Ski to Defeat ALS at Mt. Hood Meadows shoots for half-million dollar mark April 12

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Posted on April 1, 2014 on Oregonlive.com. Read original article »

Terry Richard | trichard@oregonian.comBy Terry Richard | trichard@oregonian.com 
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on April 01, 2014 at 6:00 AM

Fred in 2012

Fred Noble lives with ALS at his home in east Portland, with the help of caregivers. (Jamie Francis/The Oregonian/2012)

The ALS Association’s Ski to Defeat ALS, a fund-raising event at Mt. Hood Meadows, takes place Saturday, April 12, with Fred Noble as its honorary chair.

Noble, 76, is a well-known Portland skier who contracted ALS (Los Gehrig’s Disease) a few years ago and decided to dedicate the rest of this life to raise funds for the ALS Association Oregon and the Southwest Washington Chapter.

In 2012, the event’s first year, a total of 272 participants raised $160,000 in the ski-a-thon event. In 2013,  Ski to Defeat ALS had 350 participants and raised $170,000.

In 2014, the goal is to raise $150,000, but hitting $170,000 would collectively reach the half million dollar mark between the three events, according to Aubrey McCauley of the ALS Association.

Noble inspired more than  $80,000 last year, alone, through his personal effort and that of his on-hill team.

To register, call 503-238-5559 ext. 107, or email ski@alsa-or.org. There is no day-of-event registration. Registration deadline is Friday, April 4, though, those interested can contact the chapter after that date to see if spots are open.

Registration is $25 for Mt. Hood Meadows season pass holders, $75 for non-season pass holders. Each participant is required to fund raise $150 or more by the day of the event to help support the mission.

There are prizes for most vertical feet skied, team and individual, as well as for top fundraisers. A party at Mt. Hood Meadows follows the conclusion of the day’s skiing.

Funds from this event go to support ALS care services programs, public policy efforts and research for treatments and a cure.

Last year’s success helped the chapter to implement a new program, an In-Home Caregiving Program. It also supports the chapter in gifting an additional $150,000 to the national research program, above what is given on an annual basis.

This website will follow the buildup to the April 12 event, also to Noble’s 77th birthday on April 16, by encouraging Fredinator’s friends to write tributes to him in the comment section below.

This starts with a separate post by me, Terry Richard, on my earliest memory of Fred.

Here are some pertinent links:

profile of Fred Noble published in The Oregonian and on OregonLive.com after he announced that he was diagnosed with ALS, a disease that robs the afflicted of control of their body. It’s a slow, degenerative disease that has no cure.

The event website is: www.SkitoDefeatALS.org.pantai kuta bali

Fred’s page for anyone who wants to donate in his honor:web.alsa.org/goto/TeamFredinator.

photo essay by Oregonian photographer Jamie Francis on Fred Noble coping with the early stages of ALS.

Noble recently celebrated his 75th birthday by making the first helicopter sit-ski descent in the Bugaboo Mountains of British Columbia with Canadian Mountain Holidays. See the video at this link.

Read Fred Noble’s blog.

And a link to a documentary on Fred Noble’s life. The 30-minute web-based feature is in the final stages of production and will be released with fanfare.

— Terry Richard

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