Between 40% and 60% of new ski sales are going to backcountry gear

[pureantigravity]

"Between 40% and 60% of new ski sales are going to backcountry gear"

Local shop guy told me this about their ski sales department. Is it true?

They are not even a backcountry shop and only recently (1 or 2 years) started selling backcountry gear skis and bindings.

You are a shop owner or worker, where is this headed?

How is this going to change the face of skiing sport in general?

How will this change SAR and off-piste avy control levels?

Stuff like the Pindung (tm) http://www.bavarianalpinemanifest.com/en/products
Will the binding choices at all brands continue to evolve at such a rapid pace?

General discussion.

The masses have arrived apparently.

What changes do you see?

Your thoughts?

[GrantN]

Are you in Europe?
The shop guy was on something, or you're a secret dynafit endorser.

Definitely **noticed** an increase in touring gear at the hill this season though. I imagine the backcountry scene is increasing, but don't let "40-60%" make you think there will be any less of the non backcountry goers around.

[narc]

Hard to know where the figures came from and what they define as 'backcountry gear'. Some market research JONG might decide it is skis over 90mm or something stupid.

There may just be a lot of people that look at bindings and think fuck it, might as well have a tour option and buy dukes. Whether they actually ever use it is another matter.

[old goat]

It means your dentist will soon be buried under 5 feet of snow.

[danmelon]

I wonder what the numbers are like for enrollment in avy courses in the past few years?

[snapt]

I wonder what the numbers are like for enrollment in avy courses in the past few years?

Anecdotal but it looks like a lot around here sold out this season.

I wonder how much of the above includes boots with walk mode and Guardians/Barons/Dukes that have never seen the BC.

[DropCliffsNotBombs]

Judging by the sheer amount of rookie hackery and general JONGism that I've seen in the backcountry in recent seasons, this new trend is not a good thing.

[mntlion]

also gear is getting very multi purpose, and you can ski a kingpin (back country) binding on the hill, with a light ski (zeroG) and with a big stiff boot, with a walk mode. Is that "backcountry gear" or just a VERY versitile ski setup that you CAN tour on, or you can ski on, or what ever else you want?

[stuckathuntermtn]

C'est Imposible

[kmkmkmk]

I know the owner of a shop that focuses on ski boots; he said that this is the first year his sales have been higher than they were in 2000. He attributes it to the decline of the snowboarding wave, coupled with an increased interest in touring.

[Benny Profane]

It means your dentist will soon be buried under 5 feet of snow.

Ha.

[XXX-er]

A buddy told me he was selling so much BC gear that he could lose his alpine (popular brand) dealership and not really care all that much

and yeah the guys with all the money were buying the stuff along with beacons shovels probes arcteryx ect

[GPP33]

I'd imagine any salesman worth his weight should be able to sell touring bindings, light weight skis and boots with a walk mode. I assume these items generate a higher margin. I'm not too worried that the majority of this gear will actually see the BC. The popular BC spots are certainly getting a little more crowded though. The good news though is the BC is pretty damn big so the new crowds disperse quickly and are easy to get away from. And I can say everyone I've met way out there is pretty damn cool.

[TahoeJ]

There may just be a lot of people that look at bindings and think fuck it, might as well have a tour option and buy dukes. Whether they actually ever use it is another matter.

This. Same deal with side country boots with a walk mode.

[adrenalated]

I wonder what the numbers are like for enrollment in avy courses in the past few years?

Can't give you any hard numbers but I can tell you that an non-profit I volunteer with that does free awareness level avy classes had record turnout this year, and it appeared that all of the AIARE 1 classes in the region were sold out.

I'd imagine any salesman worth his weight should be able to sell touring bindings, light weight skis and boots with a walk mode. I assume these items generate a higher margin

That is not true. If anything, backcountry gear has less margin, but it does depend on the brand and how much volume you're buying.

[danmelon]

Can't give you any hard numbers but I can tell you that an non-profit I volunteer with that does free awareness level avy classes had record turnout this year, and it appeared that all of the AIARE 1 classes in the region were sold out.

Seems to the be case, remembered this interesting CBC article from February that echos that. Seems that enrollment is really on the upswing in Canada, but again no hard data; mostly anecdotal.


Avalanche death rates on the decline as Canadians develop greater 'respect' for mountains
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...dies-1.3428071

[BigDaddy]

It means your dentist will soon be buried under 5 feet of snow.

Ha ha, may be true... mine just bought a snowmobile for his place in Maine. Of course, I'll be hitching rides up the closed Saddleback Mt.

[simple]

I swear most of those new Backcountry purchasers just skin the resort or sub 30-degree pitches. Or they troll social media for good spots just off the highway

[pureantigravity]

Seems to the be case, remembered this interesting CBC article from February that echos that. Seems that enrollment is really on the upswing in Canada, but again no hard data; mostly anecdotal.

Avalanche death rates on the decline as Canadians develop greater 'respect' for mountains
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...dies-1.3428071

Makes me wonder if 1 or 2 years data, combined with a no-snow year and a stable-snow year could lead to a false conclusion.

What about next year? With a lot of people lulled into a false security and a few days of sneaky instability ... things could go south -statistically speaking- quite quickly.

Seems too soon to say that "Canadians develop greater 'respect' for mountains" after the actual complete rookieness of the large groups (sledders mainly) that perished this year up here.

But perhaps also, more people are suffering critical injuries and not dying because of good group actions and SAR teams that are sufficiently near.

What happens when the numbers of users exceeds SAR response abilities AND there is a big snow/bad snowpack year?

[mall walker]

IMO it's mostly a good thing. The masses will virtually never be fit enough or motivated enough to really get after it, aside from exiting gates and dying in (for example) Dutch Draw which happens plenty now with alpine gear. For some people it's no different from buying a 4WD vehicle when you live in a city without snow ("well I might one day go someplace where it's useful and since I'm spending all this money I want the option"). For others it's all about the image, being core enough to have BC gear. I imagine it would be hilarious to compare sales of Marker Dukes in the NY metro area to sales of climbing skins, for example.

The more BC gear sells the cheaper it gets, the faster innovation happens, the more reliable it becomes, just like any product that sees widespread purchase/adoption.

[XXX-er]

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...g-sport-crashe

the fall from grace of snow boarding ^^ probably ties into this thread in some way

IMO it doesn't really matter who is buying BC gear or what they wana use it for
they are still buying BC gear

OTOH the sales spike could be from telemarkers fixingtheir heels or did that alredy happen?

[DBdude]

OTOH the sales spike could be from telemarkers fixingtheir heels or did that alredy happen?

already happened

[raisingarizona13]

Retail in the classic sense is dead.

[skiitsbetter]

why spend $700 on 90 flex touring boots when you can get alpine boots for $350? Why spend $500 on 12 din bindings when you can get them for $200?

[Buster Highmen]

why spend $700 on 90 flex touring boots when you can get alpine boots for $350? Why spend $500 on 12 din bindings when you can get them for $200?

You don't impress BCBetty at the bar with plug boots.