Industry News
More than $70,000 will help outdoor organizations provide equipment and resources to help serve the thousands of people who adventure in Winter Park’s backyard every year
After another successful season of Winter Park Resort’s uphilling program, the resort is proud to donate the proceeds from the sales of its uphill armbands, which is more than $70,000, to three non-profits serving Winter Park and Grand County adventurers: Grand County Search and Rescue (GCSAR), Colorado Rapid Avalanche Deployment (C-RAD) and Friends of Berthoud Pass. Winter Park Resort allows uphilling on many of its open trails during the winter season and asks any guest uphilling at the resort to read and agree to its policy and purchase a $25 armband.
Winter Park’s donation to GCSAR, C-RAD, and Friends of Berthoud Pass will help with various organizational operations, including training, rescues, and upgrades or replacement of safety gear and equipment.
“The work these organizations do often goes unnoticed and is challenging physically and mentally. We want each organization and their volunteers to know that their efforts are not only recognized but deeply appreciated. Their work is a critical component of our outdoor community, and we are honored to support them.”
– Sky Foulkes, president and COO of Winter Park Resort
GCSAR is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization providing four-season emergency backcountry service in Grand County, CO. It has limited funding channels and relies mostly on community donations to conduct its search and rescue operations. In 2022 GCSAR had 67 missions (a 12% increase from 2021), is credited with saving at least a dozen lives, assisted 51 people, and clocked more than 10,780 volunteer hours.
C-RAD exists to cultivate, inspire, and produce dog teams for successful avalanche search and rescue in the mountains of Colorado. These volunteer teams combine traditional search and rescue methods with specialized avalanche deployment systems to expedite the rescue of avalanche victims. Like GCSAR, volunteers staff C-RAD, and it relies solely on individual and community donations for funding.
Friends of Berthoud Pass is an organization of backcountry enthusiasts committed to preserving the legacy of public recreation at Berthoud Pass. Volunteer staff promotes safety education, backcountry access, and environmental stewardship through avalanche awareness and safety training and collaboration with the US Forest Service.
