Eastside Ski Team’s Thriving Community on Hood

Disclaimer: This writer is on the Eastside Ski Team. 

If you’re looking to improve your skiing skills or just find other skiers in the community, Eastside Ski Team is a great place to start. This team has over sixty racers, making it the largest team in Oregon. The racers make the team a welcoming environment to learn and be who you are, and coaches provide informative feedback based on your skills and experience. One of the most talked about aspects of this team is the community that has developed over the years. 

Each Wednesday night from December through February, the racers and coaches head up the mountain for practice on Mt. Hood. Everyone meets at the bus around 3:50-4p.m. for a hectic, but enjoyable ride. The bus environment is usually loud with the racers chatting, gossiping, and sometimes singing. The team practices at Mt. Hood Meadows or Skibowl based on the conditions. The weather can be unpredictable on the mountain, but the team pushes through to make their practice as productive as they can. 

While the racers get their gear on in the lodge, the coaches set up the course. The team gets around two hours of training time per week, which isn’t a lot, but everyone still crushes it at races. The coaches make sure to give input to every racer, to make everyone feel included. Racer Ava Fogarty, a junior at Grant, said she enjoys the weekly practices. “It’s made me better at skiing and has made me appreciate the effort that goes into improving my skills,” said Fogarty. Many people on the team share a similar mindset and drive to Fogarty. 

On the weekends, the Mt. Hood Ski Race League races take place. Racers typically have seven races, but due to poor weather this year multiple races and events have been canceled. Ski races include two types, slalom and giant slalom. Slalom is racing down a course while zig-zagging through poles, and it can get tricky when some poles are placed very close together. Some skiers with advanced skills can come very close to the poles and are even able to graze them as they’re skiing by. Giant slalom is essentially a longer version of slalom. Instead of poles, there are gates you have to maneuver around. Giant slalom can be easier for lots of the new racers as it doesn’t require the same agility as slalom does. 

Before every race, all racers must slip and inspect the course. Slipping a course is manually grooming the snow by skiing slowly through the course. It’s meant to smooth out any ruts for a clean run. Inspecting helps the racers get a better look at the course before their race while coaches give them advice. After inspecting, racers ready themselves for their run by stretching, watching others, or asking for advice. “Regardless of how I place it’s just really fun to compete against other schools and athletes,” stated racer and junior at Cleveland, Betsy Laans. Despite the early waking hours the racers put up with, race days are exciting events. 

Head coach Randy Hewitt founded the Eastside Ski Team almost twenty years ago. Hewitt and his daughter Kelsey decided to create the team for Grant High School and over the years it has grown to include other PPS schools. Ever since Hewitt created this team, he’s found a “sense of satisfaction from coaching,” he stated. “I feel like it’s my contribution to helping our youth experience some fun, develop some skills, and fall in love with doing things in the great outdoors,” Hewitt explained. Although, if anyone is interested in joining the team, Hewitt wants newcomers to understand the time commitment joining requires. Training nights last until 10:30p.m. and race days are an all-day event.

At sixty-four years old, Randy has been skiing practically his whole life. His skiing experience and coaching skills have made him the best coach possible. He continues to keep coaching for as long as he can: “How I foresee it is I have a lot of wonderful assistant coaches, many of them who used to race for me when they were in high school.” Hewitt continued on to say, “I’m really working hard to train them so that they can take over on the day when I finally hang up.”

Kelsey’s Race is an exciting event that marks the beginning of the season, helping to build community and excitement before the competitive races start. All the racers come together to race in a competitive-free environment. “This race is a celebration of her life and I get to share that celebration with 450 racers from all across the state,” said Randy. Kelsey tragically lost her life skiing in 2015, but her passion continues to live on through the kids who ski at this race. 

Apart from providing an opportunity to ski, the Eastside Ski Team offers benefits that go beyond just hitting the slopes. From building lasting friendships, to developing physical fitness, honing skiing skills, and experiencing the great outdoors, the team offers a wonderful community.