Want to ride the lifts at Brighton on Saturday for free? Or rather, would you like to hit the slopes and have someone else pay for your lift ticket?
It’s pretty easy—and with your free lift pass, you will actually be doing good.
Dec. 12 marks the fifth annual Brighton fundraiser for Special Olympics, “Ski for Gold” (though it should be named “Ski or Snowboard for Gold,” because you can do either one). Here’s the cool part about this give-and-you-get event: You raise money by asking friends, neighbors, co-workers, your boss or whoever for pledges. Raise $30, and you get a lift ticket for Saturday. Since a Brighton day pass costs $58, it’s a pretty good deal. If you can’t find sponsors, hey, donate the $30 yourself; you’ll still spend the day on the mountain for nearly half the price of the regular lift ticket.
But wait, there’s more! According to the event Website (SkiForGold.com), if you raise $40, you get the pass and a $10 food voucher, so you can ski or ride and have lunch, too; keep in mind that the voucher is only good for the 12th. The ante keeps getting upped: Raise $60, you get the pass, food coupon and a T-shirt. Raise $100, and you get 12 drummers drumming and a partridge in pear tree … no, just kidding, you get the pass, lunch voucher, plus “premium ski apparel/gear,” which is probably some of the stuff donated by big sponsors like Marker and Burton. Raise more than $100, you get all the stuff mentioned before plus entry into a drawing for many (not just one) great prizes.
Brighton’s mountain manager Randy Doyle says of the event, “It’s been going on for about five years at Brighton. It’s a way Utah Special Olympics has come up with to raise some funds. You have to register on their Website by midnight on Friday, pledging to raise ‘x’ number of dollars, then you bring that up and get your lift ticket.”
Doyle explains that there is another great option with this event. Say that two friends (or lovers) would like to spend the day at Brighton. If they each registered and signed up to “raise” $30 apiece, that’s almost like one of Brighton’s frequent twofor-one ticket promotions. Except, as Doyle says, “Two-for-one tickets are never during the daytime, and never on a weekend, so it’s a really great deal. But the main thing is they need to register online by midnight Friday.”
To register, go to the above-mentioned Special Olympics “Ski for Gold” Website before midnight on Dec. 11. There’s a clickon link to register; just fill out the info and bring the money with you to get your lift ticket. There are no walk-up tickets— remember, you have to be registered at least the day before. And, if you feel like making it a group event, you can create a team of friends, family members or coworkers. As of press time, the collection of about a dozen teams (listed on the left side of the registration page) have raised approximately $3,000. But it’s unclear whether team members also get the lift ticket for just $30. Call the phone number listed on the registration page to find out how everyone in your group or team can get the discount lift pass.
The event will be shown on KSL5 news, so this is also your chance to be on TV. And you’re probably familiar with the kind of “bonding” feeling that you get whenever you’re part of a fundraiser. So there will be a nice vibe on the mountain on Saturday. Best of all, even if you pay the $30 yourself and don’t bother with getting donation pledges, your lift ticket is tax deductible.
SKI FOR GOLD
Brighton Ski Resort
Big Cottonwood Canyon
801-363-1111 ext. 228
Saturday, Dec. 12
SkiForGold.com
