Last May I spent a few days in New York City talking to Outside TV about the role of athletes in product development. The Polartec segment starts at 2’45” in the video below. Also included is Peter Whittaker for Eddie Bauer First Ascent and Jeff Lenosky for Teva.

Also, psyched to be a part of the 2012 Sportiva ski mountaineering team:

(Boulder, Colo.) –La Sportiva North America introduces its ski mountaineering team for 2011-2012.

On the women’s side, the team includes last year’s Colorado Ski Mountaineering Cup (COSMIC) series winner Sari Anderson, 2011 national ski mountaineering champion Janelle Smiley and IFMGA guide Olivia Race. The men’s team features some of the top skimo racers in the country including Adrian Ballanger, Keith Garvey, Jared Inouye, Chris Kroger, Luke Nelson, John Race, and Jason McGowin.

“I’m excited and honored to be a part of the La Sportiva ski mountaineering team,” states Sari Anderson .“My set up of Stratos boots, RSR skis and bindings is incredibly light and performed without fail last season.” Read more here.

And for next season:

(Boulder, Colo.) –La Sportiva North America, makers of the world’s finest mountain products, announces today that it will debut a full line of technical ski mountaineering apparel at the 2012 OR Winter Market, SIA Snowshow, and ISPO Munich tradeshows.

“The culture of ski mountaineering is thriving in Europe and shows signs of significant growth in North America,” states Jonathan Lantz, president of La Sportiva North America. “Our team of designers in the Dolomites used feedback from some of the world’s best ski mountaineers to design apparel that is fast, light and highly efficient. For randonee racing, backcountry touring, and alpine climbing, the La Sportiva apparel line sets a new bar for performance and innovation.” Read more here.