Snowcial 2011 is less than four months away. Are you going?

Mike Henderson, who is running the social media side of Snowcial 2011 buzz, gave me the rundown on this year’s event plus an extra benefit:
Use code SlopeFillers during checkout and you’ll save 10% on your Snowcial 2011 tickets. That code is valid until Dec 1, early bird pricing ends Sept 30. Thanks Mike :)

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SlopeFillers: Question 1 – Give me the rundown on Snowcial, what is the goal of the conference, who should be there, and why?
Mike: The conference is meant to be a forum for tech geeks, online socialites and leaders in marketing who have a love for snow sports. Or leaders in snow sports media, branding, tourism and gear who also have a love for tech, marketing and online social networks. Snowcial is SXSW with a goggle tan.

So far we’ve been able to get people in snow sports fields like Greg Wright of Freeskier Magazine and Greg Prosl of Broadband Sports talking with leaders in tech and marketing like Pete Blackshaw of Nielson Media and Rob Sandie of Viddler.com. And not just in a conference setting. The event is more than just a conference. It’s a on-mountain experience for people who learn and share and interact while cruising around one of the best ski destinations in the US.

People who should come:Snow sports or winter destination marketers, brand managers for snow sports gear brands, Snow sports publishers, snow sports media, designers who ski or ride, outdoor gear brands, video producers, pro skiers, electronics makers who’s products have a snow sports tie in (Go Pro, Camera makers, mobile apps), snow sports bloggers, writers, photographers… The event is right at the tail end of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, so we suggest tacking on a weekend of skiing. Get your gadget fix @ CES then come up to Snowcial to test them out on the snow.

Basically, Snowcial is where the worlds of social media, snow sports, design and marketing meet up.

We can all go to any number of great conferences in a given year where you get to eat a continental breakfast and listen to moving keynotes and breakout sessions, but there aren’t any others where you get to ski Heavenly Mountain Resort with the presenters and all your peers from across the country and then go to an OK Go concert.

SlopeFillers: Question 2 – Let’s say I’m on the edge of coming, but maybe the price or the distance is holding me back. Give me the 30 second pep talk as to why I should come this year and not wait till next.
Mike: For the all access ticket price (starting @ $1000 until 9-30-2010) you get:

1. 3 days of skiing @ Heavenly Mountain Resort,
2. Sharing a lift with that snow sports/marketing/media expert who could help you generate ideas and insight to change the way you market your business.
3. Super informative half day conference with big names in snowsports, social and marketing like Josh Williams, Dave Morin and Rob Katz, where all the fluff is foregeone in favor of a morning of skiing and riding.
4. 3 nights @ Harvey’s, just a 4 minute walk (in boots) from the gondola. Other conferences force you to tack on a weekend of fun at extra cost after the fact. Snowcial is the conference, fun and networking all in one.

SlopeFillers: Question 3 – So, someone makes their mind up to come. What tips to you have for them to get the most out of Snowcial 2010?
Mike: Here’s a list:

1. Get there on Thursday mid to late afternoon. We’ll have a meetup/tweetup @ Harvey’s so once you check in you can come down and hang with the early birds. Then later that evening we have a welcome party with food and drinks, and usually a fun activity. First year it was a Shaun White Snowboard Tournament; last year Harvey’s set up a mini casino for us and we had a great time playing poker and blackjack.
2. Come prepared to meet people. The value of the All Access Pass is in being around the group for 3 days. Get to know everyone and make contact. We’ve become a resource for each other throughout the year, swapping emails, calls, tweets, chats. Snowcial should be an ongoing collaboration to make everything about the snow sports industry better.
3. Drink lots of water
4. Take lots of pictures.
5. Study this map, you’ll need it. http://www.skiheavenly.com/lake-tahoe/resort-map-landing.aspx

Interested in attending? Click below:
http://www.tahoesnowcial.com/rsvp/

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.