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Hilltrip News and Events: Tuesday, May 08, 2007
The Step it Up series brought to Whistler a new bread of event bringing
guest speakers into a bar environment to educate the young hip and
cool crowd of Whistler about different themes relating to the protection
of our environment including the wellness of our own body, mind
and spirit.
 Like
it’s previous events, Hilltrip’s goal with the Step it Up series
was to fight global warming. With an event every month from November
2006 to April 2007, the series included six different educational
sessions about sustainability with a global warming twist. Through
the whole series, Hilltrip was able to raise $550 to benefit the
Snowrider Project of Surfrider Vancouver and a lot of people learned
about ways to become a better steward of the environment and themselves.

Starting with a Sustainable Mountains Session in
November , Step it Up no1 sent a strong message to the snow sport
industry by having Jonaven Moore, a renown professional snowboarder,
do a presentation on global warming and how negative PR is affecting
our understanding of the issue, well timed after Tyler Bradley,
the environmental chemist behind the creation of the first environmentally
friendly ski wax in the world; Hillbilly Wax-Works & Ethica Enviro-Wax
who had a satirical look at the state of the snow sport industry
itself.
 Step
it Up no2 being close to Christmas, Hilltrip thought educating people
about how making informed choices during the holiday season would
help them reduce their environmental footprint and be good for their
own body environment and organized a Sustainable Food Session.
The session covered the concepts of SLOW food with Diana Rochon,
RAW food with Sarinda Hoilett, SUPER food with Randall Carpenter
and there was a slide show to give ideas to people on how they can
green their holidays.
If you are interested you learn about how
you can GREEN Christmas Holiday click here >>
 For
the third Step it Up, we decided to do something a bit different
than the usual sustainable environment type event by having an Awakening
Session and introduce a spiritual approach to sustainability.
We believe awareness and consciousness can play a big role in improving
someone’s life and the world. For the occasion, we had Kelly Oswald
of The Oracle, Tina James of World Yoga Within and Robbie Dagg &
Friends with OM MANI PADME HUM.
The fourth session was done in conjunction with Surfrider Vancouver.
The theme was Sustainable Watershed and Pina Belperio
of Whistler Water Watch and June Van Der Star of Surfrider did great
presentations followed by a Sea to Summit, a video where snowboarders,
skateboarder, and surfers are talking about the entire hydrological
cycle and how it relates to their day to day life. Following the
session, we had the Enviro-Mental Showdown Party following the qualifier
of the Showcase Showdown, an annual snowboard competition.
The
fifth one was a Sustainable Energy Session and
we had Sarah Valentine giving a few tips on how we can reduce our
energy consumption easily and than Hilltrip went all out and presented
15 documentaries about energy and climate change over 2 days as
part of the Sierra Club Energy Film Festival.
You can read more about the Energy Film Festive by clicking here
>>
As a way to end the series, Hilltrip teamed up with a bunch of local
artists to present an Expression Session on Earth
Day, April 22nd, and the last day of the World Ski and
Snowboard Festival (WSSF) this year. Kostaman & The Vibrations opened
at 7pm with a few reggae songs, Angie Nolan and MollyFi followed
with poems and spoken words, Daniel Poisson, Chris Dyer, Olivier
Roy, Jon Parris and Stan Matwychcuk had art pieces on display, Chili
Thom & Feet Banks came to show their short film “High in the Mountain”,
Animal Nation did a few raps, and Rainbo performed a hula hoops
go-go set to the sound of DJ Parris. During the evening we also had the OxyMoron Martini, a heathy martini containin FrequenSea. This last Step it Up event
was also the launch of Green.Colonies.com in Whistler! It is also during that event that the winner for the Surf trip, the
Option Snowboard, the SPY goggle and the O’Neill goodies were draw.
There was so much going on, it was a great way to close the festival and the series in beauty.
Thanks
to Whistler Brewing Company, Clif Bar, O’Neill, Deep Snow
and Surf Experience, Option Snowboards and Spy for sponsoring
the Step it Up series, Maxx Fish Bar & Lounge for
letting us host the series, Surfrider Vancouver
for setting an information table at each event, the speakers and
artists for their performances and inspiration as well as all the
people that have helped make this series of event happen…Nadia Cote,
Marie-Lou, Giselle, Haley, Elexa, Sarah, Andrew, Adrian and all
of those who came. For more information on Hilltrip, visit www.hilltrip.comCheck out my gallery to see pictures from each Step it Up event!
My Journal: Thursday, April 26, 2007
World Champion freeskier Alison Gannett came to Whistler last February for
the 2007 Clif Bar Save Our Snow (SOS) Winter
Roadtrip. The roadtrip started on January 22nd at the Snowsports Industry Association (SIA) tradeshow in Las Vegas. Traveling in an
RV powered by vegetable oil, the Clif Bar SOS Winter
Roadtrip is visiting ski resorts and schools in the Western United States, Rockies and
Canada.
This is a link to a YouTube clip that was done for Clif Bar SOS (Save Our Snow) Roadtrip stop in
Whistler.
Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0UkHtYR5Pc
There is more about RV powered by
vegetable oil here:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaV6_e2a02Q
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfJaEo510E0
There are more SOS Road Trip clips
if you search in YouTube.
Hilltrip News and Events: Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Building on the momentum of Step it Up series, Hilltrip is happy to invite the community to come to the sixth and final Step it Up event at MAXX FISH, nicely coordinated to happen on Earth Day. Celebrated every April 22, Earth Day is the largest, most celebrated environmental event worldwide. First launched as an environmental awareness event in the United States in 1970, Earth Day is celebrated as the birth of the environmental movement and is the only event celebrated simultaneously around the globe by people of all backgrounds, faiths and nationalities. For Step it Up no6, Hilltrip is presenting an Expression Session including Kostaman & The Vibrations opening at 7pm sharp, followed by a slate of local artists including Angie Nolan with poems, MollyFi with spoken words, Daniel Poisson and Chris Dyer with visual art, Chili Thom & Feet Banks with “High in the Mountain”, Animal Nation with a few raps, John Parris with a few mixes and more. At 10pm, the winners for the Earth Raffle will be draw. Everybody attending the Expression Session will have a chance to enter the raffle to win one of the grand prizes by writing their name at the back of a Step it Up flyer and dropping it off at the Surfrider table during the session. All the ballots collected trough the whole series will be included in the raffle, so people who entered at previous Step it Up sessions will have their chances to win. Prizes include a 3-day Surf Experience Expedition sponsored by Deep Snow & Surf Experience, an Option snowboard, a pair of SPY goggle, O’Neill goodies among other. After 10pm, Rainbo and Lexi Moon will perform hula hoops go-go dances to the sound of DJ Jamie Vale. Also on the sensory extravaganza menu is Martinis at Midnight offering the ‘Oxymoron’ martini, a martini with a healthy twist containing FrequenSea, a unique ‘Superfood’ discovery containing all of Mother Nature’s essential nutrients. This martini has so much good stuff in it that it will relieve all the guilt of consuming alcohol. “There are so many good messages from artistic expressions; and art is also a powerful catalyst for change. This event is going to be Hilltrip’s 3rd Earth Day event in Whistler and I hope to inspire people to be part of the solutions and care for our planet thought different art forms” says Marie Fortin, event organizer. “April 22 is the last day of the TWSSF, so this last Step it Up event will be like a cleansing evening for the body and the soul and a great way to close the festival and the series in beauty.” Admission is only $10 and includes a free Cool Tag from Clif Bar and a beer from Whistler Brewing Company. A Cool Tag™ is a renewable wind energy credit that will keep an estimated 300 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) — the main contributor to global warming — out of the air. That’s roughly the same as neutralizing the global warming emissions generated from traveling 300 miles (more than 480 kms) in the average car. As with every Step it Up event, proceed will support the Snowrider Project, a campaign of the Surfrider Foundation, which aims to bring greater understanding of the hydrological cycle and foster a sense of stewardship towards alpine and valley watersheds. One major initiative for Snowrider is organizing local mountain clean-ups in spring after the snow melts to pick up garbage haphazardly littered during the season by skiers and boarders. Thanks to Clif Bar, Whistler Brewing Company, O’Neill, Option Snowboards, Spy. Deep Snow & Surf Experience and Maxx Fish for their support on the Step it Up series. For more info visit www.hilltrip.com
Hilltrip News and Events: Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Hilltrip News and Events: Thursday, February 16, 2006
Hilltrip News and Events: Monday, May 16, 2005
It’s For The Earth!
April 22nd is Earth Day, a celebration to remind us that we need to take care of our planet…every day. For the occasion, the collaborators at Hilltrip wanted to remind its fellow mountain lovers to be environmentally friendly...every day. To do so, we organized, with the precious help of Base Energy Drink, the Hilltrip Hoedown Party, a western theme party at Garfinkel’s, one of Whistler locals’ favourite bar.
Our goal: increase awareness for Earth Day and raise money for Hilltrip’s carbon offset project to make up for some of the greenhouse gasses produced by our beloved snow sport enthusiast with a people auction.
Our result: Hilltrip purchased $185 worth of Wind Power Certificates from Pembina as part of its carbon offsets project. That means, 6.37 MWh of clean energy was bought and contributed to reduce CO2 by about 6,370kg, which is equal to not driving a car for 27,711 kilometres or planting 32 trees! By the way, based on Pembina, the average annual household electricity consumption in Canada is approximately 11.4KWh.
By having a western theme party, the idea was to show that even cowboys, who like to chew on tobacco, kill things and burn gas, can become aware of the importance of balancing our ecosystem and be part of the solution by contributing in offsetting some of the greenhouse gases that are produced by us, snowboarders using snowmobiles to enjoy the pleasure of a cliff line in a remote backcountry area.
For those who didn’t have a costume, cowboy vests made out of grocery paper bags were provided and recycling bins were on site to minimize waste. The highlight of the night was the people auction animated by Scott Musgrave. All people auctioned came with a gift certificate from one of the best restaurants in town, including Sashi Sushi, Sushi Village, Caramba, Milestones, and the Brew House. Thanks to Phil, Paula, Emily, Claude & Marc, and especially Rex Thomas for being one of the beautiful people auctioned.
Through small steps towards restoring and protecting the earth, it’s possible to be part of the solutions. For example, you too have the power to do something about climate change by choosing Wind Power by Pembina. For more information on how it works, visit www.pembina.org/wind_power.asp. If you are not ready to spend money to offset some of the greenhouse gases you produce, you can also reduce your production by entering The Nature Challenge at www.davidsuzuki.org/WOL/Challenge.
Thanks to our sponsors Base, a Canadian energy drink made of natural ingredients; Snowboard.com, the world’s largest snow sports website and Bacardi, the source and solution to all our problems…is us.
A special thank you to Catherine Viens Charron for organizing the best beautiful people auction from whistler and for the amazing decor, Kelly Saldat Brix for her Earth Day awareness support, Andree & Phil St-Germain for their precious help when needed the most, Scott Musgrave for being such a good MC, Eric Blouin for his great graphic design skills and Base Energy Drinks.
To see pictures of the event or for more info, visit www.hilltrip.com
Hilltrip News and Events: Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Hilltrip News and Events: Monday, April 11, 2005
Hilltrip Hoedown Party
Aprill 22nd, 2005
A celebration of Earth Day!
Dress to Kill and come bid on the beautiful personalities auctioned.
All proceeds will go toward buying coarbon offsets of our fellow riders who access the backcountry with sledds.
Hilltrip News and Events: Thursday, November 11, 2004
HillTrip presents...
ActionONE - Fund Raiser Silent Auction & Slide Show...coming to Whistler December 5th at Garfinkel's.
Visit www.hilltrip.com for more information.
Hilltrip News and Events: Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Hilltrip News and Events: Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Hey WHISTLER!!! Anybody looking for a roommate? I'm looking for a room in Whistler for July 1st. So if you know nice people looking for someone...let me know!
Hilltrip News and Events: Tuesday, June 01, 2004
I don't have access to the Internet from home anymore...thanks to my roomate who canceled it without telling me. So bare with me if I'm a little slow to write back.
Hilltrip News and Events: Thursday, April 08, 2004
NEW PICS UP IN MY GALLERY!
Hilltrip News and Events: Friday, February 27, 2004
I don't do a lot of journal entry...a jounal is personal...too personal to be exposed to everyone. I'm a shy person...
Hilltrip News and Events: Friday, February 13, 2004
Holly hangover day...I'll never drink again. Seriously!
Hilltrip News and Events: Sunday, January 18, 2004
The wallride in Blackcomb Park is up and waiting for you.
32X16 feet hight! Check it out!!! And that's witout the transition.
Hilltrip News and Events: Thursday, January 01, 2004
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
2004 is definitly going to be a good year. With all the snow that we have right now...how could it not be?
2003 was a weird year for me...lots of upheaval.
I'm back in Whistler now...I'm so happy :o)
May your craziest dream come true!
Hilltrip News and Events: Friday, December 26, 2003
Yesterday...Christmass day...I went riding. It was a beutiful powder day and I got hurt. I impacted my knee on a rock doing a toes side turn on a steep run...I f*ck%g hurts. It was bleeding and everything! Lucky me, nothing is broken...well, I think. Can't ride for a week at least I beleive...grrrr...that's sucks!
Merry Christmas!
Hilltrip News and Events: Friday, December 19, 2003
Christmas in Whistler is the best!
I'm sending an eCard by email to me friends far away for Christmas. I did a drawing that I scanned and sent it by email!
Do the same by saving this drawing and copying to your emails if you want...you'll save on stamps! I have uploaded my drawing in the art section and my pictures section. Check it out!
Merry Christmas!
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