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From: tristanolson
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6 months ago
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A Coop-erative Effort - Swiss A Coop-erative Effort - Swiss Vacation - Orage

From: orageouterwear
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Ain't it a bummer when you get some much snow that it makes it hard to make good on an urban mission? Sorry for complaining. According to the locals, there had been so much snowfall in Switzerland to date that the landscape literally changed. What were rocks and cliff drops last season had become rolls and filled in ravines this year. Where once stood stair sets and ledges in town, now stood head high banks of blown snow compliments of exhausted locals and their snow throwers.

Looking for a change of pace, the Orage team headed into the neighboring town of Flims, Sui to find something to jib. Phil planned on doing what he does best, JP was on a mission to keep the All I Can street vibe rolling and Prevost was prepped to get his inaugural urban mission under his belt.

They made it a few hundred yards outside our hotel lobby door and came across a ton of snow and a pretty rad feature... a few hours later, with one in the bag, Flims was next.

Success came in pairs that day.

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7 months ago
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Don’t Forget To Drink Water Don’t Forget To Drink Water

From: shayjohnson
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Drink water. It’s such an absurdly simple concept but it seems to have been forgotten in a world of action-packed, adrenaline seeking athletes who crack open an energy drink before dropping a cliff or at the end of their contest run. In this day and age, you are more likely to see your favorite athlete drinking caffeine, sugar and taurine than hydrating themselves with a glass of water. However pro-snowboarders Austin Smith and Bryan Fox didn’t want to be sucked into an over caffeinated lifestyle and created a company to bring attention back to drinking water.

It all began in 2011 when Smith and Fox noticed the abundance of energy drink influence in snowboarding. Instead of focusing on the negative, they wanted to do something more positive to spread the word and began to write “drink water” on their snowboards. “We don’t sell water. We just drink it.” said Austin Smith. Thanks to word of mouth and influential snowboard friends, the Drink Water message began to leak out.

Pro-snowboarders Austin Smith and Bryan Fox spreading the Drink Water message.

It started with T-shirts, stickers and hoodies with a simple logo above a simple saying, Drink Water. The word kept spreading like wildfire so Bryan Fox and Austin Smith brought in Bryan’s brother, Stephen Fox, to hold down the fort while they traveled around the world for powder. Since then they’ve added other products like coaches jackets and pin packs to help spread the message. Each item they sell is packed by hand with a handwritten note and help gives back to sustainable water systems.

“The response has been beyond encouraging.” said Manager Partner Stephen Fox. “From people telling their friends, to kids saving lunch money to order a sticker and pin pack off our website, to folks spreading the word on the digital social networks, to people all over the globe emailing us or placing orders, to Terje putting a sticker on his board before his winning run at the Baker Banked Slalom, to global brands reaching out with support and collaboration ideas, we're honored to be part of what feels like a worldwide community statement.”

A simple idea and message to spread the word. Drink Water.

What once began has a two-man idea has grown to include other recognizable faces in snowboarding to help spread the statement and support the cause. Snowboarders Louif Paradis, Jake Olson-Elm, Josh Dirksen, Curtis Ciszek, Jake Kuzyk, Scott Blum, Blair Habenicht, Keegan Valaika, and Scotty Wittlake. In addition to snowboarding, athletes from skateboarding and surfing have taken notice to help spread the word. In addition, anyone who shares the same idea of drinking water is considered part of the movement and helps promote the idea of a healthier living.

Not only is drinking water good for your health, but when you buy a Drink Water product, you help spread the cause and give back to the world. Drink Water donates 10 percent of profits to Water.org, an organization that helps communities design and construct their own sustainable water supply systems.

Support a good cause. 10 percent of profits go to water.org to help improve sustainable water supply systems.

“We chose to support Water.org for a few reasons. Globally, nearly a billion people lack access to clean drinking water,” said Stephen Fox. “Water.org is drilling wells to solve this challenge, and then, crucially, creating cooperative ownership for each well so that the local community members own the access to the water, rather than warlords, thugs, or corrupt governments. If you are interested, learn more about the global water crisis at water.org.”

After a year of making a statement, Fox and Smith continue to do their part to help promote a healthier lifestyle and have received positive responses for their work. For the future, Fox explains “we’re hoping to affect the way people think about liquid consumption.” It certainly sounds like this simple message might just be enough to remind us all that hydration and health matter more.
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1 year ago
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News: Shames Ski Area To Be 1s News: Shames Ski Area To Be 1st Ski Co-Op in Canada

From: johnclarydavies
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November 29, 2011

— John Clary Davies

The Friends of Shames nonprofit has come to terms on a deal to purchase the Shames Mountain Ski Area. The transaction will make Shames the first nonprofit cooperatively owned ski area in Canada.

Located in British Colombia’s Coast Mountain Range, Shames receives an average of 480 inches of snow annually. A lone chairlift and T-bar access 1,600 vertical feet on its 8,700-acre lease (though just 144 of that is in bounds). FOS expects the deal to be finalized any day. Once it is, the group’s 900 (and counting) members, each of whom bought into the ski area for $299, will be lifetime owners.

“It’s been a crazy road,” said Jon Hopper, one of the founding directors of FOS, “but we built great momentum and it looks like Shames Mountain is going to stay.”

After operating at a loss for eight of the previous ten years, the owners of Shames put the ski area on the market in 2003. In 2008, an organization called the Mountain Rider’s Alliance looked to purchase Shames and turn it in to a for-profit cooperative, but the group lacked local support. The owners received several more offers, including one from Chinese businessmen that wanted to turn it into a private hill, but resisted more lucrative deals until they found the best fit for the community.

“[The owners] are all skiers,” Hopper said. “They built it and maintained it for everybody in the area. You have to give them props for having the vision and having that strength to stick to their integrity.”

Friends of Shames started three years ago by a group of residents that didn’t want to see their local hill disappear.

“A group of people got together and found a way to solve this and have a sustainable thing up here for the long term,” Hopper said.

The group researched several different business models and concluded the community cooperative was the most viable. As nonprofit owners, all revenue the ski area generates will be put back in to the ski area for infrastructure improvements, and all owners have a voice in how the ski area is managed and operated.
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2 years ago
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Mt. Badass Rules! Mt. Badass Rules!

From: sbcskier
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Something ugly has happened to our ski areas. Where once towering mountains glistening with untouched powder beckoned skilled skiers, there are now hordes of rude, low-functioning tourists and a toothless hill girded by investment real estate. At SEC SKIER, we're dedicated to bringing back the Golden Age, returning skiing to skiers. We know this is what you want, too, so we're starting our own resort. After a couple minutes of careful thought, we figured out what it should look like.

We started thinking from top to bottom. It would be a not-forprofit cooperative, locally owned and operated. No remote corporate kingpins or puppet strings. All profit will be democratically allocated for the good of the ski area and the resident skiing population; a mandated percentage will (obviously) be spent on beer for the end-of-season party. This would be a 24-hour resort, welcoming shift workers, after parties and insomniacs. To minimize energy usage, trails and trees would be lit with fairy lights. In the spirit of pay-as-you-play, passes would be cheaper around the full moon.

As for eats, there would be no on-mountain food monopolies. Unlimited restaurant concessions will be granted, and each structure must include a comfortable drinks lounge with taps featuring mineral water, real juice, Italian espresso and microbrew beer. We at SEC SKIER can't stand inefficiencies. Unskilled and seasonal labour would be minimized on the mountain: passes will be scanned by electronic turnstile, and lift-loading largely monitored by sensors. All work that does occur is done on a job-sharing basis with maximum four-hour shifts to facilitate riding by employees. We would reward loyalty with daily lift tickets beginning at $95, and becoming significantly cheaper with each purchase. After buying 100 passes, the skier becomes a "preferred customer" for life, paying only a $10 nominal fee for ski-area upkeep. The de-escalating price structure is an incentive to ski more-and more.

And of course it would be inclusionary. Snowboarders are always welcome ... If they are wearing skis.

BASE ELEVATION: +1,000 metres VERTICAL DROP: +1,500 metres AVERAGE SNOWFALL: +1,500 cm LIFTS: Few but fast and high capacity TERRAIN MIX: Black diamond, equal mix high alpine and steep forest LOCATION: At least three hours from any major city LIFT TICKET: The better you are, the cheaper it gets

• To eliminate lineups, all lifts will hold at least 10 people and move at subsonic speeds They will use a French system called chaise a grande vitesse, which runs their trains at around 320 km/h.

• Beginners (and their instructors) would be sequestered in a separate, secluded area unti l they could prove, via general-knowledge test and practical exam, that they won't annoy or endanger other skiers. The area would be serviced by the Purgatory Chair

• The mountain would have easy access to vast and gnarly DB, with transceiver-triggered gates (i.e., you can't go out if you don't have a beeper); there would be both car-drop backside runs accessed by a short hike and others where a dedicated Cat would pick up skiers at the bottom.

• There wi ll be no parking lots at the resort and ergo, no traffic problems. A high-speed train line brings skiers into the resort; only two rail cars contain standard seats, the other 10 are licensed.

• To prevent accommodation shortages and discourage absentee ownership, the region would uphold squatters' rights. If a house remained unoccupied for more than 300 days, anyone could move in.

• A minimum of 1,000 cm average annual snowfall at the base. A unique microclimate would cause snow to fall mainly at night-even during three-day storms, orographic and upslope events-and the sun would shine most days

• Avalanche control would be organic. Accomplished backcountry and avy savvy skiers known as the Guinea Pig Squad would pack down slopes and ski-cut runs for lift privileges. This would save huge amounts and money on pro patrol and explosives.

• Ski-out trails wou ld all have a single file "s low lane" and a much wider "fast lane" (minimum speed 20 km/h). Violators of the latter a re remanded to the Purgatory Chair.

• Tickets will be clipped for chair lift stoppages, obstruction of faster skiers, holding poles in a horizontal-or anywhere within 10 degrees of horizontal position and dressing like a gaper on non-gaper day without irony.

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ORIGINALLY FEATURED IN SBC SKIER MAGAZINE - TO VIEW THE FULL ARTICLE IN ALL IT'S GLORY, HEAD OVER TO WWW.SBCSKIER.COM | AUTHOR: PENNY BUSWELL | ISSUE 10.2
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2 years ago
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News: Shames Mountain Ski Area News: Shames Mountain Ski Area, Canada’s First Non-Profit Community Ski Co-Operative

From: media-75233
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by Tania Millen

Imagine a town where you can buy a nice house for $200K then turn around and buy yourself a ski hill for $1.3 Million. Think it doesn’t exist? Think again. Terrace, BC, Canada has some of the cheapest homes in the province, and Shames Mountain Ski Area, located only 30 minutes west of town, is on the market for $1.3 M.

A steal? You bet. Especially considering this hill has the highest annual snowfall of any lift serviced Ski Area in North America. North America! Think it gets skied out? Nope, not with that much snow and season pass sales averaging 1,000 per year. Plus, the hill only covers 7% of the skiable area, so the backcountry is huge. It has a great bunch of bowls, chutes and tree runs, multi-day routes and a cabin just over the range. The best part? The backcountry is right off the T Bar.

Don’t have $1.3 M, but wanna buy the hill? You can. For $299, you can join Canada’s first non-profit community ski co-operative, My Mountain Co-op. A group of Terrace-based professionals and ski enthusiast have spent the last 2 years conducting feasibility studies and figuring out the best business model to purchase the hill. The Co-op is the result.

What’s a Co-op? Each member gets one vote, input on how the hill runs, member-priced season passes and more. A business plan including terrain expansion and development of on-hill cabins is ready to roll, but it’s Co-op members (you and me!) who will decide what happens. Your lifetime membership fee has no strings attached. There are no bills to pay, but no dividends either. It’s non-profit after all.

Here’s the deal. The Co-op has to raise $2 Million by April 30, 2011 to make an offer to the current owners. $2 Million includes the purchase price, necessary upgrades to the lodge and lifts, 5 years of planned capital improvements, plus some ‘cushion’. So if you’ve ever dreamed of owning your own Ski Area that’s blessed with some of the best white stuff on the planet, now you can. How many people do you know who own a ski hill?

Join at http://www.mymountaincoop.ca
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2 years ago
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