Utah Ski Pick 2012 - Matt and Sven Pick Skis in Ogden

Park City, UT

Last week Matt Liebsch and I had the unique opportunity to pick Gear West's preseason orders of top end skis from Rossignol, Atomic, and Salomon. We arrived in Salt Lake City on Wednesday and hurried to get our bags and rental car. Matt made the executive decision to upgrade our car to an under-powered midsize SUV to accommodate all of our ski gear, and then we were on our way to the Rossignol Distribution center! But first, we had to stop at Taco Time!

The Rossignol Distribution center is part of a warehouse district located in Ogden, Utah.  Salomon and Atomic are also distributed in a nearby warehouse. Our high-end ski inventory is selected from these warehouses, as well as the skis for many of the top athletes in the country.

Rossignol distribution center

When we arrived, Ryan Green (Nordic Division Manager) and Paul Clark (Nordic Racing Manager) met us in the upstairs warehouse, I named the "The Birds Nest" to go over the lay of the land. We set up our fit bench and we were off to the races!

Matt & Paul conversing over proper ski fit

In order to select our full inventory of X-ium skis, we had a check list of characteristics we were looking for in terms of ski quality.  If any ski did not meet our requirements, it was discarded and we moved on. The next two days were spent unwrapping, flexing, and testing over 600 pair of skis.

Sven Cam

 After two days of squeezing skis, we wound up with very sore forearms, a slight case of carpal tunnel, and had thinned out our ski selection to 53 pairs of top quality skis. Both Matt and I were extremely happy with our selections and are grateful that we had the opportunity to select the best Rossignol skis in the United States.  We would not have been able to pick our inventory without the help from Rossignol.

Matt Pumped

Celebratory taco stand tacos were had by everyone!

Onward...

The very next day we were back in action, picking through the Atomic Worldcup FL SDS Classic skis and Salomon Soft Ground skate skis to find the best quality available.  When all was said and done, we had a sizable ski count with a high standard of quality.  It is safe to say that no stone was left unturned when we were done.

Fun fact: Atomic and Salomon skis only distribute race room skis from Ogden. 

Salomon SG ski inventory

New homeowners and newlyweds Josh & Kristina

While picking skis in Ogden, we had the privilege of staying with Salomon employees Josh Korn and Kristina Owen. All-in-all it was a very fulfilling experience. Thank you to everyone who made our ski picking trip a great success!