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This Thursday marks the first day of Los Angeles’ awesome Ski Dazzle event. Already in its 45th year, the event will feature over 50 resorts & travel companies, over 20 retailers, and all sorts of other fun stuff including huge sales, free lift tickets and prizes.

I have to say, as a recent transplant from Southern California, I’m utterly amazed by the fact that LA has such a better winter festival than San Francisco. LA isn’t necessarily a hotbed of winter culture and the closest big mountain riding is a 302 mile drive north to Mammoth. Not to disrespect this year’s inaugural SF Ski & Snowboard Fest, but you could kinda tell this was their first crack at it. The wine and beer tastings were a nice touch but the whole thing felt kind of thin. I was expecting a helluva lot more gear than what was available in the designated Lombardi Sports and Porters sections, and was especially disappointed by the lack of product represented by the manufacturers themselves. I’m kinda sorta in the market for new skis and I was hoping to roll in, speak to a few reps, flex a few pairs, and maybe…maybe walk out with a pair of overpriced boards. Instead, the 4 or 5 pairs of skis that each manufacturer showcased didn’t quite cut it and I was left sifting through piles of brochures to get a look at this year’s lines.

What surprises me the most is that Ski Dazzle comes so close to the city but doesn’t plant a flagpole anywhere near it. Every year they set up shop in San Jose and Sacramento (in addition to LA and Chicago), but I ain’t taking that drive just for this. That being said, Ski Dazzle does list the San Jose show as their “Bay Area” event, so I do get the feeling that the city may be involved in all this and if it were up to them, they’d take up the entire Civic Auditorium.

Anyway, if you’re in LA and have the chance to check out the show, you’re a sucker if you don’t…

WHAT
Ski Dazzle Los Angeles

WHERE
Los Angeles Convention Center (South Hall)
(213) 741-1151 – Convention Center Info Line
Map

WHEN
Thursday December 4th: 4:00pm to 11:00pm
Friday December 5th: 4:00pm to 11:00pm
Saturday December 6th: 11:00am to 10:00pm
Sunday December 7th: Noon to 6:00pm

Ski Dazzle Los Angeles Website