Vote for Lasse!

Lasse Kjus has been nominated for the Name of the Century for Follo, Norway- the translation may not be perfect. Lasse is one of 10 candidates who have brought the most recognition to the Follo area of Norway.

Lasse grew up in Siggerud, Norway, about a half hour south of Oslo. He learned to ski at Troll Valley ski area and from there went on to be one of the World's all time great skiers and the name sake of KJUS skiwear. You can read more about Lasse, his new found love for flying and his candidacy here- http://tinyurl.com/5taqg7

Polls are open. Vote early and often. You have until November 7th to cast your ballot for Lasse- http://tinyurl.com/552mha

Melges 24 Worlds Update

In yesterday's race Lasse finished 32nd, moving him up to 96th overall. Race four is underway with winds freshening to 20 mph. Follow live text updates at http://www.melges24worlds2008.com/

The Off Season

Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning on Summer for many of us. All but a few ski resorts have shuttered for the season and we focus on other outdoor activities.

The majority of us at KJUS are avid golfers. Our CEO Didi Serena handicap is in the single digits. Others of us aspire to lower our handicaps by as much. Both Casey Puckett and Bode Miller enjoy getting out on the course. Bode recently competed in the World Ski & Golf Championships where we put on the Team America race suit before lacing up the spikes (soft of course).

His team, Team Kitzbuhel, took the title. Bode won the ski and he finished 10th overall in his class.

Another sport enjoyed by a number of us at KJUS is sailing. As a Swiss company, we can no longer the excuse of a land locked country to not sail- thanks to the America's Cup success of Alinghi. In the US, our brand manager races weekly on Casco Bay. But the big sailor in our midst, is Lasse. As we reported this winter he sails a Melges 24. This week he is competing in the Melges 24 World Championships in Porto Cervo, Italy. Wind has been an issue since racing started last week, and Lasse seems to have had some issues himself as he currently sits in 99th spot of 105 boats. There's still lots of racing left, so lets hope he gets good wind and strong starts in the following races and moves up some places.

View other images from the racing action at http://www.outsideimages.co.nz/

Do you read before you buy?

According to SIA you do. Yesterday SIA released news on the impact consumer generated product reviews have on purchasing decisions, especially on "expensive snow sports equipment and apparel." According to its study more than 88% of those surveyed seek out reviews for these purchases and 7 out of 10 have decided not to make a purchase based on a review.

So, we decided to see what kind of feedback consumers were leaving about KJUS products. It was actually a harder task than we had originally thought. The majority of our retailers' websites are not set up for posting reviews the way Amazon and Backcountry.com are. That said, Sturtevant's in Bellevue, WA does. Here is what some of their customers had to say about KJUS:

Kjus: Women's Formula Pant - 2008-01-28
Love 'em! Fabulous fit, perfect in all weather, from blizzard to sunshine and I constantly get complimented on how GREAT they look! I'll definitely be buying more of this label!

Kjus: Formula Pant - Andrew Cherner - 2007-11-23
These pants are the best! I bought them in one color and loved them so now I am getting them in Black also! Stretchy, comfortable and great looking - THE BEST!

Kjus: Women's Royale Shirt - 2008-04-21
Kjus Royale Shirt I love my Kjus Royale Shirt. It fits perfect and I love the brand Kjus. I highly recommend all of Kjus products.

Hopefully in the future more of our dealers' websites will have the functionality for consumers to leave reviews. But nice to see that everyone who left feedback were happy customers.

We also come across this gem in our research:

Direct Collection on Amazon

Lasse Still Has the Stuff

We mentioned a few weeks ago that Lasse was throwing his hat back in the ring. Well he got the equivalent of a leaner this past weekend placing second in the downhill at the Norwegian National championships.

Not bad for a guy who has been away from the sport for two years.

Congratulations Lasse!

Lasse Kjus back to racing?

Over the past week there have been news reports circulating through Europe that Lasse and Kjetill Andrè Aamodt are going to get back between the gates at Norwegian nationals (March 26 thru April 2). In a TV interview Aamodt said it was a "medical report" of sorts to see how the duo were doing after two years off.

It will be very cool to see how the two are doing compared with today's Norwegian top dogs. According to the Aamodt the duo is looking for a top 10.

Lasse and Kjetill have both been spending a lot of time sailing since retiring. Skiing is a watersport, though usually in frozen form.

He is in Key West

This is the answer to what is surely to be one of next week's most commonly asked questions.

Next week the SIA show takes place in Las Vegas and ISPO invades Munich and visitors to the KJUS booth at each show are likely to ask- Is Lasse here? What is he up to these days?

This week Lasse is in Key West, FL, competing in the Acura Race Week. This is not a new King of the Mountain event made for TV in the warmer climate, it is one of the worlds largest sailing regattas. When Lasse doesn't have a ski pole in his hand he is likely to have a tiller in it. Lasse has long been keen on sailing and since retiring has been racing his Melges 24 NOR 724. In 2006 he and Aamodt both purchased Melges 24s, so the friendly rivalry now continues on the water.

In Key West, Lasse is currently 31st in his one-design class. Weather has been pretty iffy through out the week, and on Monday he had a pretty tough go of it in a practice session with one of his crew members taking a swim.

Today in Gary Jobson's day four video report he interviews Lasse about how ski racing and sailing are not too different from each other. Gary is an exceptional announcer, so we'll let his pronunciation of Kjus slide this time.

Happy Birthday Lasse

Lasse is 37 today. The IOC had a nice salute to him on their site this morning- "4 Letters Make Up KJUS":

K for Kjetil
J for Japan
U for Universal
S for Star

Check out the link for further explanation of the acronym.

KJUS Movie 07/08 Premiere

The 2007/08 KJUS Movie premiered on www.kjus.com today. It documents an epic ski trip by Lasse Kjus and friends to the remote island of Lofoten, off the coast of Norway. Few permits have been given to ski the island, but Lasse being Lasse... The scenery is breathtaking and provides an almost surreal backdrop to some amazing skiing.

So with ski season fast approaching and already here in other locations, have a look, get inspired for the season and follow your passion.