This short ninja mission to SIA is coming to a close. Meetings with sponsors, high fives with athletes, and parties galore. Denver is a little mellower of a location for the ‘Snow Show’ than Vegas, but no one is letting that hamper the festivities.

The snowboard side of the Denver Convention Center was just as obviously raucous as it was in Sin City, with Volcom once again claiming straight clown status with all their whistles and hijinks. It’s an interesting approach to conducting business at a tradeshow: make as much noise as possible to distract business in nearby booths, while slipping their own clients into some soundproof booths. It’s a sabotage strategy that somehow relates to core points for a brand that is ever constantly growing bigger and farther away from being core. Or, maybe I’m just not core enough to appreciate it all.

As for the skiing side of things, I peeped the new offerings by Blizzard/Tecnica and was greeted by some awesome new Tecnica Agent AT boots (Dynafit compatible) and some early rise Titan Argos shred sticks. From the vibram soles on the freeride boots, to the neon sidewalls on Blizzard Answers, it’s great to see the designers trust our freeride team’s suggestions.

I was on POC’s behalf that Justin and I even considered leaving snowy British Columbia for the city streets and skyscape of Colorado’s capitol city. POC’s new line of sunglasses stole the show, in my opinion, with four frame styles and some great lens options. The party on Wednesday night at the Bluebird Theater proved to be quite the show, with yours truly acting as MC and introducing musicians like Bryon Friedman and Everclear. Huge thanks to POC and General Snus for turning over the mic to this ski bum.

Now, Justin and I are waiting for our first flight here at DIA with crossed fingers that our 23 minute layover in SLC will be long enough to clear the international security check and board our plane. If only Delta could promise us even a 50% odds that we’ll make it. At least my beautiful girlfriend, Jamie, drove down from Aspen yesterday to hang out. She even gave us a ride to the airport early this morning; a hug and kiss later and we won’t see each other until her birthday trip to BC in March.

So, with girlfriends, SIA, cities, and CO snow-drought behind us, Justin and I are ready to bury ourselves deep into BC’s interior and continue our quest for fresh pow. Powder Highway…we’re baaaaack!!

I know, I know, I’m the Powder Highway Ultimate Ski Bum. You’re probably thinking that I should be in Canada the whole three months, ripping around the Kootenays in uninterrupted bliss. And I agree with you.

However it’s SIA time, and all things skiing are happening in Colorado this week. This ski bum is going down to Denver to host a party for helmet and body armor manufacturer POC at the historic Bluebird Theater. Top secret playbill, so make sure to line up early!

I’ll be running around the tradeshow floor pumping the Powder Highway and drinking free beer on Friday, so say hi if you see me. Then, it’s back to Canada to finish off the next two months of pow hunting in BC. Yippee!