The Other Side

Here are a few things that you can do with gravity and a downhill slope: snowboard on sand dunes, slide down the stairs in a laundry basket, or a sleeping bag if said stairs are lined with cushions, and barrel roll down a grassy hill. While you may end up brushing sand off yourself for a week and half, dry walling holes, or just ridiculously dizzy, all three can in fact be done. But, none can be called skiing. Another activity that, while using skis, can't really be called skiing is slipping and bumping down the rocky, grassy, and occasionally bushy terrain of a mountain. It won't matter much whether you "pie" or "French fry," and you will certainly destroy your skis in the process. 

That's the thing about skiing – it requires snow. Preferably the fluffy kind. And preferably lots of it. True, racing down the side of a mountain on a super slick surface is no guarantee that you won't end up on Youtube rolling up the windows mid-air before a full on garage sale mid-ground, but people will be far more likely to question your mental state if you were to do the same without any snow. 

One of our favorite brands, Flaik, has taken this lesson of "No Snow, No Go" to heart, and has begun working to ensure that will be plenty of snow in future winters. As experts in the technology that keeps the ski industry running smoothly, Flaik made the leap from ski schools to sustainability.

With all of their characteristically sleek design expertise, they are developing an app that tracks, collects, and analyzes ski resorts' "scope 3" emissions (the most difficult, and yet most consequential type). Flaik loves ski resorts. As do we. So we were more than glad to sit down with CEO Steve Kenny, and head of sustainability Erika Kazi, to showcase their bold, new endeavor. 

Flaik has never been afraid to take on tasks that many would equate to climbing a mountain. And thank goodness for that, because we want to flog it down that mountain with a couple of waxed-up planks bound to our feet (sans all the sharp rocks and slush puddles).