Black Diamond
To Build Tele & AT Ski Boot Line
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January 13, 2006-- Since last summer, shortly after BD's breakup with
longtime partner Scarpa was announced, we have been hearing through
the grapevine that Black Diamond Equipment was already quietly
working on a boot program of its own. One well placed source
even went so far as to say that "it isn't a matter of if,
only of when." So it came as no big surprise last month
when near the end of our second-ever tour of the BD headquarters
and production facility in Utah, this tour led by CEO and Co-founder
Peter Metcalf himself, we were guided over to an area within
the R&D section where ski boots in various states of undress
filled the shelves and the large work table around which we gathered.
"So here is where we are working on a big new project,"
explained David Mellon, BD's Director of Product. "We have
made the decision to design and build a full line of telemark
and alpine touring boots, with the goal of having the line ready
to show at the January 2007 Winter Outdoor Retailer Tradeshow,
and on our dealer shelves for fall, 2007."
A boot team has been assembled led by Thomas
Laakso, Ski Group Category Manager, and Dave Narajowski, lead
designer of many of BD¹s successful products. The team also
includes Andi Lachinger, Jake Hall, Jeremy Saxton, Paul Terry
and Alex Holzberger. According to BD this group brings a "Chop
Shop tenacity, resourcefulness and diverse work experience ranging
from the biomechanics of skis and ski boots, to alias surface
modeling, high performance footwear and auto design." Specifically,
Lachinger worked with Atomic as their ski boot product manager,
and BootDoc ­ which develops high-end custom ski boot footbeds
and liner solutions in Europe. Hall brings previous experience
from Rome Snowboards, Saxton worked at Nike, Terry hails from
Porsche Designs, and Holzberger developed Roces speed skates.
Chop shop tenacity and resourcefulness
are qualities that might just be needed in abundance given the
audacity of the goal BD has set for itself. When contacted to
offer his thoughts on this news, one highly placed veteran of
the tele and AT boot wars wondered if the Salt Lake City-based
company knew the kind of challenges that lie ahead, especially
given the fact that planned production is rumored to be slated
to take place in Asia, allowing BD to avoid the volatility of
the Euro to Dollar exchange rate. "We make our boots in
Italy, a country which has a long tradition of footwear manufacturing,
and it's still very far from easy... I wonder if BD knows what
they are in for, " said the wag.
For their part, BD is oozing quiet confidence.
Peter Metcalf explained: "This is a huge investment for
BD, but one that we are excited to make because we see opportunity
to raise the bar in terms of product and the performance it delivers.
BD is the only player in the tele/AT boot market with designers
who are an integral and organic part of the backcountry ski community,
dawn patrolling each day before work. Such levels of intimacy
and passion are terrific sources of creativity and inspiration.
You can feel the energy level of this project radiating through
all parts of BD." In a missive to dealers, Metcalf also
recently wrote: "BD designs and builds products that
make a difference in the day to day existence of skiers and climbers.
In the case of ski boots, we will draw on our vast experience
as intimate users, innovative designers, and as a reliable, ethical
and committed partner to our dealers in order to design a new
standard of telemark and AT boots to meet the needs of the modern
day tele & backcountry skier."
A new standard? Could that mean more than
the usual blah blah blah? We have good reason to think that it
does, even if the allusion might have been totally unintentional.
In fact we have reason to believe that BD is working on a new
telemark interface of its own. Disclaimer: this speculation
is not based upon anything we saw on the factory tour, and when
asked for comment David Mellon would only say, somewhat cryptically,
"Obviously, as we are already in the business of making
freeheel bindings, building a new line of tele boots does in
fact give us an opportunity to explore new ways to make the connection
from boot to ski." Still, we are convinced, on the order
of 100% certain, that BD is already headed down the path of creating
its own "new telemark norm," intending to go head to
head with Rottefella's NTN, and whatever compatible boots by
the current "Big Three" end up hitting the market next
year.
There is always the chance that BD might
choose to license Rottefella's NTN technology, but our feeling
is that this is not the direction BD is headed. After all, it's
highly unlikely that BD would have pulled out of the Rottefella
NTN project, as they did last year after many years of participation
and a significant monetary investment. No, the writing is on
the wall: first BD shocked many of us by withdrawing from
what used to be called the NTN "consortium," a group
of manufacturers intent on creating a new standard. BD was a
charter member going back to the late 90s, with former Ski Product
Group Manager Jordy Margid leading the charge. Then BD shocked
us even more by ending its partnership with Scarpa. Soon after,
when we heard that BD was planning on building its own line of
tele and AT boots, the events of the past year suddenly seemed
to make sense.
In the wake of the Skyhoy and Ted Ayliffe
fiascos, it seems clear that BD is totally done with off-the-shelf
solutions and attempts at sketchy but alluring-on-paper partnerships.
This is a very confident crew they have working over there these
days, emboldened by their successes inside and outside the outdoor
industry. It is a team that Metcalf feels good enough about to
authorize a reported $6 million initial investment in their boot
program. That's a helluva lot of doe-ray-me, even for a company
said to be approaching $50 million a year in sales.
These are heady times for the sport of
telemark and backcountry skiing. Sales of alpine gear and snowboard
hardgoods have remained flat now for several years, this while
tele has been posting solid gains, making freeheel skiing the
defacto darling of the ski industry (have you read SKIING or
SKI mags lately?). Just last month, while riding up their tram,
Snowbird's Public Relations Director Laura Schaffer told us that
two years ago only 4% of her resort's customer base were tele
skiers, last year the number had jumped to 7%. Given this kind
of growth, it comes as no surprise that we have two or more major
players squaring off in a high-stakes game to determine the future
of the sport's essential gear.
Fasten your seat belt, the next few years
promise to be a wild ride.
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