Steamboat Snowboarder Washes Windows To Fund $62K Season

Steamboat Springs —Walker Overstake spent the summer washing windows. He did it to pay for snowboards.

The young Steamboater is an alpine snowboarder. His sport involves parallel slalom and parallel giant slalom. It is not the same as the big jumps you see on TV. It is technical. It is fast. And it is expensive.

Overstake and his parents spend roughly $62,700 per season to keep him competing. That covers travel, gear, and coaching. The money comes out of their own pockets. There is no scholarship. There is no grant. Just a checkbook.

The problem is structural. U.S. Ski and Snowboard funds alpine snowboarders only if they finish in the top 20 of the World Cup rankings. Overstake finished 35th. He missed the cutoff by fifteen spots.

The association shut down its alpine snowboarding program after the 2010 Vancouver Games. Since then, the funding gap has widened. Athletes who fall outside the top tier are left to fend for themselves.

Overstake knows this. He also knows that fending for yourself means getting creative.

His father challenged him to raise $20,000 this summer. Overstake took the bet. He learned the trade from Cody Winters, a local Olympian and owner of Winters Window Washing. Overstake started his own window cleaning business. He hit his goal with weeks to spare.

"My family and I had to really think outside the box," Overstake said. "There are so many factors working against you."

Now he is turning to a second front. Overstake is hosting a private fundraiser at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at Olympian Hall. The event is titled "A portrait of Alpine snowboarding."

His older brother Brooks Overstake is behind the concept. Brooks wanted to capture the unseen side of the sport.

"The project is about what these incredible athletes do in the moments between competing," Brooks said. "The things that aren't always seen on a television or livestream. These athletes work so hard to get to where they are, and this element is vital to their careers, but not always seen."

Brooks noted that athletes are often expected to maintain a social media presence for marketing purposes, even when they prefer otherwise. The fundraiser extends that visibility.

Overstake has secured sponsorships from local businesses, including Winona’s, Besame, Old Town Hot Springs, Ohana, Ruby Jane, and Elders Skateshop. He hopes the event will bring in $10,000.

"It’s just a way to get creative and help offset the cost of competing," Overstake said. "I need to do everything I can to follow my dreams."

He is not alone in this struggle. But he is one of the few willing to show the receipts.