2010 Winter OR / SCS Open Championships

Although always smaller than the summer show, the 2010 Winter Outdoor Retailer Show seemed noticeably slow compared to the years past. The traffic lull was most noticeable on day three when nearly 30" of snow fell in the mountains, sending retailer buyers scurrying to the slopes for a taste of some fresh pow.

Mingling amongst the retail buyers and outdoor industry representatives were the pro-ranks. Many milled around while waiting to compete in the SCS Open Championship at Momentum Gym. Some athletes wandered the Salt Palace to check out the new swag, while others renegotiated contracts or made new ones. The winter trade show is as close to the NBA draft as climbing comes. At stake are stipends, meager wages, and in some cases generous salaries.

This year’s trade show saw industry wide team consolidations (read: Cuts). This movement has been largely overdue. The term “pro” has been diluted in the sport of climbing with some companies having 300 or more athletes representing them in the United States alone. This presented a logistical nightmare for team managers, allowing athletes to act without consequence.

In an obvious backlash, the industry finally moved as a cohesive group to reign in their pro ranks, choosing only the athletes that they felt demonstrated their worth in the previous season. Unfortunately for some athletes, this change meant they were left without a sponsor or were forced to find another.

In several cases, especially for the women within our sport, their desire to be paid equally to the men resulted in their dismissal from the team roster. Unjust as it may be, there does seem to be some level of sexist inequality within the sport of climbing, especially when it comes to sponsorship salaries.

Some notable roster changes this year included, Canuker Sonnie Trotter and the Czech boy wonder Adam Ondra being signed to Black Diamond. Tommy Caldwell, has become Patagonia’s most recent ambassador, a move he called, “an opportunity to pursue adventures in the spirit of the Patagonia…”

World Cup Champion, Alex Johnson, joined the formidable ranks of Mammut, which has been quietly putting together a formidable team of athletes. Alex Puccio, was seen wearing Prana, which marked her departure from long time sponsor Verve.

Changes aside, the athletes still managed to pull together enough gusto to throw down at SCS Open National Championship. At the top of the podium was visiting climber, Magnus Mitboe from Norway and his American girlfriend and fellow east coaster Sasha DiGuilian. For full competition results, click HERE. Stay tuned for a video of the event from DPM.