What better day to demo the best skis of 2019-2020 than the Winter Solstice? On the first true day of winter, hundreds of Colorado skiers joined the FREESKIER staff at Copper Mountain under clear blue skies and comfortable temperatures. From our home base next to the American Eagle lift, we dialed in skis from Faction, Armada, Liberty, Rossignol, ROMP, Völkl, Icelantic, Folsom, Salomon and Dynastar. With incredible early season conditions—Copper had 111 trails open over 1,562 acres serviced by 20 open lifts—staffers and demo-participants joined together for high-speed groomer laps, leg-busting bump runs and adventures through the trees.
When the ski legs were wobbly and the sun dropped low in the sky—early, it was the Winter Solstice, remember?—skiers congregated at Copper’s legendary après joint, the Incline Bar & Grill. The bass bumped thanks to DJ Cyn, who wo-manned the ones and twos throughout the early evening. FREESKIER’s Caitlin Bell then took the mic and handed out early Christmas gifts from POC, Yeti and Ski Town All Stars, as well as an AVABAG pack from Ortovox that went home with one lucky attendee.
The Copper stop marked the end of FREESKIER’s Inaugural Buyer’s Guide Demo Tour—we know, we’ve been going through the Kleenex and wiping up our tears, too. But, while the tour is over, we’re smiling look back at its success. We can’t thank the people of Colorado and Vermont, as well as Vail Mountain, Killington Mountain and Copper Mountain and the brands that attended the demos—4FRNT, Armada, Amalgam Skis, Atomic, Blizzard, Dynastar, Elan, Faction, Fischer, Folsom, HEAD, Icelantic Skis, J Skis, K2, Kästle, Liberty, Line, Nordica, RMU, Rossignol, Salomon and Völkl–enough for participating and allowing us to bring this project to life. Be on the lookout for announcements regarding next year’s tour. We hope you found the ski(s) of your dreams at one of our Buyer’s Guide Live stops. Happy winter, skiers.
Photo Gallery
Images by Phil Krening
