No, they didn’t move the Salt Lake City trade show to a simulated Everest base camp. This is just the tent city demo in a park. We’re always into tent design so it was fun having things set up for a “tent shootout.” We’re hitting this summer show in casual style, skimming the highpoints of some lightweight mountaineering gear and keeping those ski contacts going. Another agenda: We’ll check out a few colleges while we’re here — thought it just might be cool for Louie to ski the Wasatch while getting his four years in!
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The tent city. |
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And this was funny. Turned out the Salt Lake City sprinkler system in the tent city had a mind of its own. The tent vendors got everything set up, then an unplanned test was implemented. With most of the doors unzipped it was hard to tell what would stay dry in a real storm, but the tents looked good all the same. I tried to get Louie to crawl in and shut the door, but he was over looking at some bivvy shelter that weighed about the same as a roll of toilet paper, and was made of something similar. He said it would work great. I could only wonder, for which purpose? Some of the tents did look perfect, however, being excellent mixes of strength and lightweight materials. They’ve come a long way since the tarps and A-frames of the 1960s. |
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.