Snow lovers, brace yourselves. For two days in November, the Spokane Convention Center Expo Hall will be filled wall-to-wall with all the winter sports gear and information you’ll need to get ready to hit the slopes or plan a memorable winter vacation.
Several of the Inland Northwest’s most well-known winter sports gear retailers — Alpine Haus, Wintersport and Tri-State Outfitters — will set up mini stores on the expo floor and plan to offer the lowest prices of the season exclusively for the event, organized by The Inlander.
If you’ve got questions for the gear manufacturers themselves, Snowlander Expo’s got you covered there, too. Factory reps from some of the leading brands will be on hand doing demos and talking to snow enthusiasts. You’ll find booths for Oakley, Armada Skis, North Face, K2 Snowboarding, Volkl, Rossegnol, SWIX, Mervin Lib Tech and Spokane’s own Sneva Mfg.
Local ski resorts — 49 Degrees North, Mt. Spokane, Lookout Pass, Silver Mountain and Schweitzer — will be there to take season pass photos, too. Reps from resorts in the Canadian Rockies will also head down to Spokane to talk up their pristine powder runs.
After you’ve shopped ’til you’ve almost dropped, the beer garden could be the perfect way to end the day, with Kokanee and Arbor Crest offering up the libations.
If that’s not enough to get you going, more than $6,000 worth of prizes are slated to be given away. Maybe you’ll get lucky and actually win something, like a pair of Oakely’s goggles, a pair of skis, or a three-hour snowmobiling tour from the Selkirk Powder Company.
On Saturday night, winter sports enthusiasts can catch a special screening of Teton Gravity Research’s two new winter sport action films The Dream Factory, an action ski flick, and Jeremy Jones’ Further, showing the die-hard snowboarder’s ultimate dream scenes.
The screening starts at 8 pm, and by purchasing tickets in advance online at ticketswest.com, you’ll save two bucks ($10). The double feature is $12 at the door.
Tickets for the Expo are $7, and admission is good for both days. Kids under age 12 are free with a parent. Plan ahead and get your tickets at one of 20 area Conoco 76 gas stations or from the local retailers who’ll be at the show, listed above.
The Inlander’s Snowlander Expo • Fri, Nov. 9 from 4-9 pm; Sat, Nov. 10 from 10 am-7 pm • Spokane Convention Center • 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. • $7/door, $5/advance • snowlander.com
