Volunteers Comb Ski Slopes In Sierra-At-Tahoe Cleanup
TWIN BRIDGES (CBS13) — Whether it's on purpose, or by accident, snowboarders and skiers leave a lot of stuff on the slopes.
Sierra-At-Tahoe has started a fall tradition where it invites the community out to clean up the mountain, and volunteers make some very interesting finds.
It's the kind of stuff that's hard to spot in the winter—the things that have fallen to their death from the chair lift, left behind by partiers,
Or simply stuff forgotten in the snow, like the sign volunteer Brandon Gutierrez found.
"It has 'closed' on it and I just wanted to have it," he said.
But before the snow falls again at Sierra-At-Tahoe, the resorts asks volunteers to help pick up all the junk.
"The Sierra community is super loyal, really into giving back," said spokeswoman Thea Hardy. "They're really connected with the mountain so they like to see it clean, just as we do."
About 300 people showed up on Sunday for Keep Sierra Clean Day.
"We're setting an example for our kids over here who are part of the Cub Scout group," said volunteer Garrett Villanueva.
They ride the chairlift up and hike down the dry slopes, picking up anything they find out of the ordinary, like beer bottles, zipper pulls or broken iPods and drilling markers.
Volunteers got awards ranging from strangest find to best haul weight-to-body ratio.
Olympic snowboard slopestyle gold medalist Jamie Anderson helped the effort, saying she wouldn't miss it.
"Growing up down in Myers and Sierra being my home resort, and pretty much daycare growing up, I have always known how important it is to keep our environment clean," she said.
When all was said and done, those volunteers collected 1,700 pounds of trash, including an electric toothbrush and several snowboards.
