Peaks & Passages: Season 3 explores the heartbeat of mountain life—the people who rise before dawn, dig deep, and are keeping ski culture alive. This three-part video series drops this fall; this is episode one. 

Green Light follows Breckenridge ski patrollers, who rise before dawn to keep skiers safe. When the ski day is done, the doors are open at Green Light Tuning, a ski shop that doubles as a gathering space for the community and where the smell of hot wax mixes with stories from the field. Owned by Breck patroller Sam Simonds, Green Light is an ode to the quiet heroes who balance chaos with care and find peace in the storm.

Sandwiched between three dispensaries, the name Green Light seemed like the obvious choice. “When avalanche conditions go to low, oftentimes we say, ‘We got the green light, so we can go into the backcountry safely,’” Simonds says. “As soon as I turn that green light on, people walk through the door. Some people complain that ski culture is going away, but ski culture is very much alive here.”

At Green Light, patrollers share institutional knowledge, talk about their day, and yep, get their skis tuned for the next storm. As viewers of this episode, we get to go behind the curtain as patrol does avy control, runs sweep, and monitors skiers.

“Part of being a patroller is seeing people at their worst,” Simonds says. “So, it’s important to have a space outside of patrol that offers a community of support and a safe place to come at night where they can talk about what they saw that day and gives them the courage to go back out the next day.”