Photo: Caroline Treadway
The Winter OR trade show at the Salt Palace
Convention Center featured over 800 brands,
attracted 18,000 + attendees and brought about
million to the City of Salt Lake.

Exactly twice a year, at the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City, you can hang with the raddest athletes in the outdoor industry AND check out the freshest new gear that hasn't even hit the stores. This winter's record breaking OR show had 18,000 plus attendees, featured over 800 brands and brought about $16 million to Salt Lake City, according to Devaki Murch, event contributor. Energy was really high, people are definitely buying and the brands seem to be really strong in all their new product," Murch said. "It's definitely on the upturn."

Photo: Caroline Treadway
Snow, wind and semis made the eight hour drive to
Salt Lake pretty exciting.

But let's start at the beginning, a harrowing drive from Boulder, Colorado to Salt Lake, on a snowy, blowy and desolate stretch of Interstate 80 through southern Wyoming. Luckily my copilot, Timmy O'Neill, is a pretty funny guy, and kept us both laughing while we skidded 80 mph into a complete whiteout, using semis as visual guard rails. Eight hours of white-knuckled word games later, we made it to Salt Lake, intact and in time for our respective dinners. Not too shabby.

Photo: Caroline Treadway
A Mammut designer demonstrates the Ride Airbag
R.A.S. avalanche system that blows up like an airbag
and increases your chances of floating on top of
shifting snow, instead of sinking.

The next day, I had the full "show" experience, thanks to friends at Momentum Media PR and JAM Collective, who whisked me from booth to booth, showing off next season's hottest outdoor trends, from sassy vibrant colors to high tech fabrics inspired by honeycombs.

I hobnobbed and hobbled (fractured heel = huge awkward boot) with the industry professionals who design, create, test and peddle the toughest gear for the biggest names - think Patagonia, Petzl, Mammut, Smith, prAna. Most impressive? Mammut's feather light new Eiger Extreme line which is super strong for rugged alpine ascents and comes in bright, bold colors.

Photo: Caroline Treadway
The KEEN booth and Glen Plake.

Each year, a couple of companies go the extra mile to build booths that are brand experiences in themselves, nooks where you can chill out for a few moments, away from the chaotic rush of the show. This year's Best Booth award goes to KEEN, and yes, they make more than rubber sandals. Their booth was earthy, hip and fashioned entirely from recycled, reclaimed and repurposed materials - swinging doors made from old bike frames, windows pulled from old houses in Portland, chairs made from old garden hoses and bleachers, tables made from old auto parts and hockey sticks, with used lighting fixtures and recycled pallets for walls.

Photo: Caroline Treadway
KEEN's sock scientist giving a sock making demo at
the Winter 2011 OR show.

Plus, they had disc golf and dogs for petting. And they make socks. In fact, I got a sock making demo from a sock scientist with a very cool sock making machine. Enough said. Cheers to KEEN for bringing some creative, sustainable relaxation to the show!

Photo: Caroline Treadway
This Canadian company is designing the freshest new
styles at OR, redesigning how women buy clothes.

The Freshest Fashion award goes to Lol - an innovative, Canadian company that blends technology with fresh, hip tailoring and luscious fabrics, while connecting a global community of active women who strive to embody the motto: "live out loud every day". With a regular blog and international events like hula hooping in New York's Central Park or yoga in Montreal's Parc LaFontaine, Lol hopes to revolutionize the way women buy clothes.

Photo: Caroline Treadway
Sustainable style genius Mark Galbraith shows off
NAU's new designs.

The Personal Favorite award goes to NAU, a visionary company that consistently creates fashion forward clothes from recycled materials, with to-die-for fabrics that fit fantastically and an impressive attention to detail. Here, style genius Mark Galbraith shows off NAU's newest.

Photo: Caroline Treadway
Best New Booth Award: Whizbang Hats, made by Liz
McCrae in Bozeman, Montana.

Across the hall from the big kids, newer vendors set up booths in the ballroom, where you can peruse the outdoor market's breakout brands. The Best New Vendor award goes to Whizbang Hats, a stylie niche hat company, handmade by Liz McCrae, a mom who loves to ski in Bozeman, Montana. Sharon Leicham from SNEWS chose Whizbang Hats, along with a handful of other companies, for excellence in merchandising at Winter OR.

Photo: Caroline Treadway
Friday night's Teva Party was packed with drinking,
debauchery and live music.

Every night, there were tons of events to choose from in downtown Salt Lake. Friday night, the Teva party was packed with live music, drinking and debauchery. Saturday night, the Battle of the Bands rocked the house with live music and dancing all night. Restaurants and bars were packed the entire weekend, and if you looked carefully, you might snag the occasional Hollywood cameo thanks to the Sundance Film Festival, which also took place that weekend.

Photo: Caroline Treadway
Colette McInerney at the Five Ten booth, with
climbers Angie Payne and Lisa Hathaway.

Between meetings and dinners and parties and after parties, I talked more in two days than I normally do in two weeks.

Photo: Caroline Treadway
Snow, wind and semis made the trip to Salt Lake
pretty exciting.

At the end of the show, exhausted and inspired, I headed back down I 80, back to the land of blowing snow, and finally back home.

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