Snow is already starting to coat the peaks of the Northern Rockies, so I've been talking to local ski aficionados and thumbing through the new Powder Magazine Equipment Guide.  I'm shocked to find explosive growth in U.S.-based boutique ski-makers producing high quality skis

Many of these ski-makers are classic garage startups launched in the past decade by a few people with some dogs. They are definite leaders in the industry, producing the groundswell behind the "rocker" ski movement, a reverse-camber ski which is the new technology taking hold in the mainstream.

Not all of the skis are handmade in America, with many of them being produced in Europe. But I found very few that are produced in China, unlike the mass-market skis. What's interesting is that these small companies are gaining a lot of attention in the ski community for their innovation, high quality, and attention to detail. Here is proof that startups, jobs, and products can be created through hard work and innovation.

Here's an overview of some companies in that hot new trend:

4FRNT (Salt Lake City, Utah): 4FRNT was your classic garage startup in 2002, started by Matt Sterbenz and handful of people with a dream. Now it's a global manufacturer of top-of-the-line park and powder skis. The skis are manufactured in Slovenia and Tunisia, in partnership with Elan.

Armada Skis (Costa Mesa, Calif.). Armada skis was an "idea hatched over a few beers," according to the company website. Though technically, this company is not pure-bred American garage because the skis are made in Austria (hey, at least it's not China). Like many of the other garage ski companies, Armada is famous for its "rocker skis," striking graphics, and popularity with the powder set.

Icelantic (Denver, CO) : One of the purest of the North American ski boutiques, Icelantic does not outsource production and each ski is handmade in Colorado, USA. The company has launched some skis with avante-garde designs, including the Shaman. "We employ American craftsmanship, top of the line materials and cutting edge graphic art to provide our customer with the best product and experience possible," says the company.

Line Skis (Seattle, Wash.): Line specializes in fat freestyle and powder skis. Line's pros include Eric Pollard and Niklas Eriksson.

Moment Skis (Reno, Nev.): Moment skis are all designed and handmade in Reno. The company is only six years old, but it now produces 16 ski models. Pros skiing Moment include Josh Bibby, Craig Garbiel, and Shelly Robertson. It's also got the ski with my favorite name, "The Night Train."

PmGear (Reno, Nevada): Another Nevada ski company, PmGear boasts the "World's best crossover skis," but they are also known to be worn by many pros bombing down powder steeps and hucking cliffs. A select number of the skis are handmade in Reno, but the rest are manufactured in Switzerland. The most eye-opening ski? The Lhasa Pow, which the company claims is the "world's first true carbon/fiberglass rockered" ski. It's made in the USA.

Praxis Skis (Truckee, Calif.): "Handmade in the Sierra Nevada," this is a true-blue American company with a factory near Lake Tahoe. Again, this company focuses on unique skis, many of the rocker variety, for use in powder and the back-country.

What's amazing is that more and more of these skis are showing up in the mainstream, as the independent brands and innovative designs are catching the attention of young skiers. For example, in this year's "Fanatasy Draft" in Powder magazine, it seems like half of the skis chosen came from the new boutique manufacturers rather than the giant mass-production companies.

Icelantic Skis - Poorboyz Collaboration from Icelantic Skis on Vimeo.