Shred for Red returns to Deer Valley Resort on Saturday, bringing skiers, survivors and supporters to the mountain for a day of community and fundraising for Blood Cancer United, formerly the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, as the resort prepares to close for the season Sunday.
In its eight years, the event has raised more than $2.1 million for blood cancer research, patient support and care access, according to Blood Cancer United.
Started in 2018 by former medical director Dr. Winn, whose wife is a leukemia survivor, alongside Olympian and childhood leukemia survivor Bryan Fletcher, Christy Froehlich and other advocates with deep personal ties to the cause, Shred for Red has grown into a nationally recognized fundraiser built out of Park City’s ski community.
The inaugural event raised $40,000. In 2025, that total climbed to $422,000 raised for Blood Cancer United.
“This is year eight,” said Casey Dellapenna, senior director of athletic initiatives at Blood Cancer United. “We’ve raised over $2.1 million to provide free information and support services for patients and their families.”
Participants who meet the $1,000 fundraising minimum receive lift tickets, access to on-mountain challenges like a scavenger hunt and race course and entry to the après-ski celebration at Snow Park Lodge.
“It’s a day full of mission connections,” Dellapenna said. “Most of our participants, if not all of them, are mission connected, meaning they have a loved one, they’ve beaten cancer themselves, they’re a current patient.”
The ski day helps build a sense of community for families navigating a diagnosis and make new connections on the snow for people like Eva, the 2026 Honored Hero and a young skier whose diagnosis came just after her first days on the slopes, said Dellapenna.
Eva’s story began on the slopes during her first ski trip, where early falls and bruises initially seemed like part of learning to ski. Within hours of a pediatrician visit, her family was sent to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with leukemia. What followed was a two-and-a-half-year treatment journey, which Eva completed in June 2025, according to Blood Cancer United.
“Yet through it all, Eva never lost her light. She made crafts for friends and family from her hospital room. She became a voracious reader. She adored her nurses so much she decided she wants to become one someday,” wrote Blood Cancer United organizers in an email.
The Honored Hero program is a central piece of Shred for Red, designed to put a face to the cause and ground the event in a single, personal story. Each year, the story of an individual affected by blood cancer is shared throughout the fundraising process and highlighted during the event, giving participants a tangible way to understand its impact and a person to be inspired by, learn from and rally around.
Alongside Eva and other individuals recognized through the Honored Hero program, nine Olympians are expected to participate this year and ski with fundraising teams and participants on runs throughout the day.
“They’ll get to do a few runs with the team,” Dellapenna said. “So the ability for folks to come out and ski and be on teams with these Olympians, it has meant everything.”
Roughly 60% of participants typically come from Utah, said Dellapenna, and the national nonprofit works to direct support raised at Shred for Red back into the community, including more than $1 million in co-pay assistance provided to patients in the Salt Lake City area in the last eight years.
On the mountain, Deer Valley will host participants on the race course with scavenger challenges and mid-mountain gathering points designed to keep teams connected.
“It allows people to celebrate something while being connected by something really difficult,” said Jason Dominguez, catering and conference sales manager at Deer Valley. “You’re sharing something you love, skiing, with people affected by something terrible.”
After a historically low snowpack and sustained warm temperatures across Utah, Deer Valley, like many resorts in the region, has navigated one of its most challenging winters in decades, closing almost a month earlier than their initially planned April 19 date.
Saturday’s forecast calls for highs approaching 69 degrees, but organizers said the program will move forward with adjustments to accommodate the unusually warm conditions as they celebrate the cause and the second to last day of operations.
Organizers expect to bring in upward of $300,000 and around 100 participants on Saturday, with events scheduled earlier in the day before warming temperatures turn conditions to slush.
“We can’t control the weather,” Dellapenna said. “But our mission stays the same. We’re going to be out there shredding for a cure.”
The weekend begins Friday with a packet pickup from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Prospector Conference Center. On Saturday, programming starts with a VIP breakfast at The St. Regis Deer Valley from 7:30 to 9 a.m. for top fundraisers, followed by registration at Snow Park Lodge from 8 a.m. to noon.
On-mountain activities run from 9 a.m. to the early afternoon. Silver Lake Lodge will offer snacks and a place for participants to regroup between runs, with the Snow Park après starting at 1:30 p.m., featuring speakers, fundraising recognition and shared stories from participants connected to the cause.