Sage came home the other day DEMANDING that we change out all of our lightbulbs. Never try to argue with a third grader after they just had an assembly on saving energy. I had my excuses- we just replaced most of our bulbs; just turn off the lights when you leave a room; those energy efficient LEDs you want are ridiculously expensive.

Now I can’t put my money where my mouth is. Rocky Mountain Power is making it difficult to say, “No.” For a limited time, pick up LED three-pack bulbs at Home Depot for $5. No more excuses not to make the switch to long-lasting bulbs. But we only have until May 17.

Qualified LEDs may last as long as 25 brilliant years and use 75 percent less energy than traditional bulbs. That means fewer trips to the store and less time climbing the ladder to switch them out. Plus, the savings help lower your energy costs.

This special offer from Rocky Mountain Power is limited to eight, $5 LED three-packs per purchase, per customer. The transition to super-efficient LEDs is cheaper than a meal from McD’s and will generate years of savings. The positive impact doesn’t end with your wallet either. According to ENERGY STAR, if every home in America replaced even a single bulb, it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking more than 800,000 cars off the road.

To find participating stores near you, visit rockymountainpower.net/ut-bulbs.

Telluride Ski Resort – Photo by https://www.flickr.com/photos/grayskull/

Even more Utah ski pass news to report:

Snowbasin and Telluride Ski Resort will are teaming next 2015/2016 winter season. Premier Season passholders can head down to Telluride for three free days of skiing/snowboarding. And the pleasure will be reciprocated; Telluride full season pass holders get three days at Snowbasin the 2015/2016 ski season. “We are very excited to be partnering with Telluride Ski Resort to offer our guests even more added value on their Premier Season Pass.” explains John Loomis, General Manager for Snowbasin Resort. Together Telluride and Snowbasin Resort feature 5000+ acres of skiing/snowboarding, 29 lifts, and 6800 vertical feet of lift serviced terrain.

“We are excited to offer reciprocal benefits with Snowbasin next year. We believe Snowbasin embodies many of the same characteristics our Telluride pass holders enjoy like a wide variety of terrain, unbelievable views, great facilities, and impeccable service,” added Brad Larsen, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Telluride Ski Resort. “We know our pass holders will appreciate the opportunity to ski Utah.”

Both resorts will have blackout dates for the exchange during the holidays- December 26 – January 2, 2016, January 16-17, and February 13-15, 2016. For more information visit Snowbasin.com or call 801.620.1123.

Who doesn’t like free stuff? To celebrate the dawn of the ski season in Park City this year, Park City Mountain Resort,
Canyons Resort and Vail Resorts’ EpicPromise will be handing out free mugs and coffee this Friday morning from 7-9 a.m.

Supplies are limited, so rise and shine. I was one of the first in line to grab my 2013 heavy duty ceramic Canyons Resort coffee mug filled with PC Bread and Bagel coffee. Both Mike Goar and Charlie Sturgis were personally doing the exchange. It was fun to see the higher ups meeting and greeting that day. And just by getting my free stuff I was giving to charity.

Photo courtesy Canyons Resort

Canyons chose to donate $1,000 to Mountain Trails Foundation and 1,000 cups of coffee to six local coffee shops in 2013 and it went so well the MTF love continues. Another 1000 mugs will be distributed to seven shops to raise money for trail love. Canyons former GM Mike Goar said, “Mountain Trails Foundation exemplifies the spirit of hands-on, on-the-ground environmental restoration and maintenance work that resonates with our guides (employees) and guests.”

Pick up a free commemorative coffee mug (with coffee) and the resorts will donate $1 to Mountain Trails Foundation for every mug of coffee they hand out. The money will go directly to trail restoration, maintenance and the building of new trails.

Participating locations for Friday’s freebie are Atticus; Hugo; Publik; Silver King; Wasatch Bagel, and the Starbucks locations at Kimball Junction and on Park Avenue.

Unfortunately, I have to leave town this weekend so I won’t be able to pick up a new mug. But believe me, I was tempted to postpone my trip by a day.

On Saturday, head up to PCMR for opening day. If you’re there for first chair there’s a good chance you’ll walk with some fun 2014 swag.

It’s always nice to get a break. The U.S. Forest Service just posted their calendar to encourage your visits next year. They’re waiving fees at most of its day-use recreation sites several times in 2015, beginning with Jan. 19, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “These fee-free parks days are our way of thanking our millions of visitors but also to encourage more people to visit these great public lands,” said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. “These lands belong to all Americans, and we encourage everyone to open the door to the great outdoors.”

The 2015 scheduled fee-free days observed by the Forest Service are:

• Jan. 19: the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which honors the legacy of the civil rights leader and encourages Americans to participate in the MLK Day of Service
  
• Feb.
  16: Presidents Day, honoring our nation’s Presidents with particular attention towards commemorating President Washington and President Lincoln.
  
• June 13:
  National Get Outdoors Day, a day when federal agencies, nonprofit organizations and the recreation industry encourages healthy, outdoor activities.
  
• Sept. 26:
  National Public Lands Day, the nation’s largest, single-day volunteer effort in support of public lands
  
• Nov. 11:
  Veteran’s Day, commemorates the end of World War I and pays tribute to all military heroes past and present.
  

This year parks are free Nov. 8-11 in honor of Veteran’s Day.

America’s national forests offer more than 150,000 miles of hiking, biking, equestrian and motorized trails trails and more than 10,000 developed recreation sites. Visitors can choose a wide variety of recreational activities using more than 57,000 miles of streams, 122 alpine ski areas, 338,000 heritage sites, 9,100 miles of National Scenic Byways, 22 National Recreation Areas, 11 National Scenic Areas, seven National Monuments, one national preserve and one national heritage area.

The fee-free program is in cooperation with other federal land management agencies under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act. Fees are waived generally for day-use areas, such as picnic grounds, developed trailheads and destination visitor centers. Concessionaire operated sites might also be free depending on the operator. Contact your local national forest or grassland to learn if your destination requires a fee and if that fee is waived.

Protected lands are meant to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands for future generations. The Forest Service manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world.

They’re also money makers; contributing more than $13 billion to the economy each year through visitor spending alone. Those same lands provide 20 percent of the nation’s clean water supply, a value estimated at $7.2 billion per year.

Check Recreation.gov to see if your destination charges a fee. Fees are used to help cover the cost of safe, clean facilities. Use the Forest Service map to find a national forest or grassland near you.

Photo courtesy Sherri Harkin.

I entered. Have you? Now, I normally enter everything I can get my hands on- Disney travel, gear raffles, photo contests. Anything that doesn’t involve spamming all my friends to vote for me. I hate those kind of contests. They’re idiotic. If you have a great entry it shouldn’t matter how many friends vote. Plus, I keep my FB friends to those I truly want to keep in touch with and share photos with and who get my raw personality. Having 5k “friends” means you don’t know how to be a friend.

Anyway, back to contests. Mostly, I enter for the swag. Occasionally there’s an inspiration that needs support. POC Sports teamed up with the High Fives Non-Profit Foundation’s #HelmetsAreCool photo contest and this is one I can truly get behind. No matter who tells you that helmets are awkward, restrict vision, reduce hearing, etc., it’s a known fact that being alive is cool and helmets keep you alive. Hence, helmets are cool. Just listen to Sally Francklyn speaking at the premiere of the new ski flick “Valhalla” in Denver last weekend.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/74574939]

Happening now, photos uploaded to Instagram with the hashtag #HelmetsAreCool will be entered to win a prize pack from POC Sports on October 10. The winner will be announced the following day via the High Fives Foundation and POC Sports respective Instagram accounts.

“The High Fives Foundation’s B.A.S.I.C.S. Program Service emphasizes safety and awareness while participating in action sports,” Roy Tuscany, executive director of the High Fives Foundation, said. “We are on a mission to document and show how and why the best helmet technology is invented. We took a quick trip to Sweden to shake hands and dig into the culture at POC Sports. Now, we want contest participants to show the world why they’re an advocate of helmet usage by posting and sharing their photos with us on Instagram.”

Simply upload a cool photo of you (properly) using a helmet while enjoying your favorite action sport and you’ll be in the running for an amazing prize pack from POC Sports. Be sure to tag #HelmetsAreCool.

Follow the High Fives Foundation and POC Sports on Instagram at:

· Instagram.com/Hi5sFoundation

· Instagram.com/POCSports

High Fives Foundation is a Tahoe-based, national 501.c.3 non-profit organization dedicated to raising money and awareness for athletes who have suffered a life-altering injury while pursuing their dream in the winter action sports community. The Foundation has helped 43 athletes to date since its inception in 2009, more information visit www.highfivesfoundation.org.