See Our Current Newsletter Colorado Ski Museum Spring 2009 Newsletter

Recent Events

Chris Anthony, skier and member of the Warren Miller film crew recently presented
the Long Cold Walk, a presentation of his journey through N.W. China to find pioneering skiers...

Bagging a bit of ski history

ChicoBags conserve resources, promote environmental awareness, raise funds for the nonprofit Colorado Ski & Snowboard Museum and Hall of Fame

The Colorado Ski & Snowboard Museum and Hall of Fame is trying to save the sport’s history and future … one bag at a time.

In an innovative fundraiser underwritten by Vail Resorts and Colorado Ski Country USA, the Vail-based ski museum is selling 2,000 environmentally friendly, reusable grocery bags called ChicoBags (www.chicobag.com).

“Curb your consumption,” reads the ChicoBag website. “Stop the waste, save oil, save trees.” All worthy goals for snow sports enthusiasts, particularly ones with a keen sense of the ski industry’s past and a passion for its future.

Tag lines on the special-edition ski museum bags read: “Conserve Resources, Preserve History: Grab a ChicoBag,” and “Colorado Ski Country: A Higher State of Conservation.”

Machine-washable and compact (fitting in an integrated pouch that measures 3 inches by 4 inches), ChicoBags fit in a pocket or a purse, weigh only 1.5 ounces and expand to 18 inches by 18 inches with a carrying capacity of 20 pounds. They’re made of strong and durable woven nylon.

ChicoBags make a practical and utilitarian environmental statement, helping to reduce the 300 to 700 plastic bags used by the average American every year – bags that do not biodegrade in landfills.

And if paper is your choice at the check-out stand, consider this: according to the American Forest and Paper Association, the United States used 10 billion paper grocery bags in 1999, requiring 14 million trees to be cut down.

“Trees, as any skier will tell you, are one of the most prized resources in and around mountain resort communities,” said Susie Tjossem, Executive Director of the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Museum and Hall of Fame, “and ChicoBags also cut oil consumption and therefore reduce the effects of global warming. What skier or snowboarder can’t get behind that?”

The Whole Foods organic grocery chain is selling standard versions of the ChicoBag in a lead-up to Earth Day on April 2, but those bags – and the ones offered for $5 at www.chicobag.com – are not customized with ski museum and ski country tag lines and logos. Nor do they benefit such a worthy cause as the nonprofit ski museum.

The custom ski museum bags are available for $7 (100 percent of the proceeds benefit the facility dedicated to the preservation of the state’s rich ski history) at the ski museum in the main Vail Transportation Center or online.

Past Newsletters

Colorado Ski Museum Winter 2008 Newsletter download here

Colorado Ski Museum Spring 2008 Newsletter download here

Colorado Ski Museum Summer 2008 Newsletter download here

Colorado Ski Museum Autumn 2008 Newsletter download here

Colorado Ski Museum Winter 2009 Newsletter download here

Colorado Ski Museum Spring 2009 Newsletter download here