ABOUT THE ALLIANCE
Bringing communities together for generations
For as long as people have recreated on Vail Pass, it has been a place where different winter communities share the land, and share responsibility for it.
(Photo: Craig Hoffman)
WHO WE ARE
The Vail Pass Alliance
We're the volunteer group that keeps Vail Pass working, a 501(c)(3) made up of the people and organizations who recreate and work here. Not a government agency, and not a single user group, but the shared table where all of it comes together.
What we are
An all-volunteer non-profit. Our board is split evenly between motorized and non-motorized representatives, by design.
What we do
Plan, fund, and carry out the grooming, signage, and safety work that keeps the pass well-managed for every user.
Why we do it
So a place where different winter communities share the same terrain stays open, safe, and good for all of them.
How we do it
In partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, funded by use fees, donations, and grants, and powered by volunteers.
WHAT MAKES IT WORK
A balance built on respect
Vail Pass is one of the few places where motorized and non-motorized communities recreate on, and jointly care for, the same terrain. That balance is the whole point, and it holds because everyone gives a little.
(Photo: Topher Donahue)
WHOS BEHIND IT
THE BOARD
Ben Dodge is the Executive Director of the Tenth Mountain Division Hut Association, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that manages a system of backcountry huts in the Colorado Rocky Mountains including five huts located in the Vail Pass Winter Recreation Area.
Ben Dodge
Non-Motorized Board Rep; 32 years on Vail Pass with Permitted Mechanized Ski Guiding; 20 years on Board; Grooming and Plowing Supervisor; Board President
Ben Bartosz
Frank is a chemist who has spent his career transforming technologies into businesses. An avid outdoors lover, he spends as much time as possible deep in the woods and high on the mountains!
Frank Kvietok
EJ Olbright
Chuck Ogilby
Seth Mayer
PARTNERSHIPS
Who makes the pass possible
Managing Vail Pass takes a lot of hands. Each partner links out to their own site.
Colorado State Parks
Colorado Department of Transportation
Colorado Avalanche Information Center
USFS Dillon Ranger District
USFS Holy Cross-Eagle Ranger District
Vail Powder Guides
Colorado Snowmobile Association
Rocky Mountain Adventure Rentals
Red Cliff Snowmobile Club
Vail Mountain Rescue
Nova Guides
Colorado Mountain Club - Backcountry Snowsports Initiative
Mountain States Snowcats
Weston Snowboards
Summit County Rescue Group
Colorado Mountain College
10th Mountain Division Hut Association
Backcountry Access
SE Group
Backcountry United
Summit Huts Association
HISTORY · SINCE 1998
A first-of-its-kind partnership
The Alliance began in 1998 as the Vail Pass Task Force, a Colorado 501(c)(3) and one of the first citizen groups formed to improve public-land recreation through cooperation instead of conflict. It has funded and run grooming on the pass since the 1990s, earned State of Colorado grants, bought and upgraded the snowcats that groom the trails, and built a lasting cost-share partnership with the U.S. Forest Service that continues today.
The founding mission hasn't changed: a balance of motorized and non-motorized recreation, reliable quiet areas for human-powered users, well-marked motorized loops and snowplay, and respect among everyone who shares the pass.
GET INVOLVED
WHAT IT COSTS
The pass is kept up by volunteers, and there's room for more. Whether you ski, sled, or snowshoe, there's a way to help, or just reach out below.
Volunteer
Trail and stewardship projects on the pass are coordinated through the U.S. Forest Service. Sign up with them to lend a hand.
Give
Support the pass with a donation through Colorado Gives.
Follow along
Trail and stewardship projects on the pass are coordinated through the U.S. Forest Service. Sign up with them to lend a hand.
Contact us.
Have any more questions you can’t find the answer to? Please feel free to reach out and we will get in contact as soon as possible.
vailpasswra@gmail.com