Citizen Skier

Chris Steinkamp has grown Protect Our Winters into the ski industry’s leading voice for climate action. His next challenge: convincing skiers to spark a movement to save the snow—and bag some turns.

- Paul Tolme

Chris Steinkamp traverses the upper mountain at Squaw Valley and skis to a stop atop Sun Bowl, pausing to enjoy the view and catch his breath before dropping in. “Wow, that’s beautiful,” he says, snapping some iPhone photos for his wife and kids back home. Skiing, surprisingly, is a rare treat for the man who hopes to save the snow. “It’s kind of sad,” says Steinkamp, the executive director of Protect Our Winters, noting with embarrassment that he got only a handful of days on the slopes the past few winters. “I’m just too busy.”

Protect Our Winters is the climate action group founded by snowboarding legend Jeremy Jones. While Jones is the president and public face of POW, Steinkamp is the quiet strategist and organizer who has worked behind the scenes for a decade to build the nonprofit into the ski industry’s leading voice for climate protection. Launched on a shoestring budget, POW has grown to 130,000 members worldwide, with chapters in France, Austria, Sweden, and elsewhere, and a new headquarters in Boulder, Colo. Under Steinkamp’s direction, POW has helped an initially reluctant ski industry become politically active in Washington and at state levels, partnering with some of the biggest brands in outdoor sports and leveraging the star power of athletes.

“POW is a very lean organization but they are creative and effective. Chris is the mover and the shaker who makes things happen,” says James Rogers, senior sustainability manager at The North Face, one of POW’s major donors.

POW’s goal is to turn skiers and boarders into climate activists and build a social movement similar to those that have advanced the causes of gay rights and civil rights. Winter sports contribute $62 billion to the nation’s economy and support 965,000 jobs, and the more than 20 million Americans who participate could become a powerful voice for change, Steinkamp says.