It was All Mountain Demo Day here at Outdoor Retailer Winter Market and I couldn’t be more excited! The Demo Day is a ‘play day’ out in the snow before everyone gets down to business on the show floor. In my opinion this is the best day of the show – it’s the one day where you really get to try out the gear and put it to the test instead of just dreaming about the possiblities.

This year’s Demo Day was hosted by Solitude Mountain Resort, conventiently located about an hour outside of Salt Lake City. The day was filled with more activities than I was able to participate in, even though I was non-stop busy from our arrival at 9:30 am until the party hour of 4pm.

The day started with a 5k snowshoe race that I had signed up for ahead of time. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I’ve snowshoed and I’ve run in many 5ks so how hard could it be? Upon checkin I was fitted with some Tubbs snowshoes to wear for the race. I was asked if I was a snowshoer or a runner and I said both, but I had never combined the two. They outfitted me with some running snowshoes, lighter weight than traditional snowshoes and with a very flexible pivot and super easy binding mechanism that didn’t pinch in the least.

Once out on the course I didn’t do much running – I was in clothing more suited for skiing and had a big pack on my back – but I did jog a few stretches and was surprised how easy it was to run in the shoes. If I lived in a snowy climate this is definitely something I would consider adding to my arsenal of gear. I quickly hiked the majority of the track, thoroughly enjoying the perfect fresh snow conditions and scenery.

Columbia was the big sponsor of the race and the news from them this year is their Omni-Heat thermal reflective technology. Omni-Heat gear is lined with small reflective dots to reflect body heat back inwards, resulting in a lining that is a bit bright and shiny. As a race participant I walked away with a pile of Omni-Heat gear – a couple of hats, the Majik Wands gloves, and a midweight baselayer top. I’m looking forward to trying out this technology so my impressions can go beyond “wow, shiny”. Okay, they’re more than that – my first impression is quite positive – the gloves kept my hands nice and toasty on this wet and cold snowy day. In fact, as I sit here in my hotel room waiting for the heater to kick in, an Omni-Heat hat is keeping my ears nice and toasty.
After the snowshoe race I decided it was time to strap some skis to my feet. Those who know me know I am not the most elegant skier in the world. In fact, my downhill skills are abysmal. I’m slightly better cross country. So I decided to focus on that which I am decent at: cross country skiing.
The nordic piece of the Demo Day almost seemed like an afterthought this year. It didn’t help that getting to the nordic trails required a 2 mile bus ride and acquiring rental gear (free to OR show participants). There was a ‘Nordic Distance Challenge’ set up where participants would ski to stations and punch a card, then return the card for prizes. The four stations were all within the first kilometer of the trails (within the green beginner tracks) so I fail to see how this counts as a ‘Distance Challenge’.

However, that’s not what I was there for – I was there to enjoy the incredibly perfect snow conditions. I don’t think I’ve ever skied on such perfect trails. I spent a long time touring around the network of mapped trails and once beyond the first beginner loops I had the place nearly to myself. I hadn’t been on skis yet this year so I was just really happy to be out.

I walked away today with one unexpected piece of gear that I’m really excited to try out: Yubuds, custom fit athletic ear buds. I like to run and occasionally hike with headphones, but all too often they fall out or irritate my ears. The only ones that stay in comfortably are noise cancelling and I don’t like that when I’m out running – I want to be aware of my surroundings and hear ambient noise. I got a pair of the Ironman Yurbuds and will be trying them out during my runs. Even while fitting them today at the Demo Day I could tell these were different than the 600 other varieties I’ve tried. Look for a review soon.

It wouldn’t be an Outdoor Retailer show without the parties, and sure enough they started before the sun went down. I took it easy and am looking forward to digging in to the show floor on Thursday morning!