Up to Snow Good at the Ultimate Gay Ski Week – Elevation 2026

Drop your speedos, pull on your long johns, gay ski season is upon us!  Search for the perfectly fitted body-hugging onesie that buttons down just so.  Or the loose silly unicorn onesie that could almost fit another person in there with you … but with a scandalous rear window.

More than 20 years ago, LA-based event producer and marketer Tom Whitman put his love of producing big gay events together with his lifelong love of skiing and snowboarding and remixed them into the first Elevation Gay Ski Week in Mammoth Lakes, CA.

The first Elevation in 2003 drew a core crowd of California boys that quickly grew into one of the largest gay ski weeks in the world.  Whitman expanded to Park City, Utah and Tremblant, Quebec and the rest is history.

The Elevation Gay Ski Weeks became the gold standard of gay getaways and are now the largest series of gay ski events in the world.  Whether it’s Elevation Mammoth – full of CA boys and girls, from SoCal surfer bromos to queer Silver Lake/Bay Area scruffy boys or Mammoth’s Sweet Sixteen baby brother in Park City — you know exactly what you’re getting into with an Elevation event: the three big Ds…DJs, dancers and drag queens, of course.  OK, maybe there is a fourth D as well if you play your cards right.

While each ELEVATION event has its own local flavor and flair, there are events that are crowd favorites in both Utah and Mammoth:  The Onesie Apres-Ski is an ELEVATION Gay Ski Week institution that is both sexy and silly.  Where else can you find a collection of muscle boys in ass-less onesies, burner boys in rainbow bodysuits, gaymers in unicorn-horn hoodies, and lumberjocks in wool socks?  The Neon Party gives attendees a chance to break out their best blacklight reactive club wear and show their artistic expression via neon body paint.

Brolesque returns to Elevation, with an all-new male dance show that blends camp, sensuality and unapologetic queer artistry.  It’s not your typical burlesque show, it reimagines the art form with a bold, masculine twist.  “Performing Brolesque at Elevation was incredible,” says Lockhart Brownlie, the show’s choreographer and creator, “Our shows sold out, the audiences were electric, and the production team made the whole experience effortless.”

The communities of Park City and Mammoth have embraced the Elevation events from the beginning.  Venue and mountain staff talk about how they look forward to Elevation week every year.  “Elevation continues to surpass expectations,” says Stephanie Peterson, a Mammoth local who has worked with the event for more than a decade. “Here at Mammoth Mountain, it represents far more than a celebration—it serves as a meaningful space where the LGBTQ+ community comes together to connect, feel recognized, and experience joy on their own terms. It stands as a powerful reminder that the mountains are a place for everyone.”

“Each year, when snow starts to fall in November, I get excited for Elevation,” says Whitman, “I’m super proud of the community we’ve built with Elevation.  Every year, it feels like going home.”

Info and tickets for the Elevation events are at www.elevationgayski.com.  Follow @elevationgayski on Instagram for real-time updates.