Treasurer of Friends of the UAC, Colleen Nipkow comments, ³We are proud of
our body of work and support of the UAC. Federal funding cuts force the
Center to run on a season-by-season basis, and fortunately the Center has
been able to operate for the past fourteen years due to the positive
community response by backcountry users and local and national businesses.²

Over 800 people attended the event last year, which will be hosted this year
by Uinta Brewing, food by Rico and music by the bluegrass band Cold Creek .
The party and silent auction are considered by many the unofficial precursor
to ski season in the Wasatch. For more information go to http://www.bdel.com/scene/events/index.php

Coming off of a record snowfall year for much of the nation, BD is equally
thrilled about Winter 08/09. Specifically, BD won Editor¹s Choice from
Backcountry magazine in both boot categories with their new Freeride boot
the Factor, and Push telemark boot. BD also hauled in Editor¹s Choice from
Backcountry for the Women¹s Joule Ski, and O1 telemark binding.
Complementing this coverage the Verdict won Best Buy Freeride Powder Ski in
SKI, the powder specialist Megawatt ski won Editor¹s Set Up in Freeskier,
and a total of five skis won Powder magazine¹s Skier¹s Choice Award
(Megawatt, Zealot, Verdict, Kilowatt and Joule) along with the Factor
Freeride boot, Custom telemark boot, Fritschi Freeride Plus and O1 telemark
binding.

³Now we just need it to snow,² comments Ski Hardgoods Director Thomas
Laakso. ³The overwhelmingly positive reception to the debut of the boot line
is due to listening to consumers and understanding the shifting needs and
performance demands of skiers. It is not dissimilar to digging a snowpit ­
you have to work hard, understand the conditions and look for the subtleties
in terms of the trends in snow.²

To coincide with the annual UAC Fundraiser and the debut of an entirely new
boot line, BD has also launched a microsite that explores the back story and
details of their new Freeride alpine-touring and telemark boots ­
www.skiBDboots.com. Featuring 360 spins with
zoom views of each boot, the site offers deep insight into the vibe,
personality, new technologies and feature sets of the nine new styles of
boots.

Winner of the Outside magazine 2007 Gear of the Year for the Verdict Ski,
Black Diamond Equipment Ltd. is an employee-owned manufacturer of equipment
for rock climbing, alpinism and freeride skiing. By consistently building
innovative, standard-setting products and actively preserving the mountain
environment, Black Diamond has assumed a leadership role in the
international outdoor community. For more information on Black Diamond visit
www.blackdiamondequipment.com