MOUNTAIN LIFE - Coast Mountains | Summer 2018

100 MLCM SUMMER 2018 “I grew up in a house with Michelin maps of Europe strewn across the kitchen table,” Chris says. “I’d spend weeks each summer riding across France with my parents. They showed me how to embrace challenges, to be curious, and get out of your comfort zone – it’s natural for me to carry on their passion for sharing adventures with others.” Chris’s passion for sharing extends far beyond, and before Big Mountain Bike Adventures however. Remember that year off of skiing with the blown knee? Early in the recovery, long before he reconnected with Paddy and biking, Chris spent most of his downtime envisioning a way to share the mountains and make skiing and snowboarding more accessible to people who may not have had the good fortune he’d enjoyed. “My original plan was to start a day camp for tourist kids and use the infrastructure in shoulder season for disadvantaged youth,” Chris explains. “I quickly realized that people in Vancouver were craving a way to give back.” Chris started the Zero Ceiling Foundation with the goal of bringing homeless, under-served, and at-risk youth from Vancouver up to Whistler to experience the limitless ethos that characterizes the valley. Over the last two decades, the program has hosted more than 4,000 youth aged 13 to 24 in Whistler on day trips, introducing them to snowboarding, skiing, mountain biking, hiking, whitewater rafting, high ropes courses, and ziplining. From 2000–2008, Zero Ceiling ran a Snowboard Instructor Training Program, providing life skills and employment experience – and a new home in Whistler. Today, Whistler Blackcomb still employs some of these individuals. This program has now been fully transformed into Work 2 Live, which has offered support to more than 65 marginalized youth from the Sea to Sky Corridor and the Metro Vancouver area. Still living in Whistler with a family of his own, Chris Winter’s imprint on the community and the sport of mountain biking cannot be missed. The man himself however, is harder to track down. Summer or winter, he’s usually out on the trails, or lending a helping hand where it’s needed. Constantly on the move and always pushing boundaries (but still thoughtful enough to stop and chat about anyone’s next adventure), Chris Winter is a true mountain lifer, just don’t call him a ski bum. Chris started the Zero Ceiling Foundation with the goal of bringing homeless, under-served, and at-risk youth to experience the limitless ethos that characterizes the valley. ABOVE Summer vacation. Growing up, Chris and his family used to bike Europe every summer. COURTESY OF THE WINTER FAMILY. BELOW African Bike Safari with Big Mountain Bike Adventures. CHRIS WINTER