Ski Bums
Encyclopedia
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
skiers and snowboarders, with hundreds of members from across North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. It hosts social events and group trips to ski resorts throughout North America, South America and Europe. It is the world's largest gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
and snowboarding
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
club.
History
Ski Bums was founded in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in December, 2003 by Chris French, who created the club in the hopes of finding a small group of gay friends for skiing and snowboarding trips. http://www.ski-bums.org/images/TimeOutNYArticle2.jpg Today, the club has more than 800 paid members from 25 U.S. States, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Ski Bums began with local daytrips from New York City, but within two years, began traveling to ski resorts throughout the American West. In 2008 and 2009, Ski Bums offered year-round vacations to ski resorts in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, visiting mountains throughout North America, South America and Europe.
Social events
Ski bums has hosted Avalanche, a party for its members and friends, at therapy, a gay bar in New York City. In the fall of 2009, Ski Bums expanded its social events to Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and other cities around the country. In addition, Ski Bums hosts a series of charity fund-raising events each year. An up-to-date listing of social events can be found here.
Trips
To date, Ski Bums has hosted trips to Vail, TellurideTelluride, Colorado
The town of Telluride is the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The town is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River in the western San Juan Mountains...
, Steamboat Springs
Steamboat Springs
Steamboat Springs may refer to:*Steamboat Springs, Colorado, a town in Routt County, Colorado, United States*Steamboat Springs, Nevada, a collection of geysers located in northern Nevada, United States...
and Aspen
Aspen, Colorado
The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
, Colorado, Zermatt
Zermatt
Zermatt is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a population of about 5,800 inhabitants....
, Switzerland, Whistler-Blackcomb
Whistler-Blackcomb
Whistler Blackcomb is a major ski resort located 125 km north of Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. By many measures it is the largest ski resort in North America; it is 50% larger than its nearest competitor in terms of size, has the greatest uphill lift capacity, and until 2009, had...
, British Columbia, Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole, originally called Jackson's Hole, is a valley located in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the western border with Idaho. The name "hole" derives from language used by early trappers or mountain men, who primarily entered the valley from the north and east and had to descend along...
, Wyoming, Chamonix
Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc or, more commonly, Chamonix is a commune in the Haute-Savoie département in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the 1924 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics...
and Courchevel
Courchevel
Courchevel is the name of a ski resort located in the commune of Saint-Bon-Tarentaise in the French Alps, in the Tarentaise Valley, Savoie, Rhône-Alpes region. It is a part of Les Trois Vallées, the largest linked ski area in the world...
France, St. Anton am Arlberg Austria, Bariloche, Argentina, Park City
Park City, Utah
Park City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population was 7,558 at the 2010 census...
, Utah, and Salt Lake City, Utah, (Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude, Snowbasin), Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. At a surface elevation of , it is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is , making it the USA's second-deepest...
, California (Heavenly, Kirkwood and Squaw Valley), Big Sky
Big Sky, Montana
Big Sky is a census-designated place in Gallatin and Madison counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Montana. This unincorporated community straddles the two counties, is not considered a town, and has no town government. The primary industry of the area is tourism.Big Sky is...
, Montana and several resorts in Vermont, including Killington
Killington
There are several places called Killington:*Killington, Cumbria, a civil parish and hamlet in Cumbria, England**Killington Beck, the location of Killington Lake in Cumbria...
, Stratton
Stratton, Vermont
Stratton is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 136 at the 2000 census.Stratton was one of thirteen Vermont towns isolated by flooding caused by Hurricane Irene in 2011.-Geography:...
, Stowe
Stowe Mountain Resort
Stowe Mountain Resort is a ski resort near the town of Stowe in northern Vermont, comprising two separate mountains: Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak. The vertical drop from Mount Mansfield of is the fifth largest in New England and the fourth largest in Vermont. The resort is primarily owned by...
, and Mount Snow
Mount Snow
Mount Snow is a mountain and ski area in southern Vermont located in the Green Mountains. It is Vermont's closest big mountain to many Northeast metropolitan areas. It was cohost of the first Extreme Games in 1995 and host of the Winter X-Games in 2000 and 2001...
. It also hosts a regular season of local bus daytrips (to Hunter Mountain, Windham, Mountain Creek
Mountain Creek
Mountain Creek is the ski resort closest to New York metropolitan area, located in Vernon Township, New Jersey, on Route 94, from the George Washington Bridge. It offers 167 skiable acres on four mountain peaks, 100% night skiing/snowboarding, and the region's highest vertical feet. Mountain Creek...
and Belleayre). The full trip schedule can be found here.
Charity work
Renowned for its commitment to charity work, Ski Bums is consistently one of New York City’s top fund-raising teams for AIDS WalkAIDS Walk
AIDS Walk is a walkathon fundraiser that raises money to combat the AIDS epidemic. The funds raised from AIDS Walks usually benefit a local AIDS service organization , which provide services and advocacy for local community residents who are infected with HIV...
New York, benefiting GMHC
Gay Men's Health Crisis
The Gay Men's Health Crisis is a New York City-based non-profit, volunteer-supported and community-based AIDS service organization that has led the United States in the fight against AIDS.-1980s:...
. Ski Bums hosts an annual contest inspired by The Amazing Race
The Amazing Race
The Amazing Race is a reality television game show in which teams of two people, who have some form of a preexisting personal relationship, race around the world in competition with other teams...
called "The Bums Rush," where teams of two raise funds for charity and compete for a week-long trip to Europe. Additionally, Ski Bums supports the Empire State Pride Agenda
Empire State Pride Agenda
The Empire State Pride Agenda is a statewide political advocacy organization in New York that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights, including same-sex marriage. ESPA was founded in 1990 through the merger of the New York State Gay and Lesbian Lobby and the Friends and...
, the Ali Forney Center, the New York City LGBT Community Center, the Chill Learn-to-Snowboard Program, and Boarding For Breast Cancer
Boarding for Breast Cancer
Boarding for Breast Cancer is a 5013 nonprofit foundation that provides breast cancer awareness, education, prevention and support for young people and the action sports community at large...
.