Who says you can't ski on bamboo?

SALT LAKE CITY -- As college students and ski fanatics, Dan Nebeker, Adam Hepworth and Jared Richards dreamed of creating the perfect ski.

It had to be light enough to float across the powder, but strong enough to withstand high speeds and days at the terrain park, Hepworth said.

"There was a lot of trial and error," he said. "I did my own research for two years before we even put our ideas on paper."

Their hard work paid off last summer when the first Bluehouse skis rolled off a press in China. Since September, they have sold 600 pair.

"We had such a positive reception from the local skiers and from people all over the world," Nebeker said. "We were able to dig ourselves out of the (financial) hole quicker than we thought."

Innovative materials have helped make the skis a success, Hepworth said. While most skis are made of poplar, maple or carbon fiber, Bluehouse skis are made of lightweight bamboo. Light skis are especially popular with beginners, and skiers looking for something they can easily haul into the backcountry, he said.

Both models of Bluehouse skis are "fat" -- 93 millimeters at the center -- in an attempt to meet the local demand for powder skis.

"We wanted to fill a big void by designing skis for Utah big-mountain conditions," said Shane Larsen, who joined Nebeker, Hepworth and Richards in the company last year.

The company's name also has a local connection, Hepworth said. "Bluehouse" is an homage to the blue-and-white home in Provo where the idea of creating a ski company was born.

The first pair of Bluehouse skis went on sale Sept. 1 for a pre-season price of $250.

The initial run of 500 pair sold out within 10 days, Larsen said.

Since then, the company has been selling skis through its Web site for $450 to $525 a pair. Hepworth said the skis have been spotted on slopes as far away as Norway and Sweden.

Bluehouse's success comes as a relief to the founders, who are all in their late 20s or early 30s.

To get the company up and running, they recruited investors and dipped into their personal savings.

"It quickly went from a fun idea to the point where we actually had to put the money down," Nebeker said. "We kind of said to ourselves, 'It looks like there's no going back.' "

The founders each work regular jobs in addition to their Bluehouse responsibilities.

They discuss Bluehouse business online, or meet in Nebeker's basement, surrounded by cardboard shipping boxes and the Bluehouse T-shirt press.

Currently, the basement is filled with prototypes for the next ski season. They hope to produce shorter skis for women and juniors, Hepworth said, and are toying with the idea of creating an extra-long, 195 cm. ski for high speeds and a specially bowed ski to provide extra lift.

"We always want to make stuff that's innovative or different, and that fills a niche," said Kendall Card, who conducts public relations for Bluehouse.

Turning a dream into a profitable business has been hard work, Hepworth said. When they are not designing next year's models, the founders are hosting demo days, meeting with local outdoor retailers or thinking of ways to garner publicity.

At an upcoming Bluehouse-sponsored black tie rail jam, participants are invited to show off their best ski tricks while dressed in formal attire.

Success has come with a price, Hepworth said, referring to the fact that he has skied less this winter than in any other. Ultimately, he said, watching the skis he designed come to life makes it worth the sacrifice.

"When I have time to do the Bluehouse stuff, it gives me an extra drive to work even harder," he said. "It is just something that I love to do."