Industry News
In the 80s, most people recycled their garbage and thought they were doing enough to be environmentally responsible. Those days are in the past, and people are searching and pushing for more ways to contribute to being more sustainable than just recycling alone. Climate change has the ski industry and the people who love to hit the mountains thinking about the future of snowsports and the planet.
One of those people is Reilly Kaczmarek, a geology student who will graduate from Colorado University Boulder this May. Kaczmarek is also a photographer, filmmaker, and athlete. Kaczmarek grew up in Colorado, where sustainability and environmental responsibility have always been integral to his life. He created a film that follows a season-long journey to climb and ski Colorado’s highest peaks, relying solely on human effort. The Colorado 14ers Project is a short film of grit, adventure, and redefining what it means to ski big mountains under our own power. This film’s intention was to make people think about how they can positively influence the planet by lowering their carbon emissions.
This project isn’t just about skiing—it’s about rethinking our approach to adventure. From sustainable gear choices to thoughtful avalanche decisions, every step of the journey was made with the goal of minimizing impact while maximizing the experience. The Colorado 14ers Project explores the intersection of adventure and sustainability by reimagining how we approach skiing. “The idea was, if I can ski any of these incredibly difficult 14ers sustainably, then I can ski any mountain sustainably,” Kaczmarek said.
Throughout the project, Kaczmarek used electric vehicles, eco-friendly gear, and a backcountry approach to the project. It demonstrates how reducing carbon emissions is possible without sacrificing adventure. By collaborating with brands like Scarpa, Rivian, and Renoun Skis, the film showcases the importance of industry and individual efforts in combating climate change. This film chronicled a personal journey to redefine what it means to ski sustainably, tackling the challenges of skiing Colorado’s highest peaks while exploring the environmental impacts of the sport, the privilege of access, and the responsibility to protect the places we love.“If you’re skiing it, you should be preserving it,” Kaczmarek said.
The idea for this film was inspired by Kaczmarek’s background in filmmaking and geology and his commitment to reducing his carbon footprint while continuing to pursue his passion for skiing. He spends much of his time skiing in the mountains, and his background in science provided a foundation for sharing his creative perspective on how it all connects. The project began with self-reflection and an honest understanding of his role in sustainability. “It is depressing to think that your baseline is the lowest it can be if you stay home and do nothing,” Kaczmarek said regarding his carbon footprint. His goal was to figure out how he could lower his carbon emissions while still going skiing and not staying home in bed.
“I discovered along the way that there’s so much that we can contribute by honoring these places. Just the fact that we are thinking about sustainability, talking about it, and putting our money where our mouth is goes so much further than staying in bed and not skiing,” Kaczmarek said.
All the hard work paid off, and on December 11, 2024, The Colorado 14ers Project premiered at Rivian’s Denver location to over 80 attendees. The premiere featured over $2,000 in gear giveaways from Renoun Skis, Scarpa, Rocky Talkie, Rumpl, and AspectAvy, with free tickets available to attendees who RSVP’d to enter. The process began in October of 2023 when Kaczmarek put everything together and started talking to people and trying to get the ball rolling on the project. He had wanted to ski the 14ers for a while but didn’t have the real possibility of doing it until he started college. However, guilt almost stopped him from pursuing the project and skiing in general. “I had second-guessed working in the ski industry; it feels so selfish to play in the mountains as I do,” the 22-year-old Kaczmarek said. However, with his parents’ support, he navigated the project the best he could and found a way to ski the 14ers more sustainably.
Kaczmarek said many of his friends were with him for one or two mountains, but there wasn’t a single person who was with him for every mountain he skied. He worked with who was available and who had the necessary skill sets to accomplish the objectives for that day. Kaczmarek said that many of his friends and colleagues are as passionate about climate change as him, and going skiing with them and being sustainable about it was easy. He admitted that he was very selective about the people and sponsors he selected to work with on the project.
Kaczmarek specifically collaborated with companies that provided essential gear, materials, or funding while prioritizing those with their own sustainability initiatives. Companies like Rivian make electric cars, Renoun Skis’ entire company is carbon neutral, Rocky Talkie has its own net zero initiatives, and Rumpl blankets are made of recycled plastic water bottles. “I wanted to specifically work with these companies that are doing their own legwork in the sustainability initiatives,” Kaczmarek said.
Throughout the project, Kaczmarek also collaborated with people from Colorado University Boulder and AspectAvy. Noah Molotch is one of those people who taught a Snow Hydrology course at CU Boulder that Kaczmarek took last year. He has vast knowledge and experience in the world of snow science, and it just made sense to ask him to be part of this, which he graciously did,” Kaczmarek said. He also worked with Jennifer Morse, who conducts a snow survey with CU Boulder every May when max snow water equivalent happens. That is when Colorado has the most water in its snowpack. “She had incredible ideas that I wanted to capture on camera and contribute to this film,” he said. Kaczmarek met Jeff Banks, founder of AspectAvy, through a mutual friend.
AspectAvy is a new tool whose goal is to promote avalanche safety. This was important to the project because Kaczmarek wanted to make the best decisions as easily as possible in the backcountry. Even though the project was focused on carbon emissions and sustainability, the overall safety of everyone else was just as important. That’s why incorporating avalanche safety was essential, and Bank’s expertise added a critical layer of knowledge in risk management and backcountry decision-making.” After all, a project isn’t truly sustainable if I don’t make it home at the end of the day,” Kaczmarek said.
The project was a great success, especially for someone who grew up in a time when climate change has always been a reality. Kaczmarek admitted that he doesn’t remember learning about climate change growing up; it has always just been part of his life. “It’s not my fault we have a climate crisis, but here I am trying to fix it,” he said. Kaczmarek has been doing his own research and is getting a geology degree, which is an applicable science related to climate change. He is passionate about advancing sustainability in the outdoor industry by creating impactful projects that highlight meaningful connections between people and the planet.
After completing this project, Kaczmarek’s biggest goal is figuring out how to lower the costs for sustainability to make it. He realizes that everyone is not going to stop skiing, and he doesn’t want them to. There are ways to improve people’s carbon emissions, but these are not cost-effective solutions for many people. “I work with electric vehicle companies, and like myself, I cannot afford an electric vehicle right now. I barely have been able to pay for college,” Kaczmarek said. Figuring out a way to make sustainability more approachable to more people would be incredible to him.
This past year, Kaczmarek skied over 40,000 vertical feet across ten 14ers this season, reducing his carbon footprint by over 60% compared to the previous year. He would like to continue skiing as much as possible while doing his best to lower his carbon emissions simultaneously. He already has a plan for his next project to demonstrate how it is possible to lower carbon emissions while still hitting the slopes. Kaczmarek has been working with Rivian about making a road trip from Colorado to the Washington Cascades to go skiing. Rivian specializes in producing all-electric vehicles; therefore, the trip Kaczmarek is planning would be completely electric-powered. So far, nothing has materialized, and it is still in the talking phase right now. However, given his passion for the planet and his commitment to reducing carbon emissions, his next project is poised to be just as successful as his first.
