Alpine and snowboard enthusiasts can expect to see a great deal of full rocker and rocker-camber technologies next season. Last week's Snowsports Industries of America (SIA) Snow Show revealed thousands of new prototypes of skis and snowboards — many of which are equipped with new rocker tech.

After the rocker rage exploded last year, many Colorado manufacturers added regular camber under foot or no camber at all in order to stabilize boards and skis at high speeds for next year's products.

Skis and snowboards with rocker technology, or reverse camber, have banana-like shape, allowing riders to keep their tips up in powder. Regular camber has the opposite form and, traditionally, lets skiers and boarders maintain an edge better.

Dan Chalfant, CEO of Liberty Skis Corp. in Avon, said his company had prototypes that were full rocker, but he found that they were useless unless in deep powder. Liberty's newest ski, the Genome, has reverse camber at the tip and tail and traditional camber under the skier's foot so that the ski still carves, Chalfant said.

Venture Snowboards, based in Silverton, will also have a full line of rocker snowboards and splitboards for next year.

“(Rocker) just works better,” said Klemens Branner, co-owner and designer of Venture Snowboards.

“With a traditional camber snowboard, you have to be committed to one edge or the other,” he added. “If you put weight on the downhill edge, you'll fall. With a rocker board, you have this free zone in the middle where you can be riding flat.”

Branner said his new line also has tip and tail rocker, but no camber at all between the bindings. “It allows for a free zone in the middle where you can ride flat on hard pack,” he added, explaining that this new techology lets boarders ride groomers while enjoying more of a “surfy ride.”

Never Summer Industries will not offer any regular camber snowboards in the 2010-2011 season, said Tracy Canaday, the company's president.

The Denver-based board-maker put out its newest, freeride stick, the Raptor, at the Snow Show this week.

“(The Raptor) has a custom rocker-camber profile,” Canaday said, “(It has) a softer tip and a stiffer tail, so that it floats in powder but blasts through crud.”

Ski industry takes over Winter Park for gear test

Shop owners, sales representatives, the national media, and snowsports enthusiasts of every kind descended upon Winter Park and Devil's Thumb Ranch last Monday and Tuesday for the SIA On-Snow Demo/Free Ride Fest, the organization's first-ever, on-snow demonstration. Buyers, reps, journalists, and the public tested next season's skis, boards, and backcountry equipment at Winter Park; they traveled to Devil's Thumb to test cross country gear and snowshoes.

Kelly Davis, director of research for SIA, said about 1,600 people signed up for each day of the On-Snow Demo . She added that the show sold out both Winter Park and Devil's Thumb during the two days of testing.

“See it, try it, and then buy it. That's the idea,” Davis said.

SIA worked in conjunction with the Western Winter Sports Reps Association (WWSRA) Rocky Mountain Demo and Cross Country Ski Areas Association to create last week's On-Snow Demo. WWSRA previously hosted its own gear-testing fest, Davis added. So, the combined effort this year, she said, “is taking something that was regional and making it national.”

Despite the national focus of the show and on-snow gear-testing, some out-of-state companies like California's Academy Snowboards tapped their Colorado-based pros to visit the show and discuss next year's line.

Nick Poohachoff, a pro rider from Dillon, was on hand in Denver last weekend to represent his sponsor, Academy Snowboards, a California company that specializes in freeride boards.

Poohachoff said he has been using Academy's Team 52 to compete in slopestyle at the Dew Tour this year. “It's a bit stiffer and has more control than a soft board,” he said during the show. He added that the board's stiffness makes it a little more forgiving if you miss a landing, making it better for someone who is an aggressive, every day, terrain park rider.

Move gives Denver a boost

The On-Snow Demo springboarded off tremendous financial success generated by the SIA Snow Show in Denver. After 37 years in Las Vegas, the annual snowsports convention moved to the Colorado capital. Davis said that Visit Denver, a nonprofit trade association that promotes Denver tourism, projected roughly $30 million per day in direct economic impact created from the presence of so many snowsports industry members downtown.

Davis also cited the importance of Colorado companies' presence at the Snow Show, a boon when you remove the cost of flying and lodging in Las Vegas. She added that the move from Vegas to Denver allows in-state reps and shop owners to be more knowledgeable about next year's products.

Canaday, of Never Summer Industries, said his company offered a free shuttle to his factory every hour during Denver's Snow Show, allowing his customers could see how his boards are made.

“It's a lot more convenient for us,” said Wink Jackson, designer and owner of Boulder-based Zeal Optics.

“I think it's really relevant to be in Colorado, especially for the demo, because you can test the product you'll be buying,” Jackson said. “All in all, I think it's a strong move for the industry.”