So, here I am in SLC waiting to meet with some folks about our new glove line…As I was leaving Aspen for my 6 hour journey to Salt Lake, I couldnt help but be a bit surprised and very excited to see some of the fall colors starting to show up a bit earlier than usual on the hilltops surrounding Glenwood Springs, and the majority of the Highway 82 stretch!

As someone from the East Coast, the first sights of color in the trees and hills meant skiing was just around the corner, and the wait in the mail for the first issue of “Freeze” (at the time), or Freeskier was like Christmas. Just to be able to see the new gear and what is gonna be the hot ski to rock that year. That was always a fun time for me and my family, as I was going to receive a new pair of GS skis for the season!

Even 10 years later where now I am fortunate enough to get to test product before it is released and get some “inside deals” on the new stuff, I still get the butterflies in my stomach when new gear arrives, and when I get my pass picture taken, especially when I see what crazy new things we have come up with at EMPIRE, like our new pipe glove with an index finger pointer so we can still text on the lift without getting cold!!! Either way, I guess what I am trying to say is not to take anything for granted, not the leaves changing, or the smell of winter on its way, and lets not forget that what a lot of us do for a living…it is a dream to most. Have a great fall season and get your legs ready for what I predict is goint to be a huge winter here in the US!