Record-breaking Season in the Northwest!

Record Weekend, Record Season in the Northwest!

In March, our Northwest crew enjoyed their biggest weekend to date, and we wanted to take the opportunity to shed some light on some of the people working behind the scenes who made it all possible.

More than 220 students were on the hill at seven locations across Washington and Oregon during a single weekend, and this season more than 500 students – the most ever - were able to go snowboarding,
skiing or snowshoeing in nine locations.

Nicole McKeown, a volunteer, said the change in student participants was noticeable.

“I saw kids open up more and trust in ways they weren’t in the beginning,” she said. “Learn-to-Ride allowed kids to bridge a lot of social skills with physical skills.”

To get a better idea of what goes into a successful session, look no further than the program at Mt. Baker in Washington.

This winter was the first session where Learn-to-Ride participants were able to go snowboarding and snowshoeing, thanks to partnerships with Mt. Baker Ski Area (provided lift tickets, rental and instruction), Atlas
Snowshoes (donated 30 pairs of snowshoes),Yeager's Sporting Goods(donated snowboarding boots), REI-Bellingham (donated hiking boots), GoreTex (donated 14 pairs of boots), and the Lummi Nation (27 student participants). Finally, seven volunteers dedicated their time to make it happen, with some making a

three-hour drive from Seattle on several occasions.

Lindsay Davis, program director for the Pacific Northwest, said growing from 400 to 500 participants over the past year would not have been possible without volunteers like McKeown, and collaborations like those at
Mt. Baker.

“We’re thrilled to see increased support from the Northwest community to support the growth, and look forward to developing additional partnerships in Washington and Oregon,” she said. “We
could not have done it without the help of more than 20 part-time staff, 30
partnering agencies and more than 100 committed and amazing volunteers.”

SOS Outreach would like to thank our resort partners for the 2009-2010 season: Hoodoo Ski Area, Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort, Mt. Baker Ski Area, Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort,
Mt. Hood SkiBowl, Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park, The Summit at Snoqualmie,
Timberline Lodge and
White Pass Ski Area .

For more details on the Mt. Baker session, check out the report from Sean Groda. The photo below comes courtesy of Patrick Kennedy - be sure to check out his other photos of the Mt. Baker sessions, which are incredible. Finally, RPC Dylan Rees worked wonders this season coordinating a variety of efforts.

Huge congrats to everyone in the Northwest for a spectacular season!