Where We’re Headed
Every season we bring volunteer-led uphill days to more mountains. Here is how we grow, where we are going, and how you can help.
Open to All first, then everyone’s programs
A new mountain starts small and grows with the people who live near it. The order is always the same.
Open to All days
Our first days at a new mountain are Open to All: volunteer-led uphill days for skiers and splitboarders, at the no-drop pace, for $25, $10 or free.
A local volunteer team
We train volunteers who live near the mountain, alongside the volunteers we already have within reach, through our own system before the first day.
Our affinity programs
As the volunteer team grows, we bring our affinity programs there too: Women’s, Queer and trans, BIPOC, and Masters, 40 and over.
Where we are, and where we’re going
Five states
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York and Colorado. New this season: Swain Resort in New York, and our first days in Colorado.
Massachusetts, Connecticut and Idaho
Conversations with mountains and local partners, so Open to All days can follow.
The big ski states of the West and the Midwest
California, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming and Montana in the West, and Michigan and Wisconsin in the Midwest.
How we work with mountains
We work with mountains that want to work with us. IST is fully insured, has a proven track record, and runs the whole day, so a partnership is simple for everyone.
What IST brings
- The whole day, run by usRegistration, waivers, participant communication and the volunteer team all sit with IST. The mountain’s staff runs none of it.
- Full insuranceGeneral and professional liability, and an accident policy for participants and volunteers. A certificate of insurance on request.
- Trained volunteer leadersA mountain coordinator for the season, a lead volunteer for each day, and assistant volunteers at roughly one for every five participants.
- A proven track recordSeasons of program days at partner mountains in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, and now New York and Colorado.
- New people on the hillEvery day is listed on our site and shared with our community, and many of the people who come are new to uphill.
What a partner mountain provides
- An uphill routeThe route the mountain’s uphill policy states, climbed inside its hours as one no-drop group.
- A start windowBetween 9:00 and 10:00am, whichever end works for the mountain’s morning.
- A table indoorsIn a lodge, for check-in and a place to change before heading up.
- Storage for one binA small box of check-in supplies, collected and returned by the lead volunteer each day.
- Uphill access for our volunteersDonated or billed to IST, so no volunteer ever buys a ticket to give their day.
Know a mountain that wants uphill days that welcome everyone? We would love an introduction.
What it takes to get there
Help bring IST somewhere new
Whether you ski or ride there, want to volunteer, run a shop or a mountain, or want to fund a new region, tell us where and how, and we will be in touch.
