Whistler, B.C. – A lot of good things happen at the annual SIA tradeshow, in Denver Colorado. You get to check out all the new lines of next year’s gear, see a lot of the pro shreds you might not bump into at any other time, and you get to meet with all the brands so hear what they’vr got going on..

 At one such meeting with Oakley Canada's Alex Langevin and Ingrid Siriois, they told us of their massive plans during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games (yeah, using the full name here just for S.E.O.) to bring in all of their big partners (a who's who of the top North American retailers) for the week for the festivities and culminate in a day of catboarding at Powder Mountain Catboarding --  which is owned in part by snowboarding legends Don Swartz and Ken Achenbach – on the day after the women’s pipe finals, and they wanted Snowboard Canada there to join them. So really, how could we say no?

What started with an early morning (6 a.m. at the Oakley Safe House in Vancouver, to be exact) ended up with us at the base of PMS about two hours later.

Here we are, just getting assembled before the drive up to the cats. Birke photo.

And in the cat on our drive up to the snow. Birke photo.

The view out the window on the way up... some sick terrain in here, and some of it's really familiar to shreds. We're just a few minutes sled ride away from the famed Tricouni Cliffs. Michel Laramée photo.

Once we're at the top, we're treated to a great view of Whistler Blackcomb... in a way I've never seen them before. Whistler, with its runs to the Creekside are in the foreground. Birke photo.

Oakley Canada's Alex Langevin drops in with a nice surfy backside slash. James Ray/Powder Mountain Catboarding photo.

Axis Boutique's Phil Chouinard drops a Tailgrab as our guide Shamus Hayes looks on. Safety first. James Ray/Powder Mountain Catboarding photo.

Me, with a little slash too... Couldn't resist, really. James Ray/Powder Mountain Catboarding photo.

Canadian shred emeritus Derek Heidt cruises with fresh snow all in front of him. Heidt wanted to get into some of the gnarlier stuff PMS has to offer but due to questionable condistions in the days previous, we had to stick to slopes that had no "convexity". (Right, Shamus? Proper use of the term, eh?). James Ray/Powder Mountain Catboarding photo.

And here's one of Derek's classic Indy pokes.

Mineki from Rude Boys in Banff tried this drop twice and nailed it both times... Here's an Ollie. James Ray/Powder Mountain Catboarding photo.

Just some of what we gazed at all day... our lines from afar. James Ray/Powder Mountain Catboarding photo.

Snowboard Canada's Matt Aiken got in more than a few slashes before the day was done, including one that resulted in a really close call with "Death Rock" or, as most of our crew called it: "Le Roche de Mort". Matty survived the tumble with everything intact, except for his goggles... Good thing he knew some people there who could help him out. James Ray/Powder Mountain Catboarding photo.

And here's the crew at the end of an awesome day. 'Til next time, PMC. Birke photo.

For more into on Powder Mountain Catboarding, check out their website here.