Hi Friends,
Last weekend I made the snowy drive from Glens Falls to Keene Valley, NY, for the 27th International Mountainfest. I've attended the event in past years to check out new gear and demo skis, but this year I wore a different hat. I was repping Protect Our Winters (POW), an environmental non-profit I became involved with this year, working as a member of its Creative Alliance.
I was fortunate to join forces with Patagonia on Saturday during their Repair & Care workshop. In just a couple of hours we raised $500 for POW and introduced dozens to the organization.
I did my small part to help unite what POW calls "The Outdoor State"—which refers to anyone who enjoys the outdoors and wants to protect the places they go to escape.
In POW's words:
"From powder to pines, mountain tops to coastal surfs. Not defined by borders, but still crossing paths. United by our natural playground. And, exhilarated by our great escapes. Now it’s up to us to take a stand. Because climate change has reached every backyard, impacting us all, threatening what we love."
While not as extreme as what we're seeing in California and North Carolina, climate change has touched my corner of the world. Shorter winters and hotter, dryer summers. Some of my favorite fishing holes all but dried up last summer. Climate change is an escalating issue that needs to be high on the docket; yet, the current administration is turning a blind eye and putting climate change and the environment on the back burner. As a bipartisan organization, POW will work across the aisle to lobby and fight for better climate protections. We need organizations like POW now, more than ever.
To learn more about POW's efforts and to make a donation, head over to protectourwinters.org/donate-to-pow/
– John
(ps. A big thanks to Kaz and Charlie at The Mountaineer for welcoming POW to Mountainfest with open arms. Proceeds from the three-day charity festival, which have totaled as much as $20,000, goes back to the outdoor community and non-profits.)
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