Protect Our Winters Archives

It’s the season for gratitude. And now more than ever we feel grateful for our playground called planet earth. It’s also the season for giving. And what better time to protect our playground for future years and generations than now.

At Gaia GPS, we believe in supporting and partnering with nonprofit organizations working to protect the planet and grow outdoor participation among youth and underrepresented communities. We believe that together we can make a difference.

Built on this bedrock of belief, in the spring of 2022 our parent company Outside launched Find Your Good. We partnered with 14 nonprofits that further our mission of getting everyone outside and supporting a healthy planet.

This giving season, we hope to raise $1,500 for each of our non-profit partners—a modest goal that is attainable with your help! Please consider a tax-deductible donation of any size to one of these incredible organizations. Meet Gaia GPS’s two favorites, and consider joining us in fueling your adventures by finding your good. We need your help!

Big City Mountaineers: Providing Transformative Outdoor Experiences to Underprivileged Youth

For more than 30 years, Big City Mountaineers has acted on a core tenet: every person benefits from a personal connection to nature. Research shows that meaningful experiences in nature reduce stress, improve physical health, and lead to better education outcomes. These experiences enhance perseverance, problem-solving, critical thinking, leadership, and teamwork. BCM focuses on bringing those benefits to youth in low-income communities and communities of color that face specific systemic challenges to greater access and opportunities in the outdoors.

“By providing free, fully-outfitted, and professionally led outdoor and backcountry trips, we’re able to give students ages eight to 18 the opportunity to connect with nature and reconnect with their strengths, skills, and resilience,” says Executive Director David Taus.

Big City Mountaineers’ Work

BCM’s program includes four stages that all build to a successful experience:

Introducing the program to students and their families through an orientation at a partner youth agency.
Building skills and trust among the group in preparation for the expedition through single-day hiking opportunities, paddling lessons, or “camp life” trainings designed to facilitate self-reliance.
Multi-day expedition or an overnight camp. The experienced guidance of BCM’s course instructors ensures that students are engaged, supported, and given the most positive learning experience possible.
Translating the breakthroughs and learning the students achieved while on the expedition to their lives back home.

Giving Goal

If we reach $2,500, Big City Mountaineers will be able to take 20 kids out on their first-ever day hike. Additionally, Smartwool will match what we can raise up to $2,500. So your donation gets automatically doubled!

DONATE NOW

Protect Our Winters: Helping Passionate People Protect the Places They Love to Play

Founded in 2007 by pro snowboarder Jeremy Jones, Protect Our Winters (POW) helps passionate outdoor people protect the places and lifestyles they love from climate change. A community of athletes, scientists, creatives, and business leaders work to advance non-partisan policies that protect the world today and for future generations.

“All we have to do is look outside to see that the climate crisis is urgent and the places we go to recreate, explore, subsist and find peace and quiet are changing before our eyes,” says founder Jeremy Jones. “The science is clear that the clock is ticking and we have a short time to drastically curb our emissions to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis.”

ELIZA EARLE photos / POW Summit 2021, Buena Vista, CO. October 15-17, 2021

POW’s Work

POW believes in the power of the collective voice of what it calls “The Outdoor State,” the 50+ million outdoor enthusiasts in the U.S. and uses social media campaigns like #CrushItForClimate to reach advocates with education and inspiration. The organization has a proven track record of impact:

33 million people reached through a nonpartisan voting campaign
32 democratic and republican congress members met with POW ambassadors
9,622 POW members contacted elected officials
29,000+ voter intentions facilitated
1.3 billion impressions for climate from 622 pieces of media coverage
7,500 people attended POW virtual events

Giving Goal

With $2,500, POW can train two ambassadors on science, solutions, and messaging to prepare them to effectively lobby and advocate for bipartisan solutions that keep carbon in the ground.

DONATE NOW

Whether you cherish skiing the perfect line, hiking up to breathtaking views, or overlanding through enchanting desert planes, we share common ground. We are united in our love of the world around us. And we can come together to protect these places we love to play.

This March, hundreds of thousands of outdoor enthusiasts are joining forces for our planet. We are proud to stand alongside climate change nonprofit Protect Our Winters as it brings recreationists of all types and creeds together to advance non-partisan policies that protect our world today and for future generations. Together, this “Outdoor State” — the symbolic collection of folks from all across the country who love recreating outside — holds collective bargaining power that any individual could never attain.

You can join the Outdoor State by participating in POW’s month-long “Crush It 4 Climate” campaign. The goal is simple: get outside for a chance to win a slew of incredible prizes — including a free Premium Membership from Gaia GPS! From finding new hikes, to navigating in the backcountry, to recording your adventures, Gaia GPS helps people explore and stay safe in the backcountry.

Over here at Gaia GPS, we are joining the “Crush it 4 Climate” campaign by getting outside and recording a track of that activity. Yes, it’s that easy! Here’s how you can join us:

“Crush It 4 Climate”

Five skiers skin up a ski slope. — Lap 2 of 20. Photo: Ramsay De Give

The beauty of the “Crush it 4 Climate” challenge is anyone can participate. There is no one “right way” to “crush it for climate.” Gaia GPS writer and editor Abby Levene (who also happens to be on the POW Athlete Alliance) climbed the equivalent of Mount Everest (29,032 feet) on skis.

On March 10, Abby and a couple other POW athletes set off into the pre-dawn darkness and skinned up Ski Santa Fe. Once they reached the summit, which tops out at over 12,000’, they skied back down and started climbing back up again. They repeated that 20 times, for a total of 15 hours and 40 minutes.

“While skinning up and skiing down a ski resort 20 times is not the same thing as scaling the world’s highest peak, it filled me with wonder over the magnitude of both Everest and earth at large,” Abby says. “When I finally reached the equivalent of the highest point on the planet, I was exhausted and depleted. But I was also filled with immense gratitude and respect. From the backyard to places as far away as Everest, the world is so beautiful and vast. Plus, what a privilege to get to spend the whole day outside doing something I love! In my opinion, there’s no greater motivator to want to help save our home planet than to go play on it.”

You can see Abby’s “Everesting” track here.

Screenshot of Gaia GPS tracks from Abby's "Everesting." — Abby’s track from ski “Everesting.”

You certainly do not need to do something as extreme as Abby! Round up your family for a walk around the neighborhood or go hike that trail that’s been on your bucket list for ages. If you get outside this month, you are taking action for our planet. And while you’re out there, record your activity in Gaia GPS so you can share it with friends and encourage them to get outside, too.

Record a Track in Gaia GPS

Two people look at Gaia on their phone while gazing at mountains in the background.

To record a track of your activity, first you will need to download Gaia GPS onto your phone. When you’re ready to start your adventure, open the app.

Next, tap the “Record” button on the top left of your screen. If you don’t see the “Record” button, you can add it by following these directions. Or you can simply tap the circle with the “+” in the middle (top right of your screen). From the menu that pops up, tap “Record a Track” (first option). You’re ready to hit the trail!

When you’re done with your activity, simply tap the timer on the top left of your screen. Select “Finish Track.” Alternatively, once again press the circle with the “+” in the middle. Hit “Finish Track.”

From here, you’ll be able to view your track, including all the stats like distance traveled, elevation gain, and time elapsed. You can also give your track a name, and make your track visible to the public if you wish.

Create a Free
Gaia GPS Account

Join the Outdoor State

Four skiers stand in the darkness in a line with their headlamps on. They are smiling for the camera. — The calm before 29,032′. Photo: Ramsay De Give

Once you’ve recorded your track, you’re ready to join the Outdoor State! Share your track with your friends and family to encourage them to get outside, too. Then simply click the button below:

Crush It 4 Climate,
Win Prizes

Bonus: we want to see how you are “crushing it for climate!” Share your tracks on social media, along with the hashtag #CrushIt4Climate and tag @GaiaGPS in your post. One more lucky winner will receive a free Premium membership. The Crush It 4 Climate campaign ends on March 31, so get outside over the next week and share those tracks. We look forward to joining you outside!