Back in early October, I flew out to Reno, Nevada to hang out with the Moment Skis crew for what was supposed to be a relaxing weekend with some friends who I haven't seen since February. Instead, the trip quickly turned into "Ski Building 101" for thirty-six hours during a hectic push to get more than eight-hundred skis out the door. As the article at the bottom mentions, I was witness to one of the infamous 3AM casino breakfasts just hours before arriving at the shop to work on my eighteen-hour day. Some might have trouble with such a drastic change in schedule, but for me, it was a pleasure to finally be a part of the ski-making process for a company I've been involved with for a few years now.
During the spring of 2007, I was introduced to Moment Skis and soon contacted the company with hopes of being able to purchase their largest offering, the Comi, which boasted one of the biggest dimensions at the time: 160mm in the tip, 136 in the waist, and 145 in the tail. I was willing to throw down plenty of coin for a pair without even trying them, but to great surprise, founder Casey Hakansson had far better intentions. Without me even asking, he shipped a pair of the Comi along with a prototype of the M1 colored in solid pink topsheets to Colorado free of charge. I asked when he wanted them back. His reply? "Whenever the season's over."
As anyone would expect, I was completely blown away by Casey's generosity and I've since been a loyal supporter of the company. More surprising was the welcoming of design suggestions that were taken into consideration over the years and put into production. Who knew such a small company back then would turn international and support a strong team of skiers that includes prospective Olympian and current US Ski Team Freestyle member Shelly Robertson, Jackie Paaso who placed second in this year's World Heli Challenge in both freeride and big mountain, Josh Bibby, Craig Garbiel, Cedric Tremblay-Fournier, and K.C. Deane and to name a few.
Moment Skis has grown so much recently that Backcountry.com featured the company in their latest monthly newsletter with an article entitled The Biggest Little Skimaker in the World which offers rare insight into the skiing community and what it takes to become a highly admirable fixture of the industry.
0 comments:
Post a Comment