By Justin Andress, The Mountain Times
Last week, members of the Mt. Hood Race Team posted two first-place finishes at Mt. Bachelor’s annual Wrangler Cup. The wins are one more jewel in the crown of this prestigious mountain program that has shepherded the ski community since its infancy.
Though there are multiple race teams on Mt. Hood, few have the pedigree of the Mt. Hood Race Team and Academy. Started in 1965, the Race Team has developed countless talented skiers in a quest to fulfill its overarching mission of “Community, Skiing, and Education.”
Karen Lundgren is the Program Director for the Mt. Hood Race Team. In that role, she organizes the students’ schedules and oversees their academic progress. Though Lundgren has been with the program for 11 years, her passion for the work remains as bright as it was on her first day.
“I love this program and I love what we’re doing,” she says. Speaking to her, it’s clear that the program’s commitment to community building isn’t just for show. She’s passionate about nurturing her charge’s mental, emotional and physical well-being.
Mt. Hood Race Team and Academy is split into the Academy and Club Skiing.
Club Skiers range in age from 6 to 14. Every weekend, more than 120 kids flock to Mt. Hood to learn the ropes from Lundgren and her team of professional trainers. They also promote friendly competition among the kids by sponsoring the Mt. Hood Youth Ski League. This annual competition series culminates in the Oregon 4-way. The 57-year-old competition sees young racers try their hand at cross-country skiing, slalom, giant slalom, and a jump.
The Oregon 4-way isn’t just a fundraising effort for the Mt. Hood Race Team. It’s a way to give Club Skiers a taste of competition before they branch out and begin skiing in regional Pacific Northwest competitions.
Once students reach the 8th grade, they can apply for admission to the Mt. Hood Race Team’s Academy. This intensive six-month program allows kids between the ages of 14 and 19 to hone their skills on the slopes while balancing the academic requirements of high school. Nine teens are currently enrolled.
“I think the program is pretty unique,” says Lundgren. “We all live in this really big house, and [the kids] don’t just learn about skiing and teamwork and teammates. They cook their meals. They do their laundry. They have to keep the house clean and take out the trash and they learned so many life skills.”
These skills rub off, too. After having her child returned at the end of an Academy session, one mother was shocked to report, “My son unloaded the dishwasher and I didn’t even ask him to.”
Throughout the year, the Academy team travels to ski landmarks such as Big Sky and Jackson Hole. They also start their season skiing near Calgary, where the snow falls early in the year.
The team will occasionally pop over to Timberline to train, but for most of the year, the members of the Mt. Hood Race Team call Skibowl home. “We have a team building over there,” says Lundgren. “And they work really well with us and support us with training venues. We want hard snow that’s not gonna get rutted out so we can take lots of runs on it, and the surface is still good.”
Though skiing seems like the sole focus of the program, meeting the kids’ academic requirements remains a top priority. “Two days a week, we have a teacher come in all day and work with the students so that they’re not just staring at their computers.”
While wins in competition are wonderful, for Lundgren, the purpose of the Academy remains the same as it was when it opened its doors. It’s about building community and fostering a family.
As Lundgren explains, “One of the goals of our program is to build this community. There’s something pretty cool about the skiing community on Mt. Hood. When we talk to our students, we hear, ‘Yay! I can’t wait to be back with my skiing family, my winter family.’”
That commitment to family and community not only makes the Academy a lot of fun to participate in, it also makes the kids better skiers and it feeds into the Academy’s other goal. “Our other goal is just building good human beings. Making good kids by helping them be off their phone, care about other people, be aware, and support each other.”
You can find out more or donate to the Mt. Hood Race Team by visiting their website, MtHoodAcademy.org.