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In The MOMENT Ep. 2 from Moment Skis on Vimeo.

A great first day here at SIA.  Things we like so far: girls in tights everywhere, Coors Light is the local beer, Mickey Avalon, Orage parties, the snowboard side, sushi, bike rickshaws and drinking in church.  Looking forward to more fun on the way.

Luke showing off the new outerweaer

New for 2010-2011. The Belafonte. Steve Zizzou would approve.

Dubs

Smokin' Snowboards. Made in Tahoe. Bringing the punk rock DIY attitude back to the industry.

Taking a break after a long day

Orage throws fun parties

Reno is a long way from Denver so we sent a crew out ahead to set up the booth and get settled down before SIA gets started.  This year is a little different than years past as there is an on hill demo the last few days so we needed a bit more equipment on our drive.

The rig outside the factory

2010-2011 product line

Work still needed to be done in Reno, so we got off to a late start on our first leg to Salt Lake City.

Fillin' up in Sparks, NV

Luke never stops wokring--or hollering at girls

The Flying J in Winnemucca is one of my favorite gas stations ever.  Why?  Maybe it’s because they yell at city folk for bein’ liberals.  Or maybe it’s because they have the best selection of roadside trinkets ever.

Both courtesy, the Flying J

The right supplies are essential to any road trip.  Luke picked up a five-pound bag of pistachios before we left and Red Bull hooked us up for the drive as well.  Mix that up with donettes and my all time favorites and we are on the road to progress.

After 9 hours of driving and nearly stopping in Wendover to put it all on black, we made it to Spencer’s dorm room.  He promised us college babes but it was past one in the morning so we settled for more pistachios and a pile of blankets on the floor.

Breakfast at the cafeteria of the University of Utah and back on the road at 9 a.m.

Wyoming offers some amazing scenery if you’re into solitude.

This leg of the drive was done without a lot of stopping, albeit the occasional roadside pullover to release some of the day’s Red Bull. Luke and I sang Saves the Day as loud as we could while Mitch slept.  Pistachios kept piling up.  The Red Bull supply got scarce.  Luke even managed the luckiest shot ever.

hitch hiker

Cat food factory

We got into Denver around 6:30p.m.  We are still driving that enormous rig and no one is really experienced at driving something like that.  The convention center is downtown and the streets around it are busy.  After missing the turn, we decided it best to check into the hotel and drink some much deserved cold ones.

Days 3-4

First off Yellow Trucks are orange–I don’t get it.

One truck is with a big business. The other is independently owned and operated. Can you guess which is which?

A few SNAFUs dealing with the labor union in Denver made Day 3 a long one but we did manage to get the bulk of the booth set up and cleaned.

Back at it for the last day of set up.  Our major task was to get a 20 x 20 sign hung from the ceiling to create the last wall of our booth.  Our end of the mission was accomplished around 11 a.m.  Arrive labor union at 7:30 p.m. to hang it.

The sign waiting to be hung.

This did give us a good amount of time to explore the other booths in the trade show and explore the streets of Denver.  Mitch and I found some good eats on a street corner.

Rattlesnake phaesant brat. Biker Jim's

We had a lot of downtime to spend with the newest member of the Moment staff.

Which one's real?

At 8:30 p.m. we finally had a wall.

20 feet by 20 feet

A quick cleanup and we were out for night.

Our booth is now complete and the show is under way.  If you’re at the show come visit us at 4333.  Let the fun begin.

Bluebird days with good snow are a rarity at Mt. Baker, so when they come it’s time to throw down.  Last Saturday happened to be one of those days.  Photographer Garrett Grove and I hiked to Chair 8 to get a jump on the rush along with rippers Aneka and John.  We got in a few sunny turns before moving to the Shuksan Arm to ski some bigger lines.  Aneka and John skied a sunlit ridge leaving swirling plumes of cold smoke hanging in the air like steam rising from a Yellowstone hot pot on a chilly winter morning.  I opted to ski the flank of a steep spine glowing with ambient light.  I danced and my Night Trains floated.

Back at the top of Chair 8 we discussed plans with Garrett and I mentioned my desire to hit a big air referred to as “Diving Board” for its perfect, plank-like takeoff.  Garrett was stoked on it so we cruised back to the top of the Arm.  I dropped in, speed checked and boosted a big, front flip, but over rotated and tomahawked to the bottom of the steep landing, luckily unharmed.

Garrett is a skier too, so by this time he was ready to go for a walk and we took off to get away from the ski area.  We didn’t get far before Garrett spotted a sunny cliff with a great takeoff and suggested I have a go at it.  I obliged and threw my first back flip in years, unfortunately under rotating and landing on my chest.  The compression felt like a 350lb lineman smashing me in the ribs. “Ooof!”  Fortunately, I’m OK save a few bruised ribs, and lessons have been learned.

Garrett and I can’t wait for our next opportunity to try some new angles and stomp some landings on the Shuksan Arm.  Enjoy the photos courtesy of Garrett Grove, www.garrettgrove.com

Cheers,

Paul Kimbrough

This is Larry. He lays up a lot of the skis that go under your feet right here in Reno, NV USA.