Leah R. Fielding

Dec 11

Check out my new project: Women's Gear Guide LLC →

After two years of contemplating this idea, I finally made it a reality. I am proud to present Women’s Gear Guide, a website dedicated to providing an online resource for active, outdoor oriented women through gear reviews, industry news, event announcments and adventure articles.

5 months ago

Jul 26

Two companies bringing Utah into the fore →

As seen in the February 2012 issue of Freeskier. Words by Leah Fielding.

Utah is a hub of innovation in ski technology, media and industry as shown by companies like Black Diamond, Salomon, Saga, the Levitation Project, Atomic, Backcountry.com, Discrete, the list goes on. We chose to highlight two brands, at different places in their development, who are representing Utah and growing in the Salt Lake area, which is, after all, the perfect place to skip work on a powder day.

Why I love Gay Ski Week.

Although I immensely enjoy the drag queen downhill races and adonis-like men touting only bunny ears and pink briefs with fluffy little tails, it’s just a small part of why this week is so special. The kicker for me, is the relaxed and happy faces of the men and women who can let loose for a week and truly enjoy themselves, just as they are. Their smiles are a reminder of why this town—and resort—is such a fabulous place to live, work and visit. This week was created 35 years ago—decades before the rest of the country even began acknowledging gays—by a group of local men and some city ski clubs who made the week an official gathering of gays. Each ski club would host a party every night, and over the years traditions formed and morphed with the times.

What many people don’t know about Gay Ski Week—and what I recently learned—is that certain events which transfired during the early beginnings of Gay Ski Week sparked a local, grassroots gay rights movement, which eventually added serious momentum the national movement. Some of the men were given trouble for dancing together openly in a bar. One of those men was longtime local, Jon Busch. Following the bar issue, Busch went on to push for the passing of the Aspen Gay Rights Ordinance, making Aspen among the first few cities to explicitly protect gay rights. Busch is also a pioneer member of the Roaring Fork Gay & Lesbian Community Fund. Every city has a history, I’m proud mine has one of acceptance and humanity.

For more information about the History of Gay Ski Week click here.

For more information about the RFGL Community Fund click here.

1 year ago

Jan 03

Aspen / Snowmass: The Glass is Half Full →

aspensnowmass:

What a weekend, big winds radically changed the snowpack. That said, the beauty of skiing and riding is that the mountain changes every day and it is really fun to adapt to whatever it is serving up that day.

Yesterday, was about finding the fetches, the places where the snow blew into. My…

4 notes | Reblogged: (via)

1 year ago

Oct 19