Ski Bums

Ski Bums (SKI BUMS) is a travel and social club for LGBT skiers and snowboarders, based in New York City. It hosts social events and group trips to ski resorts throughout North America and Europe. It is the world's largest gay and lesbian skiing and snowboarding club.

History

Ski Bums was founded 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. [1] Within one year, the club had grown to over 150 members, as word-of-mouth spread through New York City’s gay community. Today, the club has grown to over 2,000 participants, with more than 450 paid members from throughout the United States and Canada.

Ski Bums took its first trip in January, 2005, and followed that winter with a series of daytrips and a weekend trip to Vermont. In winter, 2006, the club took its first international trip to Zermatt, Switzerland, and expanded its series of daytrips, adding vacations to Utah and Colorado.

Social Events

Ski bums has hosted Avalanche, a party for its members and friends, at therapy, a gay bar in New York City. 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, Colorado, Zermatt, Switzerland, Whistler-Blackcomb, British Columbia, Salt Lake City, Utah, (Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude, Park City, The Canyons, Deer Valley and Snowbasin), Lake Tahoe, California (Heavenly and Squaw Valley), and several resorts in Vermont, including Killington, Stratton, and Mount Snow. It also hosts a regular season of local bus daytrips (to Hunter Mountain, Windham, Mountain Creek and Belleayre).

In 2008, Ski Bums will host trips to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Telluride, Colorado, Chamonix, France, Park City, Utah, and Killington, Vermont. 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 Walk New York, benefiting GMHC. Ski Bums has also raised money for the the Chill Learn-to-Snowboard program sponsored by Burton Snowboards, and donated to the Empire State Pride Agenda. In 2007, Ski Bums hosted "The Bums Rush," a contest inspired by The Amazing Race where teams of two competed for a trip to Chamonix, France, benefiting Lambda Legal.

Gay skiing / snowboarding events and organizations

Ski Bums is part of a growing trend[2] in the LGBT community, as ski resorts around the country appeal to the LGBT traveler and plan events to cater to them. Beginning in 1977 with Aspen Gay Ski Week, there are now more than 16 gay skiing and snowboarding events, which routinely draw from 2,000 to 5,000 participants, and more than two dozen GLBT skiing and snowboarding clubs around the world.[3]

See also

• Gay tourism
• LGBT_tourism
• LGBT-related topics

References

• "A New Altitude" by Beth Greenfield, Time Out New York, November 20, 2005, retrieved October 27, 2006
• "Was that Liza on the Black Diamond Run?" by Denny Lee, New York Times, February 3, 2006.
• "Powder Poofs: The Gay Skiing Movement Takes Off", by Jeff Titterton, Realjock.com December 9, 2006
• International Gay and Lesbian Skiing Association
• "Powder Power" by Gregory T. Angelo, Next Magazine, December 9, 2005, retrieved October 27, 2006

External links

• SKI BUMS website
• Outdoors listing of LGBT skiing and snowboarding clubs
• Aspen Gay Ski Week
• Whistler Gay Ski Week
• The Therapy web site