After years of organizing single-day vertical challenge fundraisers to fight cancer, Hope on the Slopes is now launching a full-season contest to track your turns anywhere you ski or snowboard.
Executive Director Charlene Piercy said the group’s founder Dave Ludwig “has been talking about a season-long contest for as long as I can remember. He just thought it would be a great way to get more people involved.”
The vertical contest will run from September 1, 2014 to May 4, 2015 and will measure vertical feet skied or snowboarded using the Ski Tracks mobile app from Core Coders. Ski Tracks is one of the most popular mountain apps out there, and it tracks vertical feet at hundreds of resorts across North America and Europe. If you haven’t tried out this app yet, I highly recommend it as 99 cents well spent, although it does tend to drain down your phone’s battery power.
Hope on the Slopes Ski & Ride for a Cure, a registered nonprofit based in Tacoma, Wash., is registering skiers and snowboarders for the season-long vertical challenge through its website. Early-bird registration is $30 through August 1; after that it will increase to $40. Funds will support the organization’s mission to fight cancer, and participants can also contribute additional money as a tax-free donation.
Piercy said the goal in the first year is to raise $20,000 through the season-long vertical contest, to add to the money raised through individual events at more than a dozen resorts across the U.S. The new initiative should help the organization find more donors, because it is open to all skiers and snowboarders regardless of where they ride.
There will be prizes for the season-long vertical challenge winners, including top male, top female, and top finishers in various age groups.
The new season-long contest is meant to complement the single-day events that Hope on the Slopes stages at ski resorts, not replace them. That is a good thing, because Hope on the Slopes events are a blast, even in the pouring rain.
The 24-hours-straight Hope on the Slopes event at Mt. Hood Skibowl each spring is one of three 24-hour events the organization offers, along with Stevens Pass and White Pass. The other events last eight hours.
Hope on the Slopes at Skibowl is still on for the spring of 2015, and the organization is also negotiating with several major resorts for new fundraisers next season.
You can keep up with the latest news about the new vertical challenge and other Hope on the Slopes events through the group’s Facebook page, website and Twitter page.
Last modified: June 26, 2014
