Chad Vander Ham Memorial Fund
Chad Vander Ham | 11/20/1974–4/3/2006
Chad Vander Ham grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota and began ski racing at a young age. He was instantly drawn to skiing and the outdoors. Chad followed his passion to explore the high peaks throughout his life. In 1993 he moved to Colorado and attended Colorado State University where he received a BA in Economics but all along he kept his focus on his true calling, powder turns and a beautiful line. While working on his degree, Chad began to explore the European Alps and found a second home in La Grave, France. While in La Grave, Doug Coombs became a close friend and mentor to Chad and soon he honed his skills for ski mountaineering and guiding. On March 11th, 2006, Chad realized a dream and achieved his AMGA Ski Mountaineering Guide Certification and Aspirant Guide status.
Chad had an amazing quality of modesty, kindness, and an open approach to everything in life. He was constantly educating himself, encouraging others, and pursuing new ventures. He never missed an opportunity to share his skills and knowledge and enjoy the each present moment. We learned so much from Chad about enjoying each day and making the most of every situation. He will be dearly missed and remembered by his loving family and friends. His legacy will live on through each of us in all our future endeavors.
To honor Chad’s memory and spirit, his family and friends have established a memorial fund in his name through the AMGA The intent of this fund is to support future aspiring ski guides pursuing training and certification in the ski discipline through the AMGA.
The recipient of the scholarship will receive full tuition to the ski program of their choice as long as they meet the prerequisites required for enrollment. The ideal candidate is someone who shares the similar passion, excitement, and dedication to skiing that Chad had during this life.
Let us know who you are and why you should be the next recipient of the “Nice Fund”.
specific Criteria for application
- Has a minimum of 3 years guiding professionally and is continuing to pursue guiding as a profession.
- Must be enrolled in an AMGA Ski Course or Exam.
CLICK HERE TO APPLY
Submit your application
Deadline for application:April 1, 2013.
Applicants are required to submit a short video (no longer than 5 minutes) describing who you are and why you love skiing. It’s simple, we’re looking for skiers who share the same passion that Chad had for skiing. Applicants for the Nice Find do not need to answer the six questions on the application form. Applications will be reviewed by AMGA representatives.
We are asking that candidates upload their videos to YouTube. Please create a YouTube account. Once you upload your video to the account the video will have a URL address on YouTube. Please email the URL address to Caroline McNally, Membership Director at: caroline@amga.com.
