Time for Action – Protect Our Winters

Protect Our Winters

Pre-order partnership on Earth Day supports ski-focused climate change activism

We are lucky to have a business that allows us to pursue our passion as a job, and to earn a living doing what we love. We are lucky to have a client base that values our work and shares our values. We help our customers get the most out of their investment in a passion and a hobby, and we’re lucky to see the very best of the people we work with. We’re lucky to share our favorite lifestyle with a cool kid, who also loves skiing, and to travel the world as a family, and call it “work”. We have worked hard to make the life we’ve got, and we’re lucky that we work in an industry where everybody is willing to work hard and make sacrifices to ensure that we get to keep skiing. The question we are faced with is a big one; how long will our luck hold?

Climate change is happening, and the future of winter sport is uncertain. We believe in a future for winter sport. We’re not ready to throw in the towel and give up on winter, but we can’t continue to count on luck to ensure the future of our lifestyle and livelihood. Like most people that we know and work with, we’ve had our heads firmly buried in the sand. We’re not denying the scientific reality that confronts all of us, but we haven’t exactly been willing to face it head-on. It’s time to change that approach. We’re in a good position to call attention to a cause and to forge partnerships with our suppliers and our customers to make a difference. So here’s what we’re going to do:

On Earth Day, April 22^nd, we will accept $100 deposits for new ski orders. Those deposits will be applied to the cost of a new pair of skis, and the $100 deposits will be donated in their entirety to Protect Our Winters. For specifics, and to place an order and a deposit, follow this link to our webstore.

http://shop.caldwellsport.com/ski-order-protect-our-winters-donation/

Why Protect Our Winters? Well, we looked at them first because of their partnership with Andy Newell and Simi Hamilton. We reached out to those guys, and they both endorsed the plan. POW is a non-partisan organization with a goal of “mobilizing the outdoor sports community to lead the charge towards positive climate action”. They focus on political advocacy (that’s lobbying, where massive fossil fuel industry dollars are focused), education, and community action. They recognize the potential power and influence of the outdoor industry as a 650 billion dollar contributor to the economy. They’re a perfect fit, and a very well regarded organization.

We’ve approached our ski industry partners with this idea, and Fischer, Madshus and Salomon have all agreed to support this project. Fischer is especially connected, since Simi and Andy, along with Fischer athletes Kikkan Randall and Steve Nyman (USST Alpine) are part of POW’s Rider’s Alliance. We’re really pleased that all of our major ski brands have been quick to offer their support and will share the cost of this project.

What’s the bottom line?

We don’t really know what to expect from this. At a minimum, we hope that this causes our readers to pause and reflect. We hope that it provides an opportunity for our customers to contribute directly to a cause that concerns all of us. We hope that you recognize that participating in this project is a great way to leverage our commitment, and the commitment of our ski suppliers, to contribute to fighting climate change.

We don’t expect this to generate a huge amount of new business for us. That’s not the goal. But we hope it makes our commitment clear, and we hope that it generates a meaningful contribution to POW.

It’s also good timing, since we’re currently planning our ski selection trips for the season, and it’s time to be taking orders. So, think it over, and let us know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Amy, Gunnar, and Zach