Sponsor skier and Colorado-based environmentalist Alison Gannett is no stranger to strenuous tasks in the name of climate awareness. In 2007, she climbed 20,000-foot peaks in Pakistan to record glacial recession. In 2009, she completed a self-supported bike ride from New York City to Washington D.C. as part of a group climate change ride. And on November 20, she’ll embark on yet another journey: a 225-mile walk from Brussels to Copenhagen, Denmark, all while carrying a pair of skis strapped to her backpack. Why the skis? “I’m carrying my skis as a symbolic gesture for saving our snow,” Gannett, the founder of the Save Our Snow Foundation, told us. “I’ll be walking through all of these flat countries—and I figure carrying skis will help us get the message out.” She says she won’t be carrying boots and poles.
She’s heading to Copenhagen for the United Nations Climate Conference, taking place December 7-18, where President Obama and other world leaders from almost 200 nations will be gathering to draft a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol and set standards for carbon emissions worldwide. “I’m gathering signatures on my skis for the UN Climate Petition,” says Gannett, who’s also been working with Congress to create a solution framework for climate change issues.
Roz Savage, an environmentalist and ocean rower, will be joining Gannett for the 20-mile-a-day journey, which will be filmed for an upcoming documentary. “I’m actually not much of a walker,” Gannett says. “So Roz is dragging me along. But I think it’ll be really interesting. This is a great way to bring skiing to the flatlands, where there are a lot of passionate skiers who we never get to meet.” You can support here project here. And follow Alison at her website.
