NICK WOULD Foundation reflects young man’s passion for life, outdoors, adventure
At home on the river, Nick Simon embraced the outdoor lifestyle and loved spending his time skiing, surfing and exploring.
Simon Family/Courtesy photo
Nick Simon’s passion for life was expressed in the young man’s love for the outdoors and adventure, his love for the arts and music, and by the positive attitude he brought to everything he did.
The 25-year-old who was born and raised in Steamboat Springs died Oct. 27, 2022, while on a surfing adventure in New Zealand, as the van he was driving was struck by an oncoming vehicle that had veered into the wrong lane.
In the months that followed, Nick’s father Dan, his mother Sarah and his sister Natalie recognized the best way to honor Nick’s legacy was to build the NICK WOULD Foundation — an ignitor of outdoor and cultural exploration for generations to come.
“I guess the way we thought about it is, ‘How do you take the positivity he brought to this world during his life and continue that?'” Dan said of the foundation. “So that’s where it came from, and we decided that those three areas — wildland exploration and preservation, outdoor pursuits, and artistic development, in his case music — were the three things he was most passionate about in life. Even though he’s gone, we’re still extending that positivity or at least trying to.”
The organization includes Dan, Sarah and Natalie along with friends Brooke Buchanan, Scott Burridge, Spencer Dietrich, Eugene Buchanan, Jack Vanderbeek, Matthew White, Jack Craig and Nathan Brickman, who are all working to carry on Nick’s legacy.
Nick was living at home at the time of his death. He had returned home after working as a commercial fisherman in Alaska but was planning on heading back to Santa Barbara, California, after his adventure in New Zealand.
“He was going to live in Santa Barbara for a couple of years, but he had bought the Hilton Gulch Schoolhouse, and we had fixed it up two years ago,” Dan said. “He was going to live there when he moved back because he wanted to raise a family here.”
Steamboat Springs High School seniors, from left, Nick Simon, Jack Vanderbeek and Matthew White graduated a semester early to spend the rest of the winter competing in big mountain ski events across the U.S. and Canada. The trio lived in a 1986 Volkswagen Vanagon during their trip.
Austin Colbert
Nick’s roots run deep in Steamboat Springs, where he enjoyed all the spoils the town has to offer including skiing, mountain biking, rock climbing and trekking in the mountains. Nick was born in the same downtown hospital — located on Park Avenue before it was torn down and the UCHealth Yampa Valley Medial Campus was completed in November 1999 — as his mother Sarah.
“Nick embodied everything that makes his hometown such a special place for raising a family,” Dan said. “Starting as a hockey player and Alpine racer with the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, Nick progressed to freestyle skiing, then found his rightful place on the big mountain ski team, ultimately co-founding the Steamboat Van Clan, a team that successfully competed in the Open Class Big Mountain Tour in Canada and the USA.”
That adventurous spirit had not faded as Dan and Nick had planned a dream powder highway trip in late January this year that would have taken them to Snowbird, Alta, Jackson Hole, Big Sky, Red Mountain, Revelstoke Mountain Resort and Kicking Horse Mountain Resort before wrapping up with a heli-skiing outing with CMH north of Kicking Horse.
The adventure fit Nick’s lifestyle perfectly, said Dan, who added that his son lived his 25 years as fully as anyone he’s ever known.
“He worked hard and played hard and squeezed the nectar out of every single day. Nick changed the world by inspiring all who had the privilege of sharing in his energetic orbit,” Dan said. “If you knew Nick, you knew a special, golden spirit who was as enlightened as they come. He had a knowing in life that we all wish we had. He was an old soul and his love, warmth, humor and zest for squeezing every bit of joy out of life was infectious and intoxicating to be around. He just made you feel good, made everything OK.”
Nick Simon rides a wave while surfing.
Simon Family/Courtesy
Dan said the concept behind the NICK WOULD Foundation is much more than approaching life boldly.
“It means Nick gave us all lessons in life that we should take away with us from here forward,” Dan said. “Nick wasn’t just a great athlete with a huge adrenaline appetite, he was also a talented musician with an incredibly sensitive and caring heart. Since Nick was a young child, he was always the first to offer a helping hand, supportive conversation or simply letting someone know they mattered. Nick’s spirit lives on for the legion of people he inspired, supported and loved in his short 25 years.”
Since the foundation started, it has raised about $270,000 with a goal of getting up to a million dollars. The NICK WOULD Foundation is a donor-advised fund of the Yampa Valley Community Foundation, with all annual donations merit-based and targeted around expanding access to outdoor pursuits, wildland exploration and artistic development for those who otherwise might not experience these activities for physical, cognitive or economic reasons.
The NICK WOULD Foundation was created to honor the life of Nick Simon, who died Oct. 27, 2022, while on a surfing adventure in New Zealand after the van he was driving was struck by an oncoming vehicle that had veered into his lane.
NICK WOULD foundation/Courtesy
“We’ll be doing fundraisers — one in California around the beach and then one in the mountains — every year from now on to continue to raise money,” Dan said. “The goal is to raise a million, so we can give away about $100,000 a year.”
Grants bequeathed in 2023 include $3,500 to Friends of the Yampa to support scholarships for Youth River Camps; $2,500 to Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports, joining an additional $15,000 raised through fundraising; $9,000 to the Steamboat Springs Free Summer Concert Series; $4,000 to California’s Windansea Surf Club/Me Water Foundation, which teaches youth and those with physical disabilities how to surf, and $3,000 to the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club to fund athlete participation. Plans in 2024 also include funding a ski video competition for aspiring filmmakers.
Those wishing to support the foundation can donate at yvcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=3574.
“Nick never missed an opportunity to be out in nature enjoying everything it had to offer. If he wasn’t skiing or surfing, he was mountain biking, rock climbing, kayaking or trekking in the mountains. From his NOLS trip in the Himalayas to his post-college solo bike-packing trip on the Colorado and Continental Divide trails, he did it all. Nick was also a highly gifted musician and songwriter, having written over 50 songs, and shared his talent for fortunate guests in every town he’d visit. He traveled to over 30 countries charging into his passions while inspiring countless people along the way,” Dan said. “But the thing he did best was love. No one loved better than Nicholas.”
Nick Simon’s love of the outdoor led his passion for exploration and adventure.
Simon Family/Courtesy