Blue Sky Cup: Ski harder, longer Feb. 9 for an important cause

If you hit the slopes at Vail a couple weekends from now, and you see a group of skiers in costumes going harder and longer than likely any other day of the season, don’t worry. It’s for an extremely important cause.

Each year for the past six years, participants of the Blue Sky Cup converge on the mountain each winter to raise money and awareness for rheumatoid arthritis.

And, just like their unofficial motto, this year they’re hoping to go a little bigger in the funds they raise for the Arthritis National Research Foundation in year seven.

“We’re trying to raise $15,000 for the foundation this year, which would really be a record for us,” co-founder Jim Nollsch told 104.3 The Fan’s Darren “DMac” McKee.

The event tasks skiers to sign up as teams of four or more people, with proceeds going to the ANRF. Participants get breakfast, a “nifty” hat, all-day skiing, and a party at the end of the day featuring cocktails, food, and entertainment.

Oh, and most of them wear costumes.

“We had to work hard to enforce that, but now it’s really taken a life of its own,” Nollsch said. “I monitor all the registration, so you can kind of infer what people are going to wear based on the names that they use when they sign up because you do sign up in teams of four or more.

“I’m not going to blow anybody’s surprised, but I was laughing out loud when I was looking at some of the costumes.”

Founded as a simple “friends outing” seven years ago to celebrate the 40th birthday of co-founder Hayden Fisher, the Blue Sky Cup originally set the goal of skiing 40,000 vertical feet for 40 years.

The group would return the following year at the same time to do another 40,000 vertical feet, and the outing became so popular by year three that Fisher and Nollsch decided to make it count toward a good cause.

“We were like, you know, we might have something here. So we turned it into a fundraiser that year,” Nollsch said. “So, we reached out to the Arthritis National Research Foundation. I have rheumatoid arthritis. That’s why it’s a cause personal to me. And then they’ve just been a great event partner for us.”

This year, Nollsch’s father, Bill (who at 76 and having rheumatoid arthritis still skis often) and his son, Billy, will join forces to create team “Legal Tender” (pun intended).

And like the two, skiers of all ages and abilities are welcome to participate, with Fisher and Nollsch saying the 40,000 vertical feet challenge is just a baseline for scoring.

“Look, 40,000 feet is a huge number. It’s a great accomplishment, and if anybody can come up and set that as a baseline goal, that’s awesome,” Fisher said. “And if you try for that and you don’t quite get there, that’s cool too.”

However, winners are determined by not only reaching that 40,000 vertical feet number but also on a variety of challenges determined by the rules committee.

“But for really good skiers who ski a lot, who pride themselves on getting after it, we thought we needed to add a degree of difficulty to that. And that’s where the bump runs and the selection challenges add to the day,” Fisher said.

But in the end, all Fisher and Nollsch ask if for skiing enthusiast to come out, participate, and ski longer and harder than any other day of the year.

“We want you to come up. Like we always say, just push yourself. Just make it the best day of the season and ski a little harder for a little longer than any other day of the year,” Fisher said. “And if you do that and you have a great time at the party, it’s a winner day.”

For more information, visit BlueSkyCup.ski.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.