What began as a one-off for outdoor gear brand Cotopaxi in 2014, the 24-hour adventure scavenger hunt that takes place in over 50 North American locations, circles back to its home state for Questival 2017, and there’s still time to register!
This zany, all-consuming trek gets teams of 2-6 friends to complete some 300+ “challenges” (from doing a yoga pose in the wilderness to give a dollar to a homeless person) while earning points, bonding with teammates and checking off adventures from your bucklist.
The Questival event kicks off with a welcome party Friday July 28, 2017, 6 p.m., with live music and food trucks, where you get your list of challenges, the Cotopaxi swag backpacks and a “totem.” As you complete a challenge you take a photo with the totem to prove you’ve succeeded and upload it to the free Questival app. Different challenges are worth a certain number of points.
The categories of Questival 2017 challenges range from adventure and survival to service and social media. You can ride a slide at a public park for two points or drive to a national park for 30 points. You’ll wrack up the most points by completing the outdoor challenges over the urban ones. There is time to get a little sleep as well. You gain additional points by turning off the app from 1 a.m.- 5 a.m.
The more challenges you complete, the more points you earn. (Here is the list of last year’s challenges). The top ten point-scoring teams will then move onto “peer judging”. All Questival 2017 competitors will swipe left or right on photos and videos submitted by teams. Back in the day, winning teams could get an all-expense paid trip to Machu Picchu. Now they get prize packs with airline vouchers and gear worth approx. $4200 per team.
In the end, you’re competing against thousands of your neighbors in a fun, friendly, albeit frenetic, event so even if you don’t come close to one of those 10 spots you’ll come out a winner, learning more about your city, your friends and your stamina.
To here learn more about Cotopaxi and Questival 2017.
Outdoor industry executive leaders met last week and came up with the brilliant news that the Outdoor Retailer Show should be based in Denver. First off, big surprise. Not. With the SIA Snow Show and OR Winter Market merging for 2018 and beyond, it was just a matter of time before the newsies came out and said what we all knew was coming.
The board peeps like Beaver Theodosakis, PrAna, Kim Miller, SCARPA North America, Dan Nordstrom Outdoor Research, Casey Sheahan, Keen Footwear, Dawson Wheeler, Rock Creek Outfitters joined together to claim that the “long-term survival” of the OR show rests at the Colorado Convention Center.
For decades, the Snow Show and OR were the events for manufacturers to sign multi-thousand-dollar orders from retailers anxious to load up on next season’s skis, boards, boots, outerwear and accessories. But as purchasing dates moved up to November and December, a January Show became more of an expensive meet and greet and grumblings strayed toward the downfall of both shows.
The recent love for the Mile High City makes you wonder if Denver or the State of Colorado offered a sweetheart deal like the charity outreach they did to lure SIA away from Vegas. Rumor swirled that Denver offered to host the show for 10 years for free. The statement released on May 26, 2017, did mention “an aggressive package of economic incentives from the state of Colorado and the city of Denver” with workable dates available. The Snow Show was supposed to move to Dec. 5, 2017 but that isn’t happening for this winter season.*
Of course, it makes sense for Colorado to woo the outdoor industry. It puts heads in beds, generates at least a month’s worth of media exposure and floods the airport, highways, and restaurants. Who goes to Denver in the winter? Nobody. Visitors fly in and travel on to the various Colorado ski resorts…HOURS away. You can’t say the same for Salt Lake City. People STAY in Salt Lake to ski. When SIA hosts the on snow demo, folks have to book a second hotel stay at Copper Mountain; not the case during the OR On Snow.
The one thing OR had over the others was the enthusiasm and networking party. SIA had it in Vegas. Lost it in Denver. The folks that came to SLC may have bitched that they couldn’t find housing but no one complained about the powder or vibe. People came to the Show because they loved it, not necessarily because they sold gear that week. Hundreds stayed on, to ski or, in the summer, to play HARD. Again, you can drink great beer in Denver but the commute to outdoor play ain’t even close to what you get with a 20-minute drive from SLC.
Perhaps OR will bring that vibe to the Snow Show and Denver. Or perhaps, the reverse will happen and it’ll bring ‘em both down. At that point, the regional shows just may sprout and flourish.
Bustling hall of OREmpty hall of SIA
Trade shows are notoriously fragile. The SuperShow, Comdex, MAGIC, Action Sports Retailer have all crumbled. Many folks in the outdoor industry had been speculating for years about OR’s fate and that perhaps it would be supplanted with such regional shows where manufacturers and reps would meet with retailers specific to the market they were attending. It’s a more personalized approach and it makes sense from a buyer’s standpoint. (If you are a shop in the east, traveling west to meet for four days during peak shopping time is a hardship).
“There are many alternatives to participating in an expensive and time consuming show that falls at the end of the booking season. It would be foolhardy indeed to create additional reasons for participants to re-consider their options,” the OIA brain trusters threatened when talks about moving the Show to Las Vegas arose. If only those minds had visited Vegas for the SIA show when it was there for 37 YEARS.
VEGAS ROCKED! It was WAAAAY cheaper to fly to, stay at and party at. Sure, you couldn’t ski during the winter show but it was a sweet break to wear a t-shirt and shorts in the middle of January. The Snow Show was at its Zenith and has suffered exponential attendance attrition since its move to Denver. In fact, a reasonable Google hunt seems to indicate that SIA has stopped reporting Snow Show attendance numbers and even put out a release that they were focusing on “quality over quantity.”
OIA recognized in their statement that Utah has a unique formula of outdoor amazingness and business but because of the Beehive State’s political lameass they felt forced to call their own bluff. The headliner brands at OR – Black Diamond, Patagonia, The North Face, etc.- had long threatened to leave the show if Utah wasn’t going to support environmental protection initiatives. OIA met with Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and it was obvious he would continue to fight to transfer federal lands to the state, nullify the Antiquities Act, and undo Bears Ears National Monument. Liberals basically begged the governor to support Utah’s $12 billion outdoor recreation industry by protecting public lands. But Herbert is backing the lawsuit to overturn Bears Ears and reduce the size of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument- both valuable pieces of property to oil dripping companies.
Peter Metcalf, founder of Utah-based Black Diamond Equipment, told the Washington Post “Utah is the birther state of the most anti-stewardship, anti-public-lands policy in the country and, conversely, I would say Colorado ranks very highly as the opposite.”
A move to Denver is a political one. It’s unfortunate that OIA saw yanking an event that rakes in $45 million for Utah’s economy as their only viable option. At least when they were here, making threats, it created some checks and push back for the public land grabs the State might consider. Like Metcalf said, Colorado doesn’t need help. When a marriage goes bad and the spouse up and leaves for good, who ultimately suffers? The children. Salt Lake, you F@#$ed up royally. OIA SO DID YOU!!
*The Annual Snow Show will be held Jan. 25-28, 2018.
It’s been an insane year for Emerald Expositions, LLC (“Emerald Expositions”), producer of Outdoor Retailer. When the largest conference for reps, retailers and manufacturers of outdoor goods (Outdoor Industries Association/OIA) recently took a political stand and bailed on Utah, it forced Emerald to hunt for new digs for the OIA expo when their contract expires with Salt Lake City in 2019.
Meanwhile, the nation’s leading show for snowsports gear- the SIA SnowShow– has struggled to find their footing as the line between winter backcountry and resort have blurred and the winter edition of the OR Show grows. The obvious solution and the one retailers have been vying to see for years is finally being realized.
Outdoor Retailer and SIA Create Biggest Winter Show
Under the new ownership of Emerald Expositions, the January SIA Snow Show will merge with Outdoor Retailer to become the Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show endorsed and sponsored by both the SnowSports Industries America and Outdoor Industry Association (OIA). The conjoining creates the largest outdoor and winter sports industry gathering (and party) in North America.
“This is an incredible opportunity for our members and the industry as a whole,” said Nick Sargent, SIA President. “A consolidated trade show not only helps reduce the stress on our industry, but also provides a platform that offers more impact for our members to do business, while delivering a greater ROI.”
Denver, meh
Unfortunately, the event stays in chilly, parking- and vibe-challenged Denver and may eventually usher the summer OR event to the Mile High City as well. Drat. Denver is just such a pain to get to; great for locals but it sucks the life right out of any visitor to have to give yourself three hours to get in or out of that airport; especially in winter.
Look for the combo to happen as quickly as this January. The acquisition and resulting trade show consolidation was finalized after months of discussions between Emerald Expositions and SIA as well as by a rigorous voting process, which included a unanimous vote from the SIA Board of Directors and an overwhelming approval by SIA Premium Members.
Chair of the SIA Board of Directors and Marker Völkl USA President, Mike Noonan, said, “The Board felt strongly that this acquisition was the right move for the health of the industry and in the best interest of the membership.”
As part of the agreement, SIA will continue to produce the On-Snow Demo portion of the Snow Show. Additionally, SIA leadership will sit on Outdoor Retailer’s Event Advisory Board.
Visitors to Park City, Utah, will have a rude awakening when they attempt to shop next season. No more plastic bags within city limits.
In a historic move, the Park City Council voted this week to ban the disposable parcels used to haul various sundries from market to condo. The new law limits itself to stores over 12,000 square feet and that sell groceries. However, it marks an action on something locals have been bitching about for years and hope will spread throughout the area.
It’s the first ban in the state but not the first to move through a ski resort town where green initiatives often test the political waters. Plastic is already banned in Aspen, Telluride and Vail, Colo. and California resorts. Others charge a fee for plastic in the hopes of discouraging lazy heathens.
Who’s Affected by the Plastic Bag Ban
The Market at Park City, Fresh Market and Rite Aid will swap plastic for paper starting in late June. Store owners are expecting shock and amazement during the coming ski season where bag distribution hikes to about 15,000 in a month and visitors use them for not only carrying groceries, but picking up poop, lining trashcans and parceling out wet clothes. Paper bags ain’t as versatile or durable. They’ll also cost you. The stores affected, plan to pass the expense to you in a “tax”. Expect to pay about .08 cents more if you don’t have your own bag on hand. But don’t worry, you wasteful consumers, you. Just a few miles north, Wal-Mart, Smith’s and Fresh Market have no qualms with sending you home with polyethylene. The ban is specific to Park City; not Summit County as a whole.
Parkites argued successfully that plastic bags increase litter and wreak havoc on our landfills. Oh, how the pendulum swings. Thirty-five years ago environmentalists rallied to replace paper with plastic to save trees, and stores saved time and money. It was much faster at checkout to dump items in plastic. Plus, they had HANDLES.
Today, most European countries ban plastic bags, along with the whole state of California. The state of Utah could conceivably override Park City’s ban and given the way they do things around here, who knows? For now, plan on packing your tote on your next vacation. You’re already spending a small fortune on everything else. No need to add to the bill.
Man, are these things ugly and cumbersome but if you are a monthly (rather than weekly) shopper or you’re buying for a family of five you’re going to need something this size.
It’s time again to set your kids up with the Epic SchoolKids program in Utah and Colorado. The Vail Resorts’ plan to get hundreds of K-5th grade students out on the hill is one of the best deals in the industry but don’t wait too long. They do tend to pull the registration before summer.
Enroll kids online for five free days of skiing and snowboarding at Park City and Canyons during the 2017-2018 winter season.* “It is incredibly important that we continue to find ways to make snowsports accessible and sharing the experience of skiing and snowboarding with the next generation continues to be a top priority for us at Park City,” said Bill Rock, Park City’s chief operating officer. “Our hope is that this program will help foster a lifelong connection to the outdoors and the mountains we love.”
The SchoolKids program was launched in 2015 at Park City when Vail Resorts took over operations. All Utah students (in school or home-schooled) are eligible regardless of their ability level. Kids get five free direct-to-lift days, and one free first-timer ski or snowboarding lesson with equipment rental used in December and January.
Epic SchoolKids Registration
The registration process couldn’t be easier. Go online, fill out the parent info, and info for each of your kids, click submit and that’s it. You’ll get an email confirmation in 2-3 weeks. Take your kids to the season pass office at PCM, Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, and Keystone for their pictured pass anytime after August 2017. You can even wait until your first day skiing. If this is your first time registering, make sure you bring a copy of the student report card/transcript/school ID from a local school or birth certificate. Parent should also bring a local state driver’s license.
