Mashing For a Cure: Oakley Ski Star Sammy Carlson Bikes From Oregon to Utah for Autism Awareness
Sammy Carlson obviously shreds on skis. But more importantly, he’s a winner at something a little more important: Being an all-around quality dude.
Oakley’s golden boy on skis teamed up with buddy Scott Rowley to raise money for TACA (Talk About Curing Autism), a super admirable foundation that provides information, resources and support to families affected by autism. The organization fights hard every day to develop treatments for the condition: An uphill struggle in itself.
In a compassionate move, Sammy and Scott created TACA H2O, a bike trip stretching from Hood River (Oregon) to Ogden (Utah) that would aim to raise $25,000 for the foundation. The proceeds, generated from donations, would flow directly into TACA.
Much like the battle to trample autism itself, the long journey would prove to be a sizable challenge. But Team H2O was on a quest to rally the world against the condition…and the journey was but a small task to contribute to such a large challenge: Beating it.
After some camping in some random, gnarly locations in the middle of nowhere; limited bathing options; high altitudes; crazy weather conditions; and a whole boat load of miles traveled with intense riding, Team H2O emerged from the challenge on top and successful.
“It just took so much commitment – I’m just really proud of myself, all my friends…and I’m just super stoked that we did it,” Sammy said. “I knew we could, but we did it!”
He certainly did. And all with the right priorities in mind.
“Oakley already works with TACA, and they connected me with them. I’m really down with the people that are running the charity. I was super encouraged to hear that 100 percent of their services go back to the community. 90 percent of the services are free.”
Sammy looked to bring attention to a condition that generally gets less attention than other diseases, such as AIDS or Cancer. And after about 900 miles of charging through obstacles, he was even more pumped.
“I just wanted to give back. I’ve been given so much in my life. I know that a bunch of people aren’t as lucky as me, so I wanted to try and do what I can to help everyone out, while getting strong for skiing. It was just perfect.”
If you’re interested in making a donation to the cause, please visit http://www.tacah2o.com/
Show your compassion like Sammy did. Donate.
Check out Powder Magazine’s interview with Sammy:
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