On going! - Green Drinks in Whistler
Wednesday August 6th 2008 at Blacks' Pub from 8 to 10pm

* Free Appies & Beer
* Special Guest: Lindsay Coulter of the David Suzuki Foundation
Green Drinks is a monthly gathering of anyone interested in 'green'. Green Drinkers are from all ages, backgrounds and groups. There's no agenda or other formality - it's just a chance to meet regularly to chat, debate, socialize and connect with others in Whistler who are passionate about environmental and sustainability issues.

For more information visit Whistler's page on GreenDrinks.org here.
For more information about AWARE and the environment click here.



Hilltrip News

April 14th - Hilltrip donated $1,000 to Protect Our Winters
In an effort to raise awareness about global warming and take action towards change, Hilltrip hosted the first Protect Our Winters (POW) Fundraiser in Canada at GLC on Monday April 14th. Featuring CLIF BAR S.O.S Winter Road Trip documentary and a live auction, the event raised $1,000 for POW's advocacy and renewable energy projects that reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. POW is a non-for-profit, founded in 2007 by pro snowboarder Jeremy Jones, whose mission is to build a united front of winter sports enthusiasts in an effort to restore our winter climates.
>>> Press Release: 1st Canadian Fundraiser to Benefit POW – Featuring two movie premieres and a live auction
>>> Press Release: Hilltrip donates $1,000 to Protect Our Winters – Helping the winter sport community move toward sustainability

January 2008 - Marie Fortin featured in SharedVISION
Marie Fortin, founder of Hilltrip was featured as a visionary in SharedVISION last January. SharedVISION is an independent monthly magazine for those interested in sustainability, integrative health, and personal growth.
>>> Read Shared Vision magazine visionary profile of Marie’s here.

July 2006
Hilltrip's First TerraTrip Blog Post on The Bio-Diesel Trip
The first Carbon-Offset project to be supported by Hilltrip is The Bio-Diesel Trip, which will help Kathleen Marcotte convert her car to run on biodiesel to travel south of Whistler and than back to Quebec. While traveling Kate will be writing stories about her biodiesel trip and they will be available on TerraTrip.org's blog for everyone to read. Go to TerraTrip.org and read Kate's exciting adventures >>>

June 2006
Hilltrip has a presence at the World Urban Forum III
From June 19th to 23rd, people from all around the globe gathered in Vancouver for World Urban Forum, the first of its kind by including youth at such a scale and by letting the people speak up. Marie Fortin of Hilltrip attended the conference and came back filled with faith.

An Inconvenient Truth FACE Humanity
Climate change is an inconvenient truth and the name of a must see movie documenting the journey of Al Gore to fight global warming. By exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it, Al Gore points out that climate change is a moral issue, not a political one and it's unethical to let it happen.
To read more about An Inconvenient Truth on TerraTrip.org, click here >>

February 21st, 2006
Hilltrip Goes To The David Suzuki Foundation’s E.O. Wilson Circle Donor Appreciation
The evening was very uplifting and energizing for Marie Fortin and Haley Haggerstone who attended the reception. The two Hilltrip collaborators had the chance to discuss about climate change and carbon offsets with Morag Carter, Director of the Climate Change Program at the David Suzuki Foundation (DSF). Moreover, they had the honor of meeting David Suzuki, and his daughter Savern, the newest/youngest Board Member of the Foundation.
Since 2004, Hilltrip has donated $1,750 to the DSF Climate Change Program, and has thus been a member of the E.O. Wilson Circle of the DSF.

February 18th, 2006
Avalanches Can Kill So Get Smarter
Avalanche Awareness is part of making our mountain lifestyle more sustainable because being aware of the risks involved in going backcountry is as important as knowing where and when to go. In order to understand the risks of going in the backcountry a little better, Marie Fortin from Hilltrip did a Recreational Avalanche Course (RAC) on February 15th to 17th with Perry Beckham from the Pacific Alpine Institute last February. Going backcountry is a great way to get closer to the wild, reconnecting with the environment, and realizing the importance of conserving it. "Being in the backcountry is so inspiring. There's nobody around and because I have to hike to get to where I want to go, I usually take more time at thinking. When hiking, I also take more time at contemplating at how beautiful the mountains covered with snow are and how I want to ensure this beautiful ecosystem sustain for generations to come." says Marie.

FYI - Ski and Snowboard Wax Toxicity
Who would have thought ski and snowboard wax are a big threat to our environment and us? Tyler Braly from Hillbilly Wax-Works and Ethica Enviro-Wax probably know more than the average Joe Blow about the toxicity of the wax on the market right now.

Tyler explains, “every season, thousands upon thousands of kilograms of ski wax are applied to skis and snowboards. Beeswax, pine tar, the natural materials once used to wax or seal skis have long since fallen by the wayside. Nowadays, conventional ski wax is made from varying blends of low-grade paraffin and synthetic fluorine chemicals, and therein lurks the problem. Paraffin wax is a waste byproduct of large scale petroleum and petrochemical refinement. The low-grade paraffin used by ski wax makers is junk material to Big Oil, the unwanted materials made incredibly cheap to purchase. As such, paraffin is non-renewable, unsustainable, and is a material directly related to the continued abuse and reliance upon fossil fuels.” Only that fact should rig a bell to the dumb and dumber of this world.

Just think about it for a sec; every time you melt wax, you release several hazardous chemicals that are classified as human carcinogens and every time you ride, the wax end up in nature.

We might not know all the effect wax has yet, but we know enough to start making conscious choices and trying not to use wax made with low-grade paraffin and synthetic fluorine chemicals. I say trying because all the wax on the market right now is basically made from those toxic material and it’ll take a while before regulations on those same materials be in place to protect us.

So my word on it is don’t wait until wax made from low-grade paraffin and synthetic fluorine chemicals are banned and start using environmentally friendly (and human friendly) wax buyng Hillbilly Wax-Works and Ethica Enviro-Wax, witch are now available in Mountain Equipment Co-op here in Canada, REI in the U.S, and a handful of other progressive and supportive retailers throughout the larger winter sports community. Please visit their website for a complete list of retailers click here >>

For more information please read Tyler Bradley’s article “Toxins on the Slopes” here >>


About Hilltrip
Based in Whistler, BC, HillTrip is an organization run by mountains lovers for mountain lovers and all those passionate about our lifestyle.

Global warming is happening. We need to FACE it; accept it, adapt to it and fight it. Hilltrip is here to help you FACE GLOBAL WARMING by educating and giving opportunities to do just that.

Read more about Hilltrip here >>