Students meet early in the morning in downtown Portland. They change into their snowboard outerwear that is provided by Snowdays, and then climb aboard 15-passenger vans for the trip to Mount Hood.
Vans are donated by Windells Camp, and are driven by Snowdays volunteers. On the way, we provide a healthy breakfast, and the students get to know the program mentors.
When they arrive at Timberline Lodge, the students are fitted for boots and boards and then the group has a warmup and stretch together before heading out onto the snow. We provide a 90 minute group lesson taught by certified snowboard instructors to get everyone heading in the right direction. With excellent coaching and a little perseverence, it is possible for students to make substantial progress in their first few hours. When the lesson is over, students and mentors eat a healthy sack lunch together in the lodge.
In the afternoon students continue to develop their newfound skills as they start to explore the mountain.
Mentors lead several groups of differing ability levels so that everyone can find their own pace. This
free-ride session lasts into the middle of the afternoon. Eventually everyone makes their way back to the
lodge and meets up.
After a full day, we relax and discuss the day's events. Everyone is encouraged to share their thoughts and experiences on the mountain. The students are then driven back to Portland and dropped off ready for a solid night's sleep.
A Snowdays trip is a full 12 hour day, and includes meals and transportation, lift tickets, gear rental and lessons. In order to make the best use of our budget, we have worked hard to minimize our costs.
We receive a large concession from Timberline Ski Area that enables us to provide rentals, lift tickets and lessons at a fraction of the normal cost.
We currently spend approximately $150 per trip on lunch, snacks and gas for the vans. We aim to reduce our costs in the upcoming winter by finding local stores to donate food and vouchers for gas.
