Nick Whittemore

Nick's story, in his family's words

Nick's life was full of passions. Born in Toronto, he lived in Boston and San Diego, where he fell in love with surfing. His real inspiration, however, came when he moved to Colorado to attend CU Boulder, graduating in 2007 with a degree in Business, specializing in Entrepreneurship. After graduation, he founded Fortitude Skis in Arvada, Colorado, and competed in IFSA events. Within the big mountain skiing community, Nick discovered his passion and talent for youth coaching. He began coaching in Winter Park, where the Fortitude factory became a community hub, a place to build handmade skis and to train the big mountain athletes of the Winter Park Competition Center.

After Fortitude Skis, Nick moved to Vail, a place he had grown fond of during college. While coaching for SSCV, he put his entrepreneurial spirit to work through HotDog Sports and became instrumental in the birth of the youth freeride movement in North America. His events in the Junior Events Tour of America (JETA) and the Weekend Warrior Series helped grow the sport into the international phenomenon it is today, with the Freeride World Tour and its place as the newest Olympic skiing discipline.

Nick's lighthearted and magnetic energy encouraged youth athletes and adults alike to always push to "do better, and try harder" in the face of self doubt. Nick had the ability to give you the confidence to feel like anything is possible if you tried hard enough. When it came from Nick, being told to "do better, try harder" wasn't a directive implying you weren't doing enough. It was an inspirational statement of his belief in you, and your ability to do better than you'd ever imagined and try harder than you thought possible. It is in his spirit that we present the "Do Better Try Harder" Award.