STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO - with snow falling in northwest Colorado, vacationing skiers from around the world are clicking into their skis and strapping on snowboards... the same way local Olympians do on a powder day... quickly.
Whether here for a week or having called ‘Ski Town U.S.A’ home for a lifetime, beginner skiers and Olympians a like charge up Mt Werner on champagne powder days often times playing hooky from work... passing on the morning paper and extra cup of coffee... all for a crack at carving fresh tracks through the towns abundant stashes of fresh powder... Champagne Powder takes precedent over just about everything.... except our Troops.
This tuesday a small group of locals will leave behind the fresh powder of Steamboat and journey to the small town of Zama-shi, Japan. Once there olympic bronze medalist Nelson Carmichael, along with 3x Olympian Caroline Lalive will spend time sharing their own personal life stories... stories that mirror the sacrifice, perseverance, trials-tribulations and commitment that our nations armed forces members live with each and every day.
They might even get to do some skiing...
Joining Carmichael and Lalive are 4 Yellow Foundation event organizers Aimee and Dave Nagel, of Steamboat, who along with a group of volunteers organize both the Steamboat Bike4Yellow and Ski4Yellow events which support cancer research and awarness building each year. This years Steamboat Ski4Yellow event is schedule for March 31st and will officially kick off with a troop event next Saturday in Japan, when 40+ US Army personnel will travel to a local ski area and spend the day skiing with our Olympians. “American300 is always looking for stateside connections, it's a great way to further highlight the work our service members are doing around the world with the very individuals whose lives these troops are serving to protect.” says Mike Lane, Steamboat Ski Resorts Public Relations Director and volunteer staff member at American300, “We won’t be doing any fund raising on this tour... the focus is solely on connecting Nelson and Caroline with the troops, but Ski4Yellow has added a ‘Service Team’ to this years line up of teams skiing for the cause on March 31st so look for them and support them too.”
Taking 'Steamboat Greats' and connecting them with our troops is nothing new for Rob Powers, a local veteran who founded the American300 Warrior Tours, after loosing a mentor to the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. “ I created the nonprofit with a mission of helping raise resiliency levels of our troops, their family members and the communities in which they live and operate in. “ says Powers, who over the past 3 years has visited over 300 bases around the world “ I don’t always get to lean on my Steamboat friends to carry forward the message, but we’ve had more then our share of Steamboat Springs spirit on our tours over the past 3 years...”
More like a Steamboat Stampede of Sprit...
In 2010, during American300’s second year of programming for the Department of Defense; Todd Lodwick, Johnny Spillane, Billy Demong and Brett Camerota along with their 7 Olympic Medals whisked off to the middle east less then 40 days after they had won them in Vancouver. Later that same year Lodwick and Steamboat’s Astronaut Steve Swanson along with Lane traveled to Naval Base Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. This past spring Carmichael, Lalive and Sean Colgan (all Olympians) along with Lane were in Guam and Japan on another DoD Tour and on July 4th of 2010 local Doctor Eric Meyer and Everest World Record climber and Steamboat frequent visitor Chhiring Dorje Sherpa where with Marines and US Army personnel a top Mt Fuji on July 4th.
Connecting Steamboat’s stable of resiliency rich locals with our troops has become as natural as champagne powder days...something Powers and Lane are very proud of.
Follow the Troop Ski4Yellow Tour at: www.American300.org
Facebook followers can join the tour at: American300 Warrior Tours
Learn more about US Army Garrison Japan at: www.usagj.jp.pac.army.mil
For more information on Steamboat Ski4Yellow visit: www.ski4yellow.com
American300’s Troop Ski4Yellow Tour is presented by: www.militaryjusticeinternational.com
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