I'm sitting writing this blog at the end of what seems like a long and tiring week. Its 5am in the UK but only 10pm here in Salt Lake City, Utah, venue for the largest outdoor tradeshow in the United States, Outdoor Retailer.
Luckily any hint of Jet-lag has now well and truly faded, just in time for the 12 hour flight back to the UK but that doesnt seem so bad, following what has been a great week here in the United States.
Its the first time that we have exhibited properly in the USA but despite that, the four day tradeshow has been a busy one for us, with lots of line presentations, especially to the specialist retailers dotted along the north-western half of the US who seem to appreciate our understanding of rain and gnarly mountaineering conditions. And its been a really interesting mix of people and stores, from expedition outfitters in the far reaches of Alaska to renowned mountaineering and climbing stores in Colorado. Big, brash and unashamed America seems to have postively liked our rich heritage and uncompromising message of functional, high quality gear.
Thankfully it's not all been stand building and selling and we've managed a few hours to hike some of the trails in the Wasatch mountains and climb some of the amazing granite Walls that sweep down into the canyons that run around the rim of the Great Salt Lake basin.
On Monday, hamish and myself headed around to Big Cottonwood Canyon and upto the winter ski resort of Brighton. True to form, in one of the driest parts of the US we managed bring the rain with us and had an energetic return from the 9500ft col charging down through the forests in a thunderstorm. Perfect for giving arid and the normally dry Wasatch mountains a taste of our new GORE-TEX Active Shell.
Not content with just hiking, after a busy day of stand-building, the whole team headed round to Little Cottonwood Canyon for a taste of some of the great rock climbing that the Wasatch has to offer. Jordan, one of our team of helpers, managed to get some beta on what we were told was 'one of the best 5:7 climbs in the Wasatch' and we werent disappointed. A vast 25m dihedral corner system that eventually forced its way upwards via an amazing flake and jamming crack system to the top. Only a couple of pitches, but some of the nicest granite climbing i have done, all trad but with bolted belays.
So if you're in the US keep an eye out for our range. The first deliveries will be arriving into selected stores this Autumn / Fall and we'll be posting details of dealers onto our website later.
Hopefully I'll get some photos added to this blog as soon as I get home.
