We’re fresh off the six day trade show marathon that is SIA, the annual snowsports industry trade show which stretched from the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver to Winter Park, and it was quite the show. In case you weren’t able to follow our copious twitter updates and photostream, we’ve put together this comprehensive recap of everything we saw and did over the last week. If you are more interested in the gear, check out our SIA 2010 ski recap.

For the uninitiated, SIA is a gathering of thousands of retailers, industry reps, brands and media outlets that happens once a year. After nearly four decades in Vegas, 2010 was the shows’ first year in Denver. While there was initially some grumbling about the move, the consensus seems to be that it was a good thing. While Vegas has a lot of distractions and is a really cheap city to visit, Denver is where the heart and soul of the ski industry lives. There are several big mountains within a couple hours drive, and an on-snow demo meant that there was actually the opportunity to try some of the 2011 lines. Below: Colorado Convention Center, downtown Denver.

The mood was definitely different. In Vegas, the locals don’t really have much of a vested interest in the snowsports show coming to town – Denver seemed a lot more excited to see us. The mayor cut the ribbon on the first day of the show, and a series of events throughout the city complemented the fact that almost 17,000 SIA visitors were in town. It was hard to miss the SIA banners on the streets, over the highways and in the windows of countless local businesses. Regardless, the Vegas / casino set was a popular theme on the show floor (Burton takes the cake on this one – see below.)

SIA is always set up in several distinct “neighborhoods” of booths, some far more over the top than others. Skullcandy, as usual, had a particularly busy booth (below at left), while Ride Snowboards’ booth was styled like a convenience store inside and out (below at right).

As in years past, there was a full complement of services at the show. The Yard, an open area dotted by ping pong tables and love sacs (below at left), was a great spot to take some time out and catch an episode of the popular FuelTV show “The Adventures of Danny & the Dingo.” At right, the Underground Concierge booth featured regularly updates on snow conditions, swag giveaways, and events around the show.

On the business side of things, all signs point to this being a really positive show. While 2009 wasn’t as terrible a year for snowsports as it was for many other industries, all of the manufacturers I spoke with said that things were really on the upswing again. There was some concern that the higher cost of travel to Denver kept small retailers and coastal buyers from attending the show, but stock levels are low and orders are up, signaling a strong 2009/2010 season and optimism for 2011.

For days four and five of SIA, it seemed like just about every major hardgoods manufacturer packed up and made the trek up highway 40 to Winter Park for the demo portion of the show. The opportunity to try these 2011 lines out on the snow was a major advantage of the shows’ new location closer to the mountains.

Day one of the on-snow demo was overcast and cold, with steady snow toward the end of the day, while an afternoon industry party and swag giveaway was happening right at the base of the mountain. Tuesday, day two, was a bluebird day with bright sunshine and big crowds staying until late in the day.

In all, SIA is still the show it always was – just in a new town, and in my opinion, a town that suits it much better. Moving further away from the slot machines and cheap drinks will probably turn out to have been a good business decision, too.

Tagged as: SIA 2010