Watch the Winter Speaker Series
The Alpenglow Sports Winter Speaker Series blends two goals: 1) to inspire and motivate mountain athletes to pursue their outdoor dreams and 2) to educate about, and raise funds for, nonprofit organizations making a tangible difference in the North Lake Tahoe and Truckee community. The Winter Speaker Series is the largest free community speaker series in the country that hosts the biggest names in the outdoor industry. Watch the Alpenglow Sports Winter Speaker Series presentations here.
2022-23 SPEAKERS
Dave Nettle
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In 2022, after two years of pandemic uncertainty, severe economic hardship, and international travel restrictions, the high mountain huts and ski resorts throughout Europe began to open again. Ski mountaineers were enthusiastically welcomed back to enjoy the spectacular alpine scenery, challenging ski terrain, excellent cuisine, and the traditional warm and friendly hospitality of the mountain regions. For Winter Speaker Series founder Dave Nettle, it was definitely time for a return to the Alps.
Join Dave Nettle for his inspiring and humorous A “Post Covid” Ski Mountaineering Journey, a trip through five countries with an entertaining and motivated cast of friends during the spring of 2022. The presentation highlights their week-long hut-to-hut ski tour on the French Vanoise Haute Route. This hut trip, which lies mostly within the Vanoise National Park, traverses some of the most remote and dramatic high alpine glacial terrain in the Alps, despite the fact it borders one of the largest, interconnected ski resort complexes in Europe.
Europe, like Tahoe, had a winter season with a minimal Spring snowpack and long gaps in between mostly warm, rainy storms. As Dave’s ski mountaineering journey and narrative unfolds it’s clear that having solid friends, being flexible, adjusting plans quickly, having a positive attitude, and just being plain old lucky is a life strategy he embraces that keeps his travels, friendships, and adventures fun and successful.
The beneficiary of our final Winter Speaker Series show with Dave Nettle is Gateway Mountain Center.
As an innovator in youth development, Gateway Mountain Center’s mission is to positively transform the lives of youth. By connecting to self, nature, and community, youth of all backgrounds learn, heal and thrive. Through high-impact nature-based learning, wellness adventures, and innovative, non-traditional therapeutic approaches to mental health and wellness, Gateway Mountain Center has served over 25,000 youth of all backgrounds.
Anna Pfaff
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Rural northeast Ohio isn’t a breeding ground for alpinists, but that’s exactly where one of the world’s premiere alpinists was born and raised. When Anna Pfaff, 37, moved to Colorado to finish her nursing degree at the University of Colorado Denver, she joined her classmates for a trip to Indian Creek, Utah where she instantly was hooked on climbing. After graduating in 2003, Pfaff relocated to Boulder where she honed her skills on multi-pitch routes in Eldorado Canyon and the cracks of Indian Creek. The following year, she made the pilgrimage to Yosemite and within a year had climbed El Capitan. When she headed south one winter and first climbed in the Fitz Roy range, she was hooked on alpine climbing.
Ever since, Pfaff has become one of the world’s premier alpinists and expedition climbers and has climbed in some of the most remote alpine terrain in the world, including multiple expeditions to the Karakorum Range of Pakistan, Tibetan Himalaya, Nepal and India, the Tian Shan of Kyrgyzstan, the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy in Colombia, and the Peruvian, Bolivian, the Patagonian Andes and Antarctica. Anna is happiest setting new routes in remote parts of the world, climbing first ascents, and learning about the people and culture surrounding the peaks she’s climbing.
In April of 2022, Anna Pfaff and climbing partner Priti Wright successfully climbed the Alaskan giant Mt. Huntington, via the Harvard Route, a coveted and highly technical alpine route. Upon arriving back in basecamp, Pfaff was struck with aggressive frostbite on both feet, which ultimately led to the loss of six toes. Pfaff’s show Life’s New Crux will document her journey throughout the process and how she is working hard to return to the mountains. Alpine adventures around the world have shaped Pfaff, and now she is using these lessons to help her overcome a new crux in life.
The beneficiary of our fourth Winter Speaker Series with Anna Pfaff is Sierra Senior Services. If you are planning to attend the events in person at Olympic Valley Lodge, you do not need to register, merely show up and join the fun. Each show will also be live streamed on Alpenglow’s YouTube channel. No registration is required to watch online. For the 2022-23 season, there will be two giveaways per show. The much loved and anticipated in-person giveaway will return after a Covid-safety hiatus and will be for all in-person attendees who purchase physical giveaway tickets at the show. The second giveaway will happen on our YouTube channel the morning after the event, and will include all giveaway tickets that were purchased online by viewers tuning in from afar. Prizes for each giveaway are DIFFERENT and you are allowed to purchase tickets at both. Tickets for the online giveaway are available until midnight PST on the night of each show.
Sierra Senior Services delivers nutritious meals throughout the Truckee/North Lake Tahoe community to older adults facing food insecurity. Their mission is to reduce isolation and hunger, enabling local seniors to continue living independently for as long as safely possible.
Adrian Ballinger
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In the spring of 2022, Adrian Ballinger made his third attempt of the past decade to ski Makalu, the 5th tallest mountain in the world. Makalu, famed for its steep and technical terrain, was one of only two 8,000-meter peaks that had not yet been skied. After two failed attempts in 2012 and 2015, 2022 seemed like the ideal time for another try, this time without supplemental oxygen in the “new style” of 8,000-meter ski descents. Conditions, changing ethics of Himalayan climbing, ski partners, and an unexpected pregnancy had different ideas.
Dinner will be available from our friends at MOGROG Rotisserie. 15% of all food sales will go to benefit the nonprofit beneficiary of the evening.
The beneficiary of our second Winter Speaker Series with Adrian Ballinger is SOS Outreach. If you are planning to attend the events in person at Olympic Valley Lodge, you do not need to register, merely show up and join the fun. Each show will also be live streamed on Alpenglow’s YouTube channel. No registration is required to watch online. For the 2022-23 season, there will be two giveaways per show. The much loved and anticipated in-person giveaway will return after a Covid-safety hiatus and will be for all in-person attendees who purchase physical giveaway tickets at the show. The second giveaway will happen on our YouTube channel the morning after the event, and will include all giveaway tickets that were purchased online by viewers tuning in from afar. Prizes for each giveaway are DIFFERENT and you are allowed to purchase tickets at both. Tickets for the online giveaway are available until midnight PST on the night of each show.
Proceeds from Elena’s show will benefit SOS Outreach. No matter what social, societal, or economic barriers exist, SOS Outreach believes every child deserves the opportunity to thrive. SOS Outreach starts with powerful outdoor experiences, because it’s on the slopes or the trail that kids unearth the courage to step outside of their comfort zones, discover new strengths within themselves and develop lifelong skills. Through their proven curriculum, they empower kids in our communities to discover their true potential.
Jeremy Jones
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Snowboarding icon Jeremy Jones kicks off the 17th annual Winter Speaker Series with a unique and never-before-seen show “The Art of Shralpinism.” Based on his new book by the same title, The Art of Shralpinism covers a compendium of hard-won lessons, quick tips, sound advice, and impactful stories largely documented from journals Jones has kept over the years. Also featuring wisdom from friends and mentors, The Art of Shralpinism takes an experiential approach to contemplating mountains, snow, and adventure. Through his art, poetry, and journal extracts, Jones traces his development from racer and extreme snowboarding film star to explorer of the deep backcountry and climate activist.
Documenting stories from his 30+ year career, Jones will illustrate real-life occurrences that highlight which aspects of avalanche training are most crucial to absorb, ways to anticipate slope behavior or recognize clean lines, how to cut a cornice or develop safety protocols, how to build a fitness routine, the art of the turn, and keys to developing terrain and skills progression. Throughout, Jones will discuss the importance of mentors, the necessity and intensity of practice, the nature of risk, and the shape of failure – all of which he has experienced during his storied and groundbreaking career.
At its heart, The Art of Shralpinism revels in the power of experience, the impact of stoke, and the beauty that underscores all outdoor adventure. Not a technical guide on snowboarding but, rather, a very personal approach to how to think about mountains, snow, and adventure, The Art of Shralpinism reflects the remarkable journey of snowboarding superstar Jeremy Jones. Drawing on the hundreds of journals he has kept over the years, Jones offers intriguing snapshots of time and place that include his own on-the-slope stories and white-out moments, as well as those of other prominent adventurers such as Jimmy Chin, Zahan Billimoria, and Christina Lusti.
The beneficiary of our kick-off show with Jeremy Jones is Slow Food Tahoe. If you are planning to attend the events in person at Olympic Valley Lodge, you do not need to register, merely show up and join the fun. Each show will also be live streamed on Alpenglow’s YouTube channel. No registration is required to watch online. For the 2022-23 season, there will be two giveaways per show. The much loved and anticipated in-person giveaway will return after a Covid-safety hiatus and will be for all in-person attendees who purchase physical giveaway tickets at the show. The second giveaway will happen on our YouTube channel the morning after the event, and will include all giveaway tickets that were purchased online by viewers tuning in from afar. Prizes for each giveaway are DIFFERENT and you are allowed to purchase tickets at both. Tickets for the online giveaway are available until midnight PST on the night of each show.
Slow Food Lake Tahoe‘s mission is to connect our community to the enjoyment of good, clean and fair food by inspiring a self-reliant food culture. We educate the community about growing, preparing and accessing local and sustainable food. Good, clean and fair food for all.
We host a variety of community projects and events to bring our mission to fruition including Truckee’s Food Bank Garden, Community Garden, Grow Your Own workshops, Skill Share Classes, Compost Collection, Salmon Buying Club, the Edible Garden Tour, and Community Soup Night. We also help to support Don’t Drop the Top Collection and the Truckee Saturday Farmer’s Market.
Our fundraising primarily goes to support the Food Bank Garden in the Truckee River Regional Park, the anchor of all our programs. With the garden, we support food security and nutrition equality by growing organic and healthy food for our local hunger relief organization, Sierra Community House. In addition, we also encourage self-reliance by providing free high elevation gardening and sustainability education for our volunteers, visiting children’s groups, business retreat teams, and the general public with our volunteer days and annual gardening classes.
Brette Harrington
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Brette Harrington is a bold alpinist, accomplished 5.13+ trad climber, calculated soloist, expert ski mountaineer, big wall sender, and graceful mixed climber. Harrington owes her lengthy title to her versatility in the mountains. Her show Versatility Fueled by Mountain Creativity, documents Harrington’s evolution in the various disciplines of climbing and skiing from beginner to cutting-edge professional.
Over the past two years, Harrington has pursued (and accomplished) a diverse array of rock and ski pursuits, including free climbing Yosemite’s famous El Capitan, first descents in Baffin Island, and big wall climbing routes in northern Spain. Her run of accomplishments is astounding even to the grizzled veteran, and truly began when she quit competing in slopestyle and moved to Squamish, British Columbia in order to chase her rock climbing dreams. It was here that she met the love of her life Marc Andre Leclerc, a story well documented in The Alpinist.
Harrington’s theme throughout her show Versatility Fueled by Mountain Creativity is the importance of strengthening weakness and overcoming mental and physical challenges.
The beneficiary of our third Winter Speaker Series with Brette Harrington is the Send It Foundation. If you are planning to attend the events in person at Olympic Valley Lodge, you do not need to register, merely show up and join the fun. Each show will also be live streamed on Alpenglow’s YouTube channel. No registration is required to watch online. For the 2022-23 season, there will be two giveaways per show. The much loved and anticipated in-person giveaway will return after a Covid-safety hiatus and will be for all in-person attendees who purchase physical giveaway tickets at the show. The second giveaway will happen on our YouTube channel the morning after the event, and will include all giveaway tickets that were purchased online by viewers tuning in from afar. Prizes for each giveaway are DIFFERENT and you are allowed to purchase tickets at both. Tickets for the online giveaway are available until midnight PST on the night of each show.
The Send It Foundation was created by Jamie Schou, a long-time Truckee resident, when he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Synovial Sarcoma at the age of 33. Through his two-year battle, he fought with a smile on his face and a deep conviction to truly live each day to the fullest. For Jamie, ‘someday’ became ‘today’ and with every break in treatment he skied The Fingers, biked the Tahoe Rim Trail, paddled out of Commons Beach, and hiked all the local trails of the Sierras. It was these adventures that kept him happy, positive, and fighting hard for his life. Jamie’s mission was to bring these experiences to other young adults in the cancer fight. In 2014, the last year of his life, he formed the Send It Foundation, a non-profit organization to do just that. Today, the Send It Foundation provides free outdoor adventure programs for young adults (ages 21-40) facing a cancer journey. We organize 10 multi-day adventure programs per year designed around activities such as skiing, surfing, rock climbing, mountain biking, and backpacking; creating a vital community through shared experience. Since the inaugural Tahoe program in 2015, Send It has provided over 70 multi-day adventures, building a robust community of cancer patients and survivors. Currently, our waitlist exceeds 700+ patients nationwide.
2021-22 SPEAKERS
Conrad and Malik
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Conrad Anker has been pushing the limits of mountaineering for the last 30 plus years. The Bozeman, Montana-based father of three is one a prolific explorer and mountaineer. Equally at home in Antarctica, the Himalaya or his home ice in Hyalite Canyon in southwestern Montana, Conrad continues a deep appreciation for wild places that was passed on from his father and grandfather who hailed from Big Oak Flat, California, just outside Yosemite National Park.
Throughout his career, Conrad has pioneered difficult new routes in the most remote places on earth and been a mentor to many, including Johnathan “Malik” Martin, a rock climber and Memphis native who has spent the last 5 years being dedicated to telling the different stories from his community.
Malik Martin is the social media manager and photographer for Memphis Rox, a state of the art climbing gym that has transcended the classic model of business. With a “pay what you can” approach, Memphis Rox is more than a gym, and bigger than climbing. It’s a glimpse into the future where a climbing gym can become a crucible for community.
Nick Russell
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In “Dreamer by Design,” the third show of the season, Sierra based snowboarder Nick Russell shares his story of how an East Coast transplant manifested a childhood vision turned into reality.
As humans, we have an innate desire to explore the world around us. It is that thirst for firsthand adventure that has led Nick around the world in search of a dream. Over the past two decades, he has steadily found his path into the mountains and into a fresh line through life. From the highs and lows that accompany any passionate pursuit, join along as Nick shares his story of how an East Coast transplant manifested a childhood vision turned into reality.
By utilizing human power fueled by a splitboard and a healthy appetite for stepping outside of perceived comfort zones, Nick’s adventures have spanned mountain ranges across six continents. He will speak to the freedom associated with dirtbagging, the importance of maintaining a positive attitude in the face of despair and conservative decision making in consequential terrain. Tune in as Nick re-lives a few memorable adventures from the highest peaks of Alaska, snowboarding alongside penguins in Antarctica and completely winging it in remote mountains across South America, the Middle East, Asia and beyond.
Dave Nettle
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As co-founder of the Winter Speaker Series, Dave Nettle has been cultivating mountain community in North Lake Tahoe through his compelling tales of adventure for well over thirty years. Filled with his signature humor, his show “Big Fun in Little Switzerland,” will take us on his adventures of climbing classic long rock routes and ski touring the Pika Glacier, a spectacular land of rock and ice, surrounded by dramatic alpine peaks and rock spires, inspiring the name “Little Switzerland.” For decades, the glacier has been sought after by climbers and skiers for its remote feel while just a short ski plane flight from the town of Talkeetna.
In a classic case of a far-fetched idea sounding good while comfortably sitting at home with a map, Andrew and Dave decide to ‘supersize’ their mountaineering expedition by skipping the ski plane flight out at the end of their trip. Instead, they travel overland back to Talkeetna hiking across glaciers and moraines and bushwhacking through Grizzly bear and mosquito country for two days then floating 65 miles of wild, glacial rivers back to town in pack rafts adding a full Alaskan style finish to their adventure.
Hilaree Nelson
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As a seasoned adventurer, Hilaree Nelson has more than 40 expeditions to some of the most remote corners of the globe under her belt. Born and raised in the Northwest, she began skiing at age 3 in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State. After several years in the Alps learning as much as she could about mountains, glaciers and steep skiing techniques, she hit the road and moved on to the Himalayas, the Andes, Alaska and more.
In “Truth or Consequence,” Hilaree will share stories from an expedition to interior Antarctica. In January of 2020 she realized a decades long dream of adventuring into the Ellsworth Mountains, the highest mountains on the Antarctic Continent. With an all-star team of some of the most experienced mountaineers and skiers in the world, they aimed to climb and ski the two highest peaks: Mt. Vinson by a route that had only ever been climbed once in 1998, the Central Ice Stream, and Mt. Tyree a true gem of mountain majesty that has only seen a handful of ascents and had never been skied. What unfolded during their three week expedition humbled each and every one on the team and proved that, no matter how experienced one is the mountains, there is always more to learn.
Elena Hight
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As a competitive halfpipe rider for 16 years, Elena Hight ventured from her local mountains in Lake Tahoe to places around the world and ultimately to the top stage of the Olympics. In “Breaking Through Comfort Zones: Pipes, Powder and Post Holes,” Elena reflects on a 19 year long career as a professional snowboarder.
As her career continued, her eyes and heart began to wander beyond the perfectly shaped transitions and into the surrounding natural terrain. Between an inaugural trip to Alaska and her first winter camping expedition in the Sierras, she fell in love with big mountains and dreamt of how she could potentially make the pursuit of big mountain riding her main focus. After a massive personal failure, a moment of fate brought her into the High Sierra mountains on foot, and upon her return, her eyes had been opened to an entirely new path. She knew that her comfort zone at the top of the halfpipe would no longer fill her soul and that the choice to leave everything she knew behind for a new chapter was a risk, but one that she had to take.
“Breaking Through Comfort Zones: Pipes, Powder and Post Holes” traces Elena’s larger than life successes and failures: 2 Winter Olympics, 7 X-Games medals, 1 US Open Championship, 1 million travel miles, 1 “never been done” before trick, 12 concussions, 1 hip surgery, 6 lost toenails, 9 days crossing the Sierra, 3 feature films, countless failed river crossings, many endured sandbags, and more smiles than recordable.
2020-21 SPEAKERS
Angel Collinson
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The third show of the season welcomes the new year on Thursday, January 7th with extreme skiing icon Angel Collinson. Her show “Another Half-Mile” will depict funny and serious stories from her childhood, her evolution as an extreme skier at Utah’s famous Snowbird Resort, and how she has utilized these life lessons during expeditions and on some of the most extreme ski descents ever captured on film. Collinson was the first woman to win Powder Magazine’s “Best Line” award and is a mainstay in annual Teton Gravity Research films.
With over 4,000 attendees annually, the 15-year-old Alpenglow Winter Speaker Series (WSS) has become the premier North American forum for adventure storytelling. Five times per winter, a premier outdoor athlete presents an inspirational tale of adventure, creating a forum for motivation and inspiration. Every show is free. Giveaways, in conjunction with anonymous donations, currently raise more than $50,000 per show for local non-profit organizations. To date, WSS has raised over $500,000, making a tangible difference in North Lake Tahoe and beyond.
Cody Townsend
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Famed local ski mountaineer Cody Townsend continues the Alpenglow Winter Speaker Series on Thursday, December 3rd, 2020 with his show “The Best Three So Far: Stories Behind The Fifty Project.” Townsend is on a well-publicized and passionately followed webisode project to ski the fifty most challenging, beautiful and classic backcountry ski lines in North America. His show will take you behind the scenes of ski descents on the Grand Teton, Alaska’s coveted Meteorite and the highest peak in North America, 20,308-foot Denali.
With over 4,000 attendees annually, the 15-year-old Alpenglow Winter Speaker Series (WSS) has become the premier North American forum for adventure storytelling. Five times per winter, a premier outdoor athlete presents an inspirational tale of adventure, creating a forum for motivation and inspiration. Every show is free. Giveaways, in conjunction with anonymous donations, currently raise more than $50,000 per show for local non-profit organizations. To date, WSS has raised over $500,000, making a tangible difference in North Lake Tahoe and beyond.
Ingrid Backstrom
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Ingrid Backstrom, an extreme skier of international fame, will present at the fourth show of the 2020/21 Alpenglow Sports Winter Speaker Series on Thursday, February 4th, 2021. Backstrom, who established herself in Matchstick Production’s 2004 Yearbook, was the only female to be featured as one of Powder Magazine’s Future Big Mountain Heroes in 2002. She has also won the prestigious awards for performances in ski films including “Best Female Performance” and “Breakthrough Performance” at the 2005 Powder Magazine Video Awards. Backstrom resides in Washington with her husband and young daughter and her show “Little Big Mountain Skiing” will depict a few of her best trips and ski lines, followed by the transition of a continuing ski career while becoming a mother.
With over 4,000 attendees annually, the 15-year-old Alpenglow Winter Speaker Series (WSS) has become the premier North American forum for adventure storytelling. Five times per winter, a premier outdoor athlete presents an inspirational tale of adventure, creating a forum for motivation and inspiration. Every show is free. Giveaways, in conjunction with anonymous donations, currently raise more than $50,000 per show for local non-profit organizations. To date, WSS has raised over $500,000, making a tangible difference in North Lake Tahoe and beyond.
Dave Nettle
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In his kick-off show “Sheltering In Place,” Dave Nettle will blend classic stories from climbing Alaska’s famed Moose’s Tooth and Mount Huntington, as well as a first ascent attempt on Alaska’s remote Kichatna Spires. During these trips of climbing lore, Nettle will depict what it actually means to experience a “no safe way out” while on a route and what “sheltering in place” means while stuck in a tent in remote mountain range for a bruising and intense 10-day storm. In traditional fashion, Nettle will bring humor and fun to the soul-crushing effect of what so many days of uncertainty look like – from being trapped in the middle of nowhere with limited supplies to his mantra that “the best way to avoid epics is to gain experience … and the best way to gain experience is to survive a few epics.” Nettle will round out his show with domestic, COVID-influenced adventures that allowed him to pursue his passion while following the required and common-sense pandemic restrictions.
With over 4,000 attendees annually, the 15-year-old Alpenglow Winter Speaker Series (WSS) has become the premier North American forum for adventure storytelling. Five times per winter, a premier outdoor athlete presents an inspirational tale of adventure, creating a forum for motivation and inspiration. Every show is free. Giveaways, in conjunction with anonymous donations, currently raise more than $50,000 per show for local non-profit organizations. To date, WSS has raised over $500,000, making a tangible difference in North Lake Tahoe and beyond.
Vasu Sojitra
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The 2020/2021 Winter Speaker Series wraps on Thursday, February 25th, with a presentation from professional skier Vasu Sojitra. For 28 years, Vasu Sojitra has navigated life with one leg, an amputation that occurred when he was only nine months old. Now 29, Vasu is one of the top adaptive athletes and backcountry skiers in the world, and is known for putting down First Disabled Descents (FDDs). However, that’s not where he stops. His true passion lies in making the outdoors accessible to all. He has coined his approach to backcountry skiing as “ninjasticking,” and uses this to bring intersectionality to the outdoor space. Sojitra’s show will look at this intersectionality in-depth, and how reclaiming and breaking down stigmas that come with a Disability can change how transformation of outdoor spaces are viewed, welcomed and celebrated.
With over 4,000 attendees annually, the 15-year-old Alpenglow Winter Speaker Series (WSS) has become the premier North American forum for adventure storytelling. Five times per winter, a premier outdoor athlete presents an inspirational tale of adventure, creating a forum for motivation and inspiration. Every show is free. Giveaways, in conjunction with anonymous donations, currently raise more than $50,000 per show for local non-profit organizations. To date, WSS has raised over $500,000, making a tangible difference in North Lake Tahoe and beyond.