2023-24 Message from the President

OutRyders old and new….welcome to the ’23-’24 skiing and riding season! Most of us only think about blasting down the slopes from November to the end of March, but your 8 member OutRyders Board has been busy since last May planning for the biggest and best season yet! We have a bunch of new trips on tap, new partner events, new swag; and maybe a couple more things in our jacket pockets to surprise you with this season! 

To kick off the season, we already had an incredible three days at the Snowbound Expo where we saw many of you in attendance. This event really helps to connect us with mountains and vendors that we may not normally have known about. In fact, one mountain gave us such a great deal at the show that we are planning a whole trip around it. Plus, two vendors offered to host OutRyders social events, one in Boston and the other in Lincoln, NH during our Cannon/Loon trip.  

A lot of people ask, “what do I get for my membership fee?” Well, first and foremost, the biggest benefit is being part of a like-minded community of skiers and riders over 250 strong to enjoy not only the slopes with, but also attend social events with and enjoy an opportunity to turn these introductions into friendships. Also, because we are getting recognized more and more as an organized and professional group, we can leverage our numbers to get decent deals for everything from mountain accommodations, to lift ticket discounts on some mountains, to great free raffle prizes for you to win at our events. The list goes on and on.   

Hopefully you have noticed improvements to our website and presence on social media. Requiring membership fees allows us to make improvements to our site so we can communicate with you in a meaningful way. It also enables us to lock in more affordable accommodation rates which require earlier and earlier monetary deposits. We especially appreciate our Intermediate, Advanced and Expert members. Your extra dollars get you extra benefits and allows us to build OutRyders into the best LGBTQ+ winter sports organization in the Northeast! Don’t forget to pick out your free or discounted swag item….our ever-popular shirts, our new beanies, new fanny packs, or pre-order an OutRyders logo Hoodie, ¼ zip or muscle T and wear OutRyders merch proudly!

Be sure to sign up for our trips EARLY! For the group to work well, we really need the members to pre-plan a bit. Waiting until the last minute to join a trip based on the weather alone makes it tough for our trip leaders and we may very well be sold out of some of our trips. We also need to inform mountains of our numbers for group discounts and group dinners, so please make your decisions as early as you can.  Have a look at what we have in store for you this season! Lots of old favorites: Stratton, Okemo, Cannon, Loon, our popular trip north of the border to Mont Tremblant, WOW Weekend at Sunday River, Killington, Magic, Sugarbush and two new locales: Smugglers’ Notch and our final trip of the season out west to Copper Mountain in Colorado! 

If you have already signed up as a member, THANK YOU! If you are a prospective member, consider joining the best LGBTQ+ skiing and boarding organization in the Northeast (and we think best in the country), sign up, and see what all the fun is about!  

-- Marty Smith 

President of OutRyders