Little Rippers Archives - Out There Venture

Little Ripper: Libby Collins at Silver Mountain

Amy McCaffree — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 14:00:00 +0000

Skier – Age: 12
Home mountain: Silver Mountain; also trains at Mt. Spokane and Mt. Hood (Oregon).
Favorite runs at Silver: Tall Paul, SOB, the race course.
Learned to ski at age 2: “I was taught by my mom and dad, which helped me to become the skier I am today. By the time I was around six I started ski racing.”
Loves skiing because: “It’s a very motivational sport, and it tests your limits. You have the choice to push yourself as hard as you want. There are endless things to work on while you are skiing because you will always have room to improve.”
Ski Racing: Silver Mountain Alpine Race Team (SMART) since 2014. Coaches include Andru Miller, Halli Densley, and Kosuke Imamura from Silver Mountain, and Dan Henry from Mt. Spokane.
Ski Buddies: Mom because “she is an amazing skier and always makes it fun,” and SMART teammates.
Greatest accomplishment: “Coming back strong after being out for over a year with several injuries.”
Most memorable ski days: “Going to Mt. Hood for the first time; shredding powder all day during a massive powder dump; and night skiing with friends…Although those were all really fun, one of my favorites has to be sleeping in the lodge on Silver Mountain with the ski team and staying up late hanging out.”
Other recreation: Hiking, biking, camping, swimming, softball, volleyball, ski racing camps during summer and fall, and doing CrossFit “to get stronger.”
Future ambition: Become a member of the U.S. Ski Team and compete in the Olympics.

Ski racer Libby Collins. // Photos courtesy Jessica Croston.

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Little Ripper: Landon McCaffree at Mt. Spokane

Amy McCaffree — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 14:00:00 +0000

Age: 10
Home mountain: Mt. Spokane; dual season passholder at Schweitzer and Mt. Spokane, 2018-2020.
Favorite runs at Mt. Spokane: Jump Hill, Big 200, Gates Park, Smuggler’s Notch.
Learned to ski at age 2: Parent-taught, no ski school.
Loves skiing because: “It’s fun to get out onto the mountain. I like the thrill and adrenaline of going fast. I like skiing in the trees because there’s often lots of powder there. People typically go on the same paths, but Daddy and I go where people haven’t skied and we sometimes find a foot of powder.”
Ski Buddy: “My favorite person to ski with is my dad because he taught me how to ski and he’s a really good skier. I was 5 years old when he first took me down Whiplash, a double-black diamond run at Schweitzer. I’ve gone down almost all the double-blacks now at Schweitzer.”
On being the son of a ski patroller: “It’s fun to help out by ‘doing sweep’ with my dad at closing time (at Mt. Spokane), and my family gets to hang out in the patrol lodge.”
Greatest accomplishment: “Jumping off a big rock, 8 feet, into powder on Siberia at Schweitzer. The second time I went much further, about 12 feet, and did a somersault into the snow and lost both my skis.”
Why he free skies and doesn’t race: “I enjoy free skiing because I can go on all the runs I like, can go wherever I want on the mountain, and ski with Dad on the weekends. When I ski, I like to relax and not worry about anything.”
Other recreation: Fly-fishing, soccer, biking, and camping.
Downtime during winter: Building motorized chairlifts with LEGOS.
Future ambition: “Get better at jumping off big rocks and go skiing at other big mountains.”

Amy McCaffree is Out There Kids columnist and has been writing for OTO long before motherhood. She learned to ski with her junior high Ski Club, in western Washington. She married a ski patroller and committed to a lifetime of skiing as much as possible, and loves being a Ski Family with their two children.

Photos: (left) Landon at Mt. Spokane with his cousin Matthew Richey. // Photo: Amy McCaffree; (top) Jumping off a rock cliff last ski season. // Photo: Judd McCaffree; (bottom) Landon with his Ski Patrol Dad at the summit of Mt. Spokane during a Friday night sunset. // Photo: Amy McCaffree

Read stories about other Little Rippers from the Inland Northwest.

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Little Ripper: Oliver Peck at 49 Degrees North

Amy McCaffree — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 19:50:58 +0000

Skier – Age: 5
Home mountain: 49˚ North.
Favorite run: Hobbit Forest
Learned to ski at age 1.5: Parent-taught. First day on skis at 1½ years old; first ski full season at age 2, going 1-2 times a week throughout the season. “We don’t have our kids in lessons [yet], because we both have a deep history in ski education,” says Oliver’s dad, Nate, who formerly worked as assistant director of 49’s ski school and director of training for Stevens Pass. (Ollie’s 2-year-old sister started skiing last season.) Ollie’s mom, Carrie, was a ski instructor at 49. “I think going forward we’ll get Ollie involved with instruction from other people.”
Enjoys skiing because: “It’s on snow and I like it. I like going through the forest.”
Ski buddies: Uncle Reuben and friends Takoda, Maddi and Fiona, Mason, Caleb, and his sister, Maple.
Greatest accomplishment: “Going down from the top of the mountain,” says Oliver. Dad says, “I’m really proud of how he’s very methodical. He takes risks but he’s very calculated…as he makes his way down the mountain. [Last spring] he just started skiing by himself (without support), top to bottom, on all green runs. And he can handle some blue runs.”
Most memorable ski day for Dad last spring: “Ollie had taken a big fall and was pretty rattled. But he [got up and] skied the run, which was a little out of his comfort zone, and then he kept going after it again, after another lift ride. He had determination even though it was hard—and probably above his skill level—rising to the challenge and learning on the slope, applying what he knew to skiing on more difficult terrain.”
Other recreation: Swimming, climbing, bike-riding, hiking, exploring nature.
Future ambition: “I want to go off very, very big jumps!”

Photos courtesy Nate Peck.

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