STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
We’ve been told that getting out in nature and exerting a little is good for our mental health.
The Love Like Ky foundation hopes to add another layer to that.
The Wood River Valley nonprofit is hosting a Mental Health Ski Day on Bald Mountain on Saturday, March 21.
A basecamp will be set up on the Warm Springs Plaza. Skiers are invited to check in there and pick up a passport.
Skiers will then be encouraged to ski to five stations on the mountain. They’ll receive a raffle ticket and mental health message at each station and get their passport punched. There will also be a photo opportunity at each booth
Then it’s back to base camp where there’ll be a Sober Apres Ski Party featuring nonalcoholic beers and DJ Alex and a chance to receive still more tickets at each of the booths set up by such local nonprofits as The Crisis Hotline, Flourish Foundation and TogetherWe.
The booths will be at Warm Springs between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The raffle, expected to take place about 2 p.m., will include prizes from Bode Miller’s Peak Skis, Surefoot, Wild Rye, Sun Valley Resort and others.
The idea is to bring skiers and riders together to support one another, learn about mental health resources and celebrate the power of community, said Anneke Efinger. “We expect around 300 to 500 locals to participate.
“Come ski for someone you love!”Whether you participate for one run or the whole day, it’s a chance to check in, lift someone up and show that fun in the mountains doesn’t have to revolve round alcohol.”
Love Like Ky was founded by the Efinger family after losing their son and brother Kyler when he climbed into an airplane engine during a mental health crisis at Salt Lake City Airport on New Year’s Day in 2024.
The family has filed a lawsuit to prevent similar tragedies in the future, noting that he was able to go through two emergency exit doors onto the tarmac and walk nearly a mile to the area where airplanes were being deiced despite experiencing an obvious mental health episode. Security and others were alerted that he was acting erratically before he ever left the terminal but did not adequately respond, the lawsuit says.
The family also has organized other events, such as the showing of “Paradise Paradox,” a climb to educate the public about suicide awareness and training to help prevent such tragedies in the Wood River Valley.