Las Vegas in Winter

I am a snow farmer and it's harvest time! Things are hectic here at the shop every day at this point. I did two Intuition liner installs, made a few insoles, did about 2 hours of paid boot labor and did the foam injection on a Strolz boot in addition to my general sales duties today. It took me about an hour just to clean up the debris I left at the end of the day. Tunes, boot work, rentals, everything is just going off! With the great snowfall that just keeps coming, business has been booming. Everyone has been putting in extra hours and getting it done, but we all need a bit of a break at some point. Therefore I let Brian take off for Jackson hole for a few days (he skied with Charlotte Moats all day yeasterday- very cool!). John has taken a week and is at Big White. Me? Just getting in my Wednesdays up the hill which I must admit have been epic. Unfortunately, this last Wednesday ended a bit early as my ski buddy (and friend of the shop) Neil broke his collar bone into four pieces. Becky, myself, Neil and Will Lachenauer (Dalbello/Elan rep) met up at Squaw to take in some extraordinary powder. We were haveing a great time romping aroung in the powder but Neils ski day ended at about 2 o'clock. Bummer. Next week I won't get to ski as I will be in Las Vegas. Yes Las Vegas. That's where the ski industry holds their annual trade show. Right in the heart of the season we spend four days in Vegas checking out next years gear. Sort of surreal but very cool and exciting. I am pumped up as usual to see the new stuff. Will brought a few new Elans to Squaw this week, and I have seen some of the new Fischers, but this is the kid in the candy store scenario for me. I'll let you know what looks great in about a week!

Massive Snow!

Todd came to work and proclaimed that the worst storm to hit the area in decades was going to occur. Of coarse we didn't pay it much mind. Todd has a tendency to find web sites that are as optimistic as he is. Lo and behold he was right! As last weekend approached the radio and TV news was all about the big storm. And it was a doozie. Super high winds and tons of snow. Kirkwood got 11 feet over a few days. The north shore got a bit less but still a great dump. Most renters cancelled as they were afraid to travel (probably wise). Most hard core skiers practiced their raspy "flu like" voices in preparation of calling in sick on Monday when it cleared. Christian and Heather headed up Friday morning and holed up in their condo while the resort was on storm/wind hold. Then it ended and Christian and Heather headed up onto Kirkwoods newly deep powder runs. The roads were all closed so they shared the mountain with the 300 or so other people lucky (or smart) enough to be snowed in with them for the day. It was so incredible that they took videos because they didn't think we would believe how great it was. We watched the clips on Monday. Quite the videos!

Tuesday was a work day in Sacramento for the clothing preview of next years styles. As I sat during the Obermeyer presentation I found myself lacking the ability to pay attention. I kept staring out the window at the downpour that was adding another two feet of fresh pow. Wednesday I would ski! At 4:30 Wednesday morning we headed out. Four of us with powder on our minds. Again Kirkwood got the best dump so it was up hiway 88 to the Wood. Glory, Glory, Glory! Fresh powder all day and great company to share it with. Rocked the Fischer Porohete's all day. Great ski! Overall, an epic day to be remembered. Wish you all could have been there...

Heading into the meat of the season...

Wow. How busy can it be? Not much more busy than the last 10 days. I am sooo glad to get a day to relax and catch up on basic needs like laundry and shopping for food. It has been nonstop rocking! Not that it isn't expected to happen like thisl You sell about 275 pairs of boots before it snows and then the customers ski them all at the same time and bring them in for adjustments and bootfitting. Those skiers going up all bring their skis in for tunes (I need 'em tomorrow!). Standard and seasonal rentals are still keeping us busy all day long. Goggles, long underwear, heat packs...what else do I they need to refill or replace? It's just crazy. This year was a pretty ideal situation for the Christmas ski vacation. A good dump a week or so before Christmas followed by good weather. That senerio leads to off the hook business. Thanks to the staff fer sure! Lot's of overtime but not one complaint about it. They have done whatever is necessary to get the job done. Everything has been ready on time. I have a bunch of talented hardworking ezperts surrounding me and the outcome shows. Mitsi has been a great addition this year and Brian has become a star. John, Todd and Martin are exactly what I have come to expect- consistant and fabulous. Erle, Becky, Rebecca and the rest of the "fill ins" have been there when needed. I would be nowhere without them all. I hope I tell them that enough. Now comes the trade shows and the meat of the season. Many vacations make the schedule challenging, but we will get it done! See you at the shop!