On the trip were Mark, Frances, Adam, Daniel, and myself. Getting there was an epic 15-hour road trip. In SLC, we met Ryan, Leah, and Ray, who had already been down there for the first two days of the show. Thanks to Ryan, we were able to get credentials that let us into the show. We stayed at the local KOA, which presumably had once been on the outskirts of town but was now in the middle of the city.
Needless to say, the place was insane. There were tons of things we didn't know we needed - "Climbing pants with integrated harnesses?!" prizes and drawings - "They're giving away GoPros at 3:00!" - and astonishment at the sheer size of the place "There's an entire pavilion for SUP yoga?!". Daniel and Adam got free OR gear for completing the "Plaid is Rad" challenge. Mark, Frances and I were able to meet with world-renowned mountaineer Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, the first women to climb all the 8,000 meter peaks without supplemental oxygen. She described her two nights below the summit of K2 as "cold" and Annapurna as "hard". (Mark told me later, "Everyone here is rushing around looking for something. She's already found it.") There was plenty of other cool stuff we didn't get to see, like the climbing competition on a 5.14 wall.
In addition to hitting up all of the big, established brands, we spent a lot of time talking to entrepreneurs and startups, who were looking for new partners. We also talked to some awesome local companies, including Exped, Luna Sandals and Sherpa. Who knew that we had to travel to Salt Lake City to meet people from Seattle? In the end, we came away with stacks of business cards and loads of free stuff. We're already making plans to go again next summer, and might even head down for the Winter Market in January.
-I.B.
