Popping in to share my final #OmniGames recap post! Better late than never, right!?
Just in case you’re catching up (or need a memory refresher), here are my previous recap posts:
- The First #OmniGames <— Includes a description of what the #OmniGames are all about and how they came to fruition
- #OmniGames: Day One
- #OmniGames: Day Two
As you may remember, a trip to Jordan was on the line for the 15 #OmniTen teams competing in the Columbia Sportswear #OmniGames. Once the games were officially over, Rebecca and I knew our chances at winning the amazing trip were very slim and when the final scores were announced last week, we learned that we did not place in the top five and will not be joining Columbia on the trip to Jordan in April. We are super psyched for the winners though and can’t wait to follow their journey!
Here are the top five winning teams:
Congratulations to all!!
The Final Evening
Though I recapped the #OmniGames competition, I didn’t have a chance to recap our final evening in Park City.
(Photo credit: Anne Carney)
Columbia treated our group to one heck of a cool event that centered around a fashion show and the unveiling of the Olympic uniforms for the United States freestyle ski team. A cocktail hour was set up outside for everyone to enjoy before dinner and after I sipped on a spiked apple cider, I headed inside with Katie and Anne to browse around the Eccles 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum.
(Photo credit: Anne Carney)
The ability to see real Olympic medals up close was surreal. I cannot imagine how Olympic athletes feel when an Olympic medal is placed around their neck.
When we saw a curling stone on display, Katie and I couldn’t resist picking it up to see just how heavy they really are and were surprised at the weight!
If Katie says it’s heavy, you can believe her because she’s an amazing CrossFit athlete.
Once we were done exploring the museum, everyone was ushered upstairs for a snazzy fashion show featuring fall 2014 Columbia gear and the Olympic uniforms of the United States freestyle ski team.
As we walked into the fashion show, I randomly chose a seat next to Deb Criss, one of the lead designers for Columbia, and loved watching the show with her and learning more about what we can expect to see from Columbia. (I said I love fun colors like mint green and was happy to learn that we will see more vibrant color from Columbia in the future!)
(Photo credit: Anne Carney)
Looove that vest!
And my favorite ski jacket:
(Photo credit: Anne Carney)
The jacket you see above is Columbia’s latest creation: The TurboDown jacket. When independently tested, the jacket proved to be up to 22 percent warmer than similar jackets and is supposed to be the perfect hybrid between synthetic and down jackets. I was actually most impressed with the weight of the jacket! It’s right around three quarters of a pound and can be bunched up and packed into a suitcase without taking up a ton of space. (Perfect for packing everything into carryon!)
And now for the unveiling of the Olympic uniforms of the United States freestyle ski team:
(Photo credit: Anne Carney)
Columbia also designed the Olympic uniforms for Canada and Russia and they all look fabulous. A great combination of functional and attractive!
My favorite part of the uniforms were the patches that Columbia designed for competitors to use as they wish on their uniforms to add some personal flare. (<—Office Space, anyone?)
Once the fashion show concluded, we followed the crowd downstairs for a delicious dinner.
I sat next to Caleb Farro, a fantastic skiier and the mastermind behind some amazing GoPro videos, and Justin Lukasavige, one of the members of the team that took first place in the #OmniGames, and loved learning about some of the amazing places they’ve visited and explored. The food was delicious and dessert was enjoyed as we walked around and had the chance to talk with Columbia designers after dinner concluded.
I made sure to take advantage of this time and speak with the designers about some of their sweat-wicking technology (Hello, Florida!) and their trail running shoes since I’ve been doing most of my trail running with Sadie in old running shoes.
And Anne and I had a little fun in a bobsled, too!
My three days in Park City were absolutely incredible. I met some of the most interesting people, had the best time playing around in the snow and testing winter gear and I am so grateful to Columbia for such a memorable experience.
And to the teams going to Jordan in April: I hope you have the most amazing time and I can’t wait to follow your journey!
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What a fun way to close out the trip! I love Columbia and think they did a wonderful job outfitting our Olympic team. Winter Olympics are my favorite so I am very excited to see our team represent.
I can’t wait to watch them!!
What a FUN trip! Thanks for sharing it all with us. Love all the Columbia clothing – cute and practical – my kinda style!
I’m still obsessing over that cute knit hat you got! Obviously, all the other gorgeous gear as well. Makes me wish I lived somewhere with more variation in weather haha! (I’m located beachside in California, which I guess isn’t too bad of a trade 😉 ).
Glad to see you ended the trip on such a great note!
Me too. 🙂 I miss the seasons and had SO much fun skiing and snowmobiling.
Love the colors on that turbodown jacket, looks like such a fun time, glad you got around to the recap 🙂
I really liked the pop of neon on the zipper 🙂
So much fun to relive these memories. Thanks for sharing, Julie!
Had so much fun meeting you!!!
What a cool experience! It must have been so much fun to be a part of it!
Wow what an awesome trip! I am so jealous 🙂 That is an experience you will always remember that is for sure!
What a cute fashion show!!! I would think it is too cold in Park City for that. I spent most of last year in SLC & Park City working for my client. It is gorgeous there! You’re pics made me miss it even though it is very, very cold.
looks like it was so much fun!!
What an awesome trip! Too bad you weren’t chosen to go to Jordan. On the bright side, look at all the opportunities you’ve gotten to do through blogging! How cool!
these posts inspired me to buy a columbia winter jacket since my (6 yr) old jacket isn’t cutting it any more. i went with the powder summit down omni-heat ski jacket and cannot wait until it arrives!
Oh My goodness!!!!!!!
As an Olympic junkie I am legit star struck by everything you experienced on your final evening! And those patches, too cool for words!
That looks like such a fun trip! And I love that last jacket from the fashion show–sounds so perfect & looks super cute!
Niiiice! I love the look of that vest with the furry hood! You look very cute in that beanie btw 😉
I was gifted the white vest for Christmas and I love it! The fur even zips off the good (which also zips off) so you can use it during more seasons than just winter. Big Columbia fan!
Even though you didn’t win the Jordan trip, this Omni trip looks incredible! Not gonna lie, having a little blogger envy right now. Also, even your stay warm wardrobe is adorable.
I love all of these outfits! So jealous of the cute snow bunny wear!
That trip looks like it was an amazing time. I’m sorry you didn’t win, but am so glad that trip was so fun!
This looks like SUCH a fun trip! I live in the mountains and wear a lot of Columbia and their sister brand, Mountain Hardwear. It’s such cute, durable and functional stuff – a win-win-win in my book!
What an AMAZING trip! Seriously.
Seriously this trip has me all kinds of jealous! It looked like so much fun! Thank you for sharing it. 🙂
I just went to a “learn to curl” session here at Hollywood Curling near Los Angeles. It was so fun! I definitely want to try it again. If you have an opportunity to try it, I recommend it!
According to our instructor, the curling stones are made from a special granite that only comes from the UK and they weigh 42 pounds each!
So I definitely grew up with Caleb Farrow (and his identical twin brother Christopher Farrow who also works for GoPro and has an equally awesome IG account). I actually ran into Caleb at a bar in Hood River, Oregon when I was visiting last weekend – small world!
This whole trip looks like it was such a cool experience!
Farro not Farrow, whoops! 🙂