This past Saturday, the Rocky Mountain chapter of Team in Training participated in the first-ever winter snowshoe event.  The 18 participants raised over $30,000 to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!  What an inspirational group!  Phil and I led a group of 10 to Loch Vale.  We had beautiful weather and wonderful views.  Everyone was impressively dedicated to the hike and cause.   Check out our pictures:

…and click here for tons more photos from 2010 Team in Training Rocky Mountain National Park Snowshoe Event!

Check out our recap on Kokatat’s blog:

http://blog.kokatat.com/index.php/go-wild-expedition-presents-first-slideshow-2220/

A big thanks to Justin and Carla at Ed’s Cantina for hosting our first slideshow!

Just a quick reminder that we’ll be presenting a slideshow on our Inside Passage trip tonight!

Date: Thurs, Feb 25, 2010
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Ed’s Cantina, Estes Park, CO (map)

We’ll share pictures and stories from our 1,200 mile trip from Washington to Glacier Bay, Alaska, answer questions, and talk about the issues facing the wild Pacific salmon.

Let’s Thank Target!

Target’s decision to drop net-cage farmed salmon from their stores across the United States proves the power of our collective voice as consumers demanding sustainable products and business policies. Your support in this campaign has helped pressure corporations to change. Take this opportunity to celebrate a victory and vocalize your appreciation for Target’s decisive action!

Send an email or fax to Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel, thanking him for acknowledging the destructive environmental impacts of the open net-cage salmon farming industry and making this major contribution to the sustainable seafood movement. Cut and paste the text below or send your own words of appreciation.

Below is an email you can send if you would like to show your support for their decision:
Dear Gregg Steinhafel,

I applaud Target’s recent decision to discontinue the sale of farmed salmon in all stores across the United States.

Acknowledgement of the impacts of net-cage salmon farming by a major retailer and the subsequent removal of this product from your stores is a huge step forward in the sustainable seafood movement.

It is this kind of corporate responsibility that consumers are increasingly expecting from the businesses they rely on, and I happily commend Target for showing such leadership.

Sincerely,

I’m very pleased to let you know about an opportunity to get the message about sustainable seafood out to an important national audience. To do so, we need your help.

Whole Foods Market recently tested a pilot program, in partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, to promote sustainable seafood choices to its customers in a few select stores.

Now’s our chance to help persuade Whole Foods Market to make this a permanent and national program.  Click here to jump immediately to help!  It only takes about 10-20 seconds.

Using the Seafood Watch recommendations, Whole Foods will label wild-caught seafood in their case so consumers will be able to tell at a glance if a wild-caught product is a Monterey Bay Aquarium “Best Choice” or otherwise.

Please take action today and ask the president of Whole Foods Market in your region to adopt this program so that consumers across the nation can make good choices for healthy oceans.  It only takes about 10-20 seconds.

Yesterday, Phil worked helped dozens of folks into their first snowshoes at the Estes Park Winter Festival’s Winter Trails event.  I volunteered at the registration booth and then went up to Emerald Lake with our friends John and Meghan in the afternoon.  It was their first time out on snowshoes and first time in the national park in many many years.  I skied in and kept my skins on for the way out because there were so many people on the trail.

Curious what’s happening with the salmon?  We were pleased to learn that Marine Harvest (they owned the majority of the salmon farms that we paddled by during our Inside Passage Kayak Expedition) has requested federal funding for a closed-containment trial.  It is great to hear that one of the biggest farmed salmon producers is considering switching from open-net pens, which allow parasites and waste to flush directly into the ocean infecting wild salmon, to closed-containment, which would prevent pollution.

Marine Harvest requests federal funding for closed containment

In an exciting development in the final days of 2009, Marine Harvest Canada (MHC) sent a letter to Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), that included a request for support and funding for a closed containment pilot project. Read more>>

Esteemed scientists advise removal of farms along wild salmon migration routes

Early last month, a think tank of scientists gathered at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver to discuss possible causes of the Fraser River sockeye collapse and urgent next steps needed to protect this iconic species. The group released a statement noting that the 2009 return was the lowest in 50 years and that the productivity of Fraser River sockeye has been declining since the mid-1990s to levels so low that they are almost unable to replace themselves. Read more>>

Sea lice out of control in Norway

Salmon farms in Norway are experiencing explosive increases in sea lice, likely a result of growing resistance to chemical treatments for the removal of the parasite. This increase is severely threatening the survival of migrating juvenile wild salmon. Read more>>

12/14/2009 – Skied Rock Creek with Genghis – great ski conditions in Allenspark

12/17/2009 – Skied Mario Gulley with Nathan – sparse snow coverage in the gulley

12/20/2009 – Skied St. Vrain Mountain with Matt – good tree skiing led right down to the road

12/29/2009 – Apryle skied Eldora with Abby – long lift lines on the greens

12/31/2009 – Apryle climbed Hidden Falls with Abby – crowded!

1/2/2010 – Skied part of Audubon with Matt – scrapey and windy

1/7/2010 – Skied Mario Gully – still not filled in, but sweet skiing to skier’s left of the gully

Climbed the 3rd Flatiron today with Matt and Dave.  That was the first time I’d done the 3rd and it was a fun cruise-fest.  The descent down the scree, however, was a miserable icefield… probably WI1.