SIA 2014 Reveals Salomon’s Next Big Thing
The 2014 SnowSports Industries of America Trade Show was a whirlwind event held in Denver at the tail end of January, just as Colorful Colorado was at the beginning of a storm cycle that has lasted into the Spring, creating one of the deepest winters in recent history. SIA 2014 was abuzz with excitement and powder fever. The Denver Convention Center was filled to the brim with all of next years latest and greatest gear. The SnowShow was an intimate look behind the curtain with every ski company in the biz. For me, Salomon was one of the show’s standouts. That had nothing to do with the exceptionally weird and progressively more raunchy introductory conversation with the Hard Handshaking Bonecrushin’ Hilary (Salomon PR). Don’t worry Hil, most interactions I have with women have similar chitchatting about a possible “Junk Punch” or knee to the groin. Nor did Salomon’s appeal have anything to do me running into a long lost college friend who I last saw at a foam party, Lax House sausage fest, or grinding (it was kinda like twerking in the olden days –circa ’02) on the dance floor at Sigma Chi. Go Dawgs! I didn’t fall in love with Salomon’s 2015 line because of Handsome Joe, Salomon’s Tech Expert, though one can get lost in his eyes and he does smell of licorice and unicorn farts. No, I was intrigued with Salomon’s gear for next year because of innovative technology, refinement of design, and a palpable level of stoke for the skiing lifestyle that permeated throughout every person connected to the brand.