Last night Oakley invited media from all over the world to the top of Grouse where they've established an Olympic home base of sorts. It was a wet one but a swath of reporters, broadcasters, and otherwise industry dirtbags showed up to check out what Oakley has in store in its upcoming men's and women's outerwear lines. To beat the soggy Vancouver rain, Oakley staffers served up hot toddy's, cafe tiramasu, and all sorts of fancy ass coffees.

Oakley sports marketing manager Matty Swanson took the mic to explain the concept of Oakley's Signature and Pro Rider Series lines and described how the upcoming collection was brought together with the help of R & D from the team riders. Positive reaction from the crowd was unanimous.

Things kicked into high gear, and trust me when I say mainstream media went absolutely berzerk, when Swanson brought out Gretchen Bleiler and introduced her to the scrum. Gretchen went over her collection, especially the eco line she's really stepped up to help develop, and spoke about the next days ahead when she'll be charging the pipe at Cypress. When one intrepid reporter asked her how the rain will affect it all, she said she was stoked to have fun in a soft pipe.

Next up, Shaun White came out in straight rockstar fashion when he rolled up in an Oakley-wrapped cat with concert lights flashing all over the place. Of course, reporters went nuts again to catch a live sighting of their beloved "Flying Tomato" (note: SBC does not endorse this nickname). White was a lot more candid than Gretchen, probably testament to just how much he's had to deal with bloodsucking media throughout his career. He talked about his new sunglasses and goggles about to drop and, when asked about why he needed his own private pipe with Project X, he made it clear that there are just far too many kids rolling around the mountain asking for autographs and trying to snap a blurry photo on their iPhones. Damn, if that's the biggest problem you've got, you're doing pretty good there, Shaun. It was truly amazing to see what kind of attention level this guy is seriously on. Gretchen is one thing, but Shaun White is a regular celebrity these days without a doubt. —Dean Seguin

Not a bad greeting. Not a bad greeting indeed.

Gretchen Bleiler in the hot seat.


Oakley's Matty Swanson fires questions at Gretchen Bleiler to the media's delight.

A to Z, and all sorts of bright and poppy and tight and sloppy — Oakley's entire 2010-11 outerwear collection.

Shaun White takes the stage. Note the badass Oakley-wrapped cat he rode in on.

While media were under a heated canopy, Shaun White weathered the rain to answer questions. Good thing he had an entourage of personal umbrella holders.