IF you love winter, delight in snow covered mountains and ski in Australia, then it might be a good time to take notice of Protect Our Winters (POW) Australia.
After two disrupted ski seasons, the official opening weekend last month brought a 'Welcome Back Winter' relaunch of POW to Mt Hotham, Falls Creek and other mountains.
POW is global network of snow athletes and enthusiasts, ski resorts and outdoor companies founded in 2007 by world–famous snowboarder Jeremy Jones, with the aim to 'inspire the snow–sports community to take action against climate change through focusing on educational initiatives, political activism, and community–based activism'.
Supporters number in the hundreds of thousands and it currently operates in 13 countries – Austria, Australia, Canada, France, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the United States.
On Saturday, June 11, enthusiastic crowds gathered at Hotham and Falls Creek with messages about climate action to ensure we have cold, snowy winters well into the future, based around two central themes – 'Welcome Back Winter' and '75 by 2030'.
Both events were supported by Bright Brewery.
POW Australia spokesman, Cam Walker, said the weekend had two purposes.
"Firstly to relaunch POW as a group active in the snow–sports community after two years of lockdowns, and to demonstrate that there is a desire in the snow sports community to see more ambitious action on climate by the Federal Government," he said.
"People loved the #welcomebackwinter theme.
"There was so much energy and enthusiasm in the resorts to have an opening weekend where there was plenty of snow and venues were full.
"This enthusiasm carried over into support for the theme.
"The #75by2030 message was that Australia can do more on climate action.
"If all countries went for a 75 per cent emission reduction by 2030, we would have a good chance of holding overall global warming to under 2oC – that means keeping a winter that we can recognise, with deep snow and a thriving snow industry."
For more information about how to get involved go to https://protectourwinters.org.au/
