BOULDER, Colo. (DRAFT) – SCARPA, the Italian-based manufacturer of footwear for the full range of mountain sports, in August began working with big mountain skier Chris Davenport. Along with serving as a SCARPA ambassador and testing new SCARPA products, Davenport will be intimately involved in developing a new line of freeride boots that will be available in Fall 2013.
Widely regarded as one of the premier big-mountain skiers in the world, Davenport said he was attracted to work with SCARPA both because of the brand’s reputation in ski mountaineering and touring, but also because of the opportunity to be intimately involved in the research and development of a new, innovative line of ski boots specifically for the freeride market.
“I’m a product guy, a gear geek if you will. I love equipment, I love tweaking it, and I believe that you can always make a better product,” Davenport said. “SCARPA is super well respected in the world of skiing, so for me, this a chance to work with an already great line of products, but also a chance to help create something innovative and new.”
“There’s very definitely an opportunity in the freeride category – a product for a specific set of needs that doesn’t yet exist in the marketplace,” he said. “I’m not just joining SCARPA, I’m joining SCARPA to be involved in the development of a hot new line of products in a new category.”
Davenport began working with the SCARPA R+D team in August, and will continue through the fall season. SCARPA will unveil the new line of boots at the 2013 SIA, Outdoor Retailer and ISPO trade shoes in January and February.
Another factor that attracted Davenport to working with SCARPA was meeting the Parisotto family that owns the company, along with other SCARPA R+D team members, and seeing their passion for developing great products for skiing and mountain sports.
“We’re all product people, we love having the right product, the best thing out there, the most high performance thing we can have,” Davenport said. “So I think that also makes this a great match.”
Among his many ski mountaineering achievements, Davenport became the first person to ski all fifty-four of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks in less than one year (2007) and recently guided and skied on Mt. Everest. He has numerous first descents of peaks around the globe under his belt, and has been featured in more than 30 ski films by Warren Miller and Matchstick Productions. Davenport is also a TV commentator for ESPN, ABC sports, and Outside Television, and is an Olympic and World Cup announcer for ski racing events. A professional speaker who often lectures on risk management as it relates to business and mountain sports, Davenport is the author of two coffee-table books that celebrate North America’s mountains, Ski The 14ers and Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America. When not traveling the globe, he resides in Aspen, Colo., with his wife and three boys.
About SCARPA and SCARPA North America
Founded in 1938, SCARPA builds performance footwear for climbing, hiking, skiing, mountaineering, trail running and other outdoor pursuits from its headquarters in Asolo, Italy. SCARPA has been owned and operated by the Parisotto family since 1956. In 2005, SCARPA opened its North American headquarters in Boulder, Colorado., staffed and directed by veterans of the North American outdoor industry, to oversee sales, marketing and distribution in the U.S. and Canada. For more information about SCARPA footwear, visit www.scarpa.com.