver), followed by three very cool pairs of skis.

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Photo by Britt Chester

A man who makes molehills of mountains.

​In a world where 14-year-old kids are throwing double-cork 1080s, the oft forgotten path of big mountain riding gets lost in the mix or, sometimes, completely overlooked. Jeremy Jones has been at the forefront of that revolution since the dawn of big mountain accessibility. He's dropped cliffs from Alaska to Chamonix and then did it again, just to make sure it was right. He recently finished and unveiled a new video, Deeper, which is all about going beyond limit and into a world that, until his arrival, had remain un-tracked and untouched. This weekend, Westword was able to get a few words in with him at his Jones Snowboards booth at SIA.

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​The 100-foot launch tower erected in Civic Center Park for the Denver Big Air competition will see its first official action today at 5 p.m. (doors open at 3:30 p.m.) for the Nature Valley Ski Big Air challenge, a Battle of the Brands format that will pit the ski teams from Icelantic, Line Skis, Head, Marker-Volkl, Armada, Rookie Team Rev Tour, Colorado All-Stars, Full Tilt Boots, K2, 4FRNT Skis, Nordica, Moment Skis, Technica Blizzard, Faction Skis and Scott against each other on the massive ramp, followed by an 8:30 p.m. Switchfoot concert.

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​We'll have some locals to root for when the Denver Big Air competition erects its 102-foot tall monument to skiing and snowboarding in Civic Center Park next month: In addition to the pro athletes invited to the Nature Valley Challenge Big Air Freestyle Ski event on January 25 and the LG FIS World Cup Snowboard Big Air contest on January 26, look for team skiers from Denver's own Icelantic Boards throwing down in the "Battle of the Brands" competition.

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​Earlier this month we joined Boardistan and others in bitching about the pre-sale prices for the Denver Big Air contests coming to Civic Center Park January 25-26. This week, the Metro Denver Sports Commission announced new lower prices: Tickets for the Nature Valley Challenge Big Air Freestyle Ski event on January 25 and the LG FIS World Cup Snowboard Big Air contest on January 26 are now $45 each (down from $75) or $80 for both events (down from $100). Now, see what a little mouthing off gets you?

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​The good news? Tickets are on sale this week for the Denver Big Air ski and snowboard competition in Civic Center Park, January 25-26, a two-day event sanctioned by the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association (USSA) and the International Ski Federation (FIS). The Denver Big Air contests will include the Nature Valley Challenge Big Air Freestyle Ski Event and the LG FIS World Cup Snowboard Big Air, and serve as the kickoff for the SnowSports Industries America (SIA) Snow Show returning to Denver that week. The bad news? Tickets for the snowboard contest start at $75 for general admission and cap out at $250 for the VIP package. As our friends at Boardistan point out: "Apparently, the altitude isn't the only thing that's high in Denver."

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Photo by Eric Peterson

A happy SIA attendee in full Yeti garb

​The first edition of the Denver Snow Show ended a month ago, but SnowSports Industries America (SIA) has just reported that the move from its longtime home of Las Vegas reversed an ongoing downward trend by setting a six-year high-water mark for attendance.  More >>

​In my mission to piece together head-to-toe snowboarding gear sourced from Colorado companies showing their wares at the SIA Snow Show, one stop was a no-brainer: Steamboat Springs-based Smartwool is my pick for socks, base layers, and mid-layers. The Merino wool in these products comes from New Zealand, mostly, so we're not exactly talking locavorism here, but a Colorado company is a Colorado company.

I left the Smartwool booth at SIA with one pair of swag socks from the PhD Snowboard Sock "Park Artist" line, featuring a graffiti-inspired design by Denver artist Debbie Clapper. The socks will run you $26.95 in the real world, but I think it's a justifiable expense: 71 percent Merino wool with extra wool in the high impact zones and a 4-point compression system means socks that actually fit and will keep my toes warm without my feet getting sweaty or stinky.

Staying warm on the slopes is half the battle for my kids and my partner Sarah, newbie snowboarders all, and Smartwool has plenty of midweight base layer gear and apparel to suit the purpose. I actually have a different but related problem: I overheat when I'm riding, and if I'm not careful about my layers I'll freeze my sweaty ass off riding up on the windy high elevation lifts I always seem to end up on. Smartwool has a solution for that too: Lightweight and Microweight base layers that are 100 percent Merino wool, wick moisture like crazy, and keep me dry without sweatboxing me.

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Photo: Colin Bane @ SIA Snow Show

Cirro by Vans x Protect Our Winters, with Boa Focus System

​Walking around the SIA Snow Show this week, I made a project for myself to see if I could come up with head-to-toe snowboarding gear sourced solely from companies based here in Colorado.

Although I came up short on boots, I did discover one cool local company working behind the scenes with most of the major boot brands: Denver-based Boa Technology provides customizable steel lacing systems for snowboard boots from Vans, K2, DC, Ride, Flow, Nidecker, Rome, Thirty Two, Salomon, and several other brands (as well as a handful of ski boots, and closure systems in outerwear, helmets, hats, and other gear).

​My pick? The Vans Cirro x POW Boot, constructed of sustainable materials (recycled PET textiles and solvents, recycled cork footbed), features three adjustable closure zones using the Vans Boa Focus System for support and custom fit. A percentage of sales of the Cirro (and the women's Veil boots) benefit Protect Our Winters, a Boulder-based non-profit "dedicated to reversing the global warming crisis by uniting the winter sports community and focusing our collective efforts towards a common goal."

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