For fifteen years the Alpenglow Sports Winter Speaker Series has brought hundreds of folks together in Squaw Valley to witness the presentations of top outdoor adventurers. The events allow you to hang out with all of your friends, witness some amazing stories, and purchase tickets to win prizes donated by sponsors of these awesome athletes.
Over the years over $750,000 has been donated at these events. Some of the money comes from ticket buyers, but much of it from a group of anonymous donors called the Donor Party that each give over $500 to the speaker series. The effort is the passion of Brendan Madigan, owner of Alpenglow Sports and Tahoe community supporter extraordinaire.
This year, when groups of 400 people in close proximity is verboten because of Covid, Madigan came up with a plan B. The speakers perform on camera, and folks can sign up for free to watch the presentations online. And when you sign up you can continue to contribute to the speaker series non-profits by buying tickets online to win prizes.
The good news is that the community has responded, and donations are actually up this year. Perhaps because it is easier to head to your computer in the living room than to Squaw Valley on a snowy evening. Madigan hopes to see up to $300,000 this year in support for five worthy organizations, who are more in need than ever: Truckee Donner Land Trust, Boys and Girls Club of North Lake Tahoe, Tahoe Community House, Tahoe Fund, and Tahoe Institute for Natural Science.
There are still two events left in February which you can watch and contribute. Here is the scoop:
February 4: Ingrid Backstrom, who established herself in Matchstick Production’s 2004 Yearbook, was the only female to be featured as one of Powder Magazine’s Future Big Mountain Heroes in 2002. She has also won awards for performances in ski films including “Best Female Performance” and “Breakthrough Performance” at the 2005 Powder Magazine Video Awards.
February 25: Vasu Sojitra. For 28 years, Sojitra has navigated life with one leg. As one of the top adaptive athletes and backcountry skiers in the world, he is known for putting down First Disabled Descents (FDDs), and has a passion for making the outdoors accessible to all.
For more information and to register to the events go to alpenglowsports.com
To learn more about the speaker series and Alpenglow Sports and their amazing journey with the community this past year, check out my article in Moonshine Ink. https://www.moonshineink.com/mountain-life/give-unto-others/