Let’s start with a truth that burns like frozen steel on bare skin: Ullr is punishing the greedy bastards at Vail Resorts and Alterra.
FINALLY.
With no snow across the West, delayed openings speculatively or ambiguously rescheduled for December, the consequence for their continued cash grab agenda is here—and unfortunately, it hits the rest of us, too; times over. We forgive, but we certainly don’t forget. The higher ground we’re reminded of is that: The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.
Yet this is not a time for schadenfreude or is it shredenfreude; it’s a time for redirection. The corporate winter may be freezing up, melting down, however our community’s is infinitely whole hearted and soul full.
Therefore, we trade judgment for action, an inspired satisfaction. Instead of watching and waiting for any sign of winter wonder, we selflessly invest in the foundations that keep our connective culture alive and thriving. In advance of Giving Tuesday, if you’re so aligned and inclined, here are several suggestions for where your contribution can make a tangible, positive impact amid and among our world.
Read: Let The Kids Ride Free
These organizations are driving positive change in health, access, environment, and education within the snow sports community.
These groups are dedicated to ensuring the joy of sliding on snow is available to everyone, regardless of background or ability.
Chill: Uses board sports to help underserved youth build life skills and resilience.
They focus on core values like respect, perseverance, and patience, teaching kids how to translate mountain challenges into life success. Through their programs, Chill has introduced thousands of youth to snowboarding and skateboarding who otherwise would have never had the chance to step on a board.
Stoked: Empowers at-risk youth through mentoring and action sports culture.
Stoked pairs young people with adult mentors for continuous, structured support, building confidence and providing a positive path forward off the streets. Their mission is a long-term investment in youth development, using the commitment required for action sports as a teaching tool for life’s toughest obstacles.
SOS Outreach: Fosters core values and leadership skills in youth through participation in outdoor adventure sports.
SOS runs multi-day progression programs, requiring participants to actively engage in community service and mentorship before advancing to the next level of mountain skills. This unique system ties on-snow privileges directly to off-snow leadership, creating responsible citizens and expert riders.
Hoods To Woods Foundation: Provides inner-city youth with opportunities to learn and participate in outdoor activities, specifically snowboarding.
This organization removes the triple barriers of gear, cost, and logistics, providing everything from transportation to brand-new equipment to give kids their first taste of the mountains. They are closing the access gap, showing inner-city youth that the natural world is a resource available to them.
Share Winter: Works to fund programs that provide winter sports opportunities to youth who otherwise wouldn’t have access.
Acting as a crucial grants provider, Share Winter supports local programs nationwide, serving as the financial engine that gets hundreds of thousands of youth on skis and snowboards. They tackle the massive, structural cost barrier to entry by distributing funds strategically across dozens of communities.
National Ability Center: Empowers individuals of all abilities through adaptive outdoor recreation and educational programs.
The NAC transforms lives by using specialized equipment and expert instruction to make snowboarding, skiing, and other outdoor activities accessible to wounded veterans and individuals with physical or cognitive challenges. Their programs prove that the freedom of the mountain is a right for every single person, regardless of physical condition.
Protecting the bodies and minds that make up our riding community.
Boarding For Breast Cancer (B4BC): A non-profit foundation focusing on breast cancer awareness, education, and prevention among young people.
B4BC utilizes the action sports lifestyle to deliver crucial messages about early detection, healthy living, and preventative care to an often hard-to-reach young demographic. Their Check Yourself campaign normalizes self-screening and funds vital survivor retreats, connecting the mountain community directly to the fight against cancer.
Save A Brain: Dedicated to educating athletes and the public on concussion awareness and prevention.
Founded by snow sports athletes, Save A Brain provides free educational resources and support systems designed to change the culture around head injury recognition and recovery. They are actively pushing for better safety standards and removing the stigma around reporting symptoms in high-risk sports.
Nickolay Dodov Foundation: Works to promote safety, education, and proper training techniques in snow sports to prevent injury.
Established in the memory of a passionate athlete, the foundation focuses heavily on backcountry safety and proper avalanche education for young riders and professional athletes alike. They provide essential organization for and implementation of free safety clinics, ensuring all riders have the training necessary to navigate the biggest terrain responsibly.
LoveYourBrain Foundation: Committed to improving the quality of life for people affected by traumatic brain injury (TBI)—including concussions—and their caregivers.
Co-founded by professional snowboarder Kevin Pearce after his near-fatal TBI, LoveYourBrain offers comprehensive, free-of-cost programming focused on community, mindful practices, and education. Their programs, including accessible yoga and retreats, are specifically designed to foster resilience and improve the physical and emotional well-being of TBI survivors and their families, addressing a critical gap in post-acute support.
Because without snow, none of this matters.
Whether you give your money, your time, or simply use your voice to advocate, the greater community is stronger for your individual efforts. Now go drop in on one of these links and check what resonates most, compels contribution.
This kind of [giving] feeling / It’s like life, it’s so appealing / When you’ve got so much to say it’s called gratitude / And that’s right.
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