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NEAR THE TOP OF ASPEN'S AJAX MOUNTAIN, beyond the rope boundary in a clearing of thick pine, a wooden bench swings from two trees. The spot faces south. The late-afternoon light casts a glow as the sun dances with the Elk Mountains above and beyond. Not unlike many such shrines in the ski world, the bench is an ideal place to get away from the noise of the resort and grill hot dogs and drink beers with friends, or to simply be in a quiet place, alone with one's thoughts. Here, it's easy to find perspective, grace, and gratitude. To remember why the mountains, and a life among them, is important.

It is with those ideas in mind that climate activist Auden Schendler finds inherent value in skiing. Walter Paepcke, in 1946, founded the Aspen Skiing Company as a place to expose people to different ideas, "where the human spirit can flourish." The Aspen Music Festival and School, the Aspen Institute, and the Aspen Center for Physics all have international renown. Recently, the town in central Colorado has also become the definitive leader in ski town environmentalism—no other ski area has a team dedicated to influencing domestic climate policy—and a nationally recognized player on the issue. That is due to Schendler, ASC's vice president for environmental sustainability, Protect Our Winters' Chairman of the Board, a Basalt Town Council member,