49 Degrees North Local Chuck Kriegh 

For Chuck Kriegh of Cheney, 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort has long been his home away from home. He first started skiing here over 36 years ago when his eldest son was a teenager just learning to ski. The family friendly vibe of the resort appealed to him at the time and keeps bringing him back today.  

Now that his own children are grown, Kriegh is a major contributor to the family friendly atmosphere at 49 through his involvement in the Mountain Host program. The resort added mountain hosts over 15 years ago, and Kriegh was among the initial applicants to the program. He is now the lead organizer of the group that includes 24 total volunteers whose main goal is to ensure every guest has a great day on the mountain. 

According to Kriegh, being a mountain host is the “best job on the mountain.” Those involved with the program are frequently the first up and the last off the mountain, working in tandem with the resort’s ski patrol but without the stress. Whereas ski patrol is responsible for mountain safety, mountain hosts are responsible for mountain fun. Kriegh’s main aim is to ensure “guests have a successful ski day, where at the end of the day they’re happy and want to come back.” As a mountain host he may meet guests in the parking lot to offer suggested runs for those new to the mountain or let visitors know about resort amenities. He may take a run or two with a new-to-the-mountain skier, guiding them toward more or less adventurous runs depending on the skier’s ability level and desires. He may even share his favorite powder runs, “if they ask nicely!” 

The next time you ski 49, look for the mountain hosts in their distinctive bright blue jackets. Ask for suggestions on runs to suit your ability or secret powder stashes. To meet Kriegh, just ask for “Moses” or “Pops.”  

Better Late than Never 

Lookout Pass Local Kim Carpenter  

Kim Carpenter of Coeur d’Alene took a circuitous path to becoming a regular at Lookout Pass. When she first tried skiing as a teenager, she opted to try with friends rather than take a formal lesson. She suffered from that all-too-frequent treatment aspiring skiers receive from their peers who learned to ski at a very young age: the keep-up-or-else mentality. It wasn’t fun, and after the first few tries Carpenter gave it up and refused to return to the slopes for many years. 

She didn’t allow herself to be lured back into the sport until her 30s. At that point she had four young kids at home, and her family started to take advantage of the Idaho Peak Season Passport program that allows 5th and 6th-grade students to ski for free. By pairing free skiing for her qualifying children with other youth skiing education programs at Lookout Pass, Carpenter found skiing could become a fun and affordable option for her family.  

After being abandoned at home for quite a few weekends, Carpenter ‘s husband picked up the family activity, too, after taking advantage of Lookout’s Learn to Ski or Ride in Three Days package. The deal includes three days of tickets, equipment rentals, and lessons. Graduates of the program are able to purchase a season pass for a reduced fee and access rental equipment for the rest of the season. Soon there were a total of six skiers in the Carpenter household. 

Soon thereafter, Carpenter decided to switch it up by learning to snowboard. Now she does either sport depending upon conditions. She has found that she prefers snowboarding, even though her knees prefer skiing. She has made improvements to her technique over the years by meeting friends for some mid-week practice, all while continuing to ski with her family each weekend. Her eldest daughter now lives in Montana but is still able to join a family reunion on the ski hill most Sundays.  

Carpenter has found the biggest change and the greatest joy over the years in watching her kids surpass her on the slopes. She used to deliberately ski behind to keep an eye on them, but she’s now in the back to trying to keep up with stronger skiers. This time, nobody is getting dropped, and it’s all family fun.

Holly Weiler is an avid alpine, Nordic, and Hok skier. She writes the Hike of the Month for each issue. 

The post Passholder Profiles: 49 Degrees North & Lookout Pass appeared first on Out There Venture.

Their wanderlust has already taken them to ski resorts in British Columbia, Canada, and Salt Lake City, Utah. With Ikon Passes, they anticipate skiing at Jackson Hole, Big Sky, and Squaw Valley for the first time, and revisiting Utah resorts. “We’re just going to see where the ski conditions are good and go wherever we want,” says Lukes. “We watch the weather and snow reports, and we sometimes go up anyway, because it’s often better than what you think it might be.”

Kim and Craig both grew up in Spokane and learned to ski in the 1960s as young teens. “At Sports Creel, you could rent gear from their basement and take the weekend bus that left the shop and took you to Mt. Spokane,” she says. After high school, when Kim and Craig met and started dating, their shared mindset about outdoor recreation got them skiing together.

Now, a combination of factors makes their Boomer “ski bum” life possible. Three years ago, they retired after selling their business, Pacific Ice; but alpine skiing was always their family’s go-to sport—skiing with their two children on Thanksgiving Day and nearly every day of Christmas break and taking ski vacations. 

They’re also not haunted by old injuries. “Everybody has aches and pains, but we go out there and ski as long as we can, as long as the conditions are good,” she says. “I’m not a big fan of moguls—I’m too old for that…Craig is much stronger than I am. I wouldn’t consider myself an expert skier. We’ll split up and take different runs, and if we don’t see each other at the bottom, we see each other at the lodge.”

As for powder and tree skiing? Bring it. “We just love to be outside. It’s quiet. Everybody’s there to have fun, so it’s a good atmosphere,” she says. Having good gear also helps. “The ski gear can be fitted so well, so you can really find what fits your foot and ski style. And same with ski clothes—better gear than what we [used to have],” says Lukes. They also backcountry ski—taking all the necessary safety gear and relying on their avalanche education.

“A woman once told me, ‘The best skier on the mountain is the one with the bigger smile.’ And that’s so true. Get air and exercise, find the run you like, and ski at your own pace, and do your own thing. There are so many nice people that you’re going to meet up there…Just get out there. Enjoy your day.” 

As grandparents they have even more incentive to not slow down. During fall and spring, Kim and Craig are avid bikers, and during summertime they enjoy camping, swimming, and boating. As for wellness secrets, she doesn’t have any. When I ask her if she eats vegan or gluten-free, she laughs and says, “We eat whatever we feel like. We like bacon cheeseburgers and all the bad stuff.” Staying active is her simple mantra. She says, “We don’t want to look back 20 years from now and think, ‘Why didn’t we do that?!’ We want to be active outside as long as we can.” //

The post All the Season Passes: Ski Family Profile appeared first on Out There Venture.

There are ski families, and then there are Ski Families. And one of the most hardcore ones in Spokane are Chris and Beccie White and their two teenage kids. Neither Chris, originally from Seattle, nor Beccie, from Colville, grew up as skiers. “I started skiing late—probably not until I was 20,” says Chris, 41. Beccie, 36, says she was initially scared of skiing, and figured it would feel too cold and wet. But Chris persuaded her to try it, at age 24, with a 1-2-3 EZ lesson and rental package at Mt. Spokane. Their son and daughter, Damon and Ashley, would also learn to ski at Mt. Spokane at age 5.

It was Mt. Spokane’s all-around friendly vibe that compelled them to make it their go-to destination. Beccie says, “We always felt welcomed when we went into the lodge and while we were skiing. The lifties, ski host, or anyone working at the mountain made people feel welcome—would ask how you’re doing, [and] are you having fun.”

It was during a family ski day that Chris, on a whim, decided to take the patrol ski test—while wearing his Carhartt hooded-jacket, Beccie recalls. The next ski season Chris was wearing his official red patrol jacket for the rigorous on-mountain portions of the National Ski Patrol Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) training program. After his candidate training year, he was a certified ski patroller. Beccie, at that time still a beginner skier, says, “Once Chris was on patrol and the kids and I could get season passes, we were up there nearly every weekend and could ski with others who skied well, so I got better.”

Now Chris and Beccie are both certified members of National Ski Patrol for Mt. Spokane’s all-volunteer patrol organization. Chris is starting his ninth patrol season and Beccie her fourth, after completing her candidate training during the 2015-16 season. Mt. Spokane is an extension of home for the Whites. “It’s nice to raise our kids in that environment. Because neither of us grew up in families who skied, to live close and be part of that kind of ski community” inspires their devotion, says Beccie.

“Our extended family is up there,” says Chris—their “winter family” of fellow skiers and patrollers. “It’s definitely because we became patrollers that we fell in love with Mt. Spokane…The skiing isn’t the same as other mountains, but it feels like a home there. I’m drawn more to that than exotic destinations.”

Beccie’s favorite runs are off Chair 6, which opened last year, while Chris is usually dropping into the trees between runs, seeking untracked powder or a new challenge. And they love skiing with their kids. In fact, Damon, who’s almost 16 and in 10th grade at Rogers High School, has joined them on patrol—completing his candidate training last season. “There’s the definitive ‘proud papa’ moments seeing your son in his red coat,” says Chris, who is also a certified OEC instructor. Damon is formally certified as a “Ski Patrol Youth,” also known as a junior patroller, and completes patrol duties with an adult mentor.

The Whites also work in the outdoor recreation industry—Beccie works for REI and Chris is manager of the Wheel Sport store in north Spokane. He says, “I’m counting the days” until Mt. Spokane opens.

Mike & Janell Lukes, Silver Mountain

Ever since the gondola debuted in 1990, when Mike was 13, he has been a devoted fan of Silver Mountain. Along with his parents, Craig and Kim Lukes, and sister, they were season passholders and weekend regulars. “My dad’s Suburban was the neighborhood ski bus—never an empty seat,” says Mike, who grew up in Spokane Valley. His parents first taught him to ski at age 6 at Mt. Spokane. “There were a couple seasons where we had season passes at both Silver and Mt. Spokane,” he says.

Young Mike loved flying down Silver’s steep runs, which prepared him to be a youth ski racer at Mt. Spokane and then a member of the University of Idaho’s alpine ski racing team. For the past 10 years, he’s been a Silver passholder again. Now 38, Mike skis at Silver with his wife, Janell, and has been teaching their 6-year-old son to ski. Mike’s parents are still dual passholders at Silver and Mt. Spokane.  

Mike and Janell rent a locker at Silver’s lodge, making it easier to get ready as a family. They say the bunny hill and “moving carpet,” conveniently located outside the lodge, make it the perfect place for teaching their son. Mike says, “Silver Mountain’s ‘magic carpet’ is one of the best—it’s almost as long as the bunny hill, with a good, gentle pitch. I think it’s the best place to teach kids. You just get back on the conveyer belt to get back to the top [of the run], instead of trying to get your kid on and off a chairlift.”

And Silver Mountain’s varied terrain helps Mike get his adventure fix. “Silver Mountain has some really good backcountry that you can access from the gondola and some steeper runs that are fun to ski,” he says. And he likes the culture there. “Silver has a unique crowd of locals. Tall boys of Coors Lights, mid-90s Subaru Loyales, and occasionally a pair of PRE skis will be what you see at Silver.” The loyal following of season passholders who are Silver Valley locals helps to maintain a casual yet lively vibe, according to Mike—it’s a ski mountain for everyone, of all abilities. “It’s a lot of fun staying in Kellogg…skiing up top and doing the [resort] waterpark in the evening,” Mike says. “People who haven’t skied Silver in the past five years would be surprised at how much it has improved.”

The post Winter Mountain Season Passholder Profiles appeared first on Out There Venture.

Doug Dial was a recent transplant from California in 1977 when he first skied at Mt. Spokane. He’d relocated to the Inland Northwest, built a house in the nearby foothills, and was motivated to purchase a season pass. His first winter as a Spokanite was less than glamorous. “Yeah, I froze to death,” he says. But he aimed practically: “My goal was, every year, to ski enough to pay off the pass,” he says. “Now I ski 60 to 70 times a year.”

Doug taught his two children to ski and is currently teaching his five-year-old granddaughter. “I always wanted to be a family that skied, to have an activity in the winter to do things together,” he says.

Mt. Spokane, he says, is a community. “The friends you meet up there and ski with all winter, you get to know their families, you watch their kids grow up, they see your kids grow up and things,” he says.

At Mt. Spokane, Doug’s primarily known by his nickname, Coach, and for his signature greeting, “Yeeeeeee!” He says, “People will walk through the lodge, and I’ll ‘Yeeeeeee!’ at them and they’ll know it’s Coach.” He’s had a front-row seat through the years for things like the addition of the chair on the backside. “With the new chair up there, it’s like we went from a little mountain to a big mountain. It’s just been amazing,” he says.

He’s been around long enough to both appreciate the present and reminisce on the past, like years ago when, on clear nights after Chair 1 was shut down prior to night skiing, he and friends skied over to poach the fresh groomers there. “They had a groomer at the time named Wayne, and Wayne hated that,” he says with a laugh. Then there are happenings that became family legend, like the time he and his son came in first in a linguine eating/ski race decades ago.

It’s been wonderful, Doug says, “year after year, watching everything evolve and grow.”

“I’ve aged with the mountain.”

Kim Allen (49 Degrees North)

“We got hooked, actually, as adults,” Kim Allen says of herself and her husband, A.J., who started skiing and snowboarding about nine years ago. Parents at the time of three children (they now have five), they decided to hit the mountain and learn together.

“We thought this was going to be a great way for us to be together as a family,” she says. Just as they’d hoped, the whole family has grown a love for the mountain and downhill sports together. “The boys board and the girls ski,” Kim says.

Living in Usk, Washington, made nearby 49 Degrees North an obvious destination for snow sports. It’s not only convenient; they just like the atmosphere. “It’s sort of a small town on a big mountain,” Kim says. She’s been impressed by the quality of instruction for both kids and adults. The lessons are “really, really fantastic,” she says.

With kids ranging in age from five to 18, the diversity of the terrain is part of what keeps them coming back to 49. It’s “an all-ages, all-skier type mountain,” Kim says, with everything from “your average groomers,” to cliffs where her older kids can work on flips and jumps, to the terrain park, to the kid-friendly animal trail that winds around the bunny hill. “There’s always someplace on the mountain where you can find something that you love,” Kim says.

Kim’s also involved in a new effort to start a Monday women’s ski group. Women meet at Boomtown Bar, then spend the next few hours together. “This is our first year doing it. It’s collecting momentum,” Kim says. All women are welcome to check it out. “My idea,” she says, “is the more, the merrier.”

Roy Self (Lookout Pass)

“Last year was the first year I ever skied Lookout,” says Roy Self. Roy and his wife, Nancy, had recently gotten back into skiing after a hiatus of many years, since the ‘80s. “[Lookout] had a promotion at the end of the season where they were offering free skiing. We thought, you know what? We’re going to go up and give it a try,” Roy says.

The Selfs liked what they experienced: a well-run mountain with good terrain and “a nice, family vibe.” They especially liked that it gets a lot of snow, resulting in a longer ski season, while still being a pretty quick hop along I-90 from their home in Spokane.

This year, the Selfs had skied Lookout about a dozen times by mid-January. They’ve also skied at many other Northwest resorts. “We have so many ski areas in our backyard,” Self says. “We’ve skied them all.” They’ve got the Ski Northwest Rockies app on their phones and check it daily, spontaneously hitting the slopes when conditions look too good to pass up.

Though they like to sample everything, Lookout has been an ideal home base. The Selfs have enjoyed the community there and have felt the support of the staff. Roy recalls a time this winter when he and Nancy were on a black diamond run they’d never skied before. The snow had been in great shape until “we got to this spot where it really starts to fall off,” he says. The drop-off was so icy they were concerned, not wanting to take the risk of falling on the hard, sketchy surface. “About that time a gal from the ski patrol showed up,” Roy remembers. “She was being really, really cautious for the same reason.” She skied cautiously on ahead, and he and Nancy “sort of skidded through the worst part” after that. The ski patroller waited at the bottom to make sure he and Nancy had gotten through safely before moving on. “I felt really good about that,” he says.

After lying dormant for so many years, Roy and Nancy’s love of skiing now provokes some good-hearted teasing from those who know them well. “Amongst our kids it’s kind of a running joke,” Roy says. “‘Are you out skiing again? You’re kidding me!’”

Kitti Withycombe (Silver Mountain)

How long has Kitti Withycombe been on skis? “Literally my whole life,” she says. “My mom skied with me when she was pregnant. My dad put me in the backpack after that. I’ve been officially on skis since I was two and a half.”

Skiing has always been a big part of the Withycombe family life—which includes Kitti, her two brothers, and her parents. They’ve spent time at all of the local mountains, but have been season passholders at Silver for 17 consecutive years. With the family based in Coeur d’Alene—Kitti is now in Missoula, working full-time—it’s an easy place for the family to reconnect on the weekends. “When you get to the bottom of the gondola, it’s just kind of stress-free from there,” she says.

At Silver, Kitti says there’s something for everyone, from more seasoned skiers to people like her boyfriend, a beginner whom Kitti gifted a Silver season pass this year.

In years past, Kitti worked as a ski instructor at Silver, then getting in 120 days a season. Now with a day job, she’s back to hitting the slopes on the weekends like she did growing up. “I’m doing the snow dance, praying we’ll get some more powder,” she says of her hopes for the rest of the season. “I am looking forward to skiing the powder and ripping down Shady Lady, getting some face shots,” she says with a laugh.

Kitti loves the break Silver gives from the more congested everyday life. “You get up top and you’re just so far back in the mountains on that hill. You really feel like you’re out in the wilderness,” she says, noting that Silver has some of the most incredible tree skiing in the Northwest. Her favorite time to be there is around 3:45 or 4:00 p.m., “when the sun is starting to set and you’re skiing Silver Belt and you get that alpenglow on the hill.”

“That’s pretty magic.”//

Sponsored by Ski the Northwest Rockies

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For Mary Heston and her family, Silver Mountain Resort is home base. It started two decades ago, when she and her husband, Tom, moved to Idaho’s Silver Valley with their young kids. “It was pretty funny. As a young family, with four kids, we outfitted all of them first,” she remembers. “Then Tom would go skiing in his fishing gear! They could spot him a mile away in his yellow fishing pants.”

Living a few minutes away from the mountain and with Tom working on ski patrol, they became passholders in 1998. They’ve continued ever since, giving their kids season passes for Christmas gifts.

“Pretty soon [our kids] decided, all four of them, that our family tradition should be opening presents on Christmas Eve so we could get up early on Christmas morning and go skiing together,” Mary says. “It’s always fun to see the other families up there on Christmas Day.”

The four children, three boys and a girl, grew up skiing and snowboarding, and have since branched out from home. Tom travels more for work these days, too. But Silver Mountain always brings the Hestons back together. “Our family is starting to spread out,” says Mary. The kids are now in their 20s and early 30s, with some in college; there’s even a grandchild. But as other things change “we still call that home,” she says of Silver. They spend not just Christmases there, but love other traditions like spring skiing (the resort staff “fire up the barbecues—and you can ski in your shorts,” Mary says) and picking huckleberries in the summer. Using their passholder discount, they’ve often booked visiting friends and family in rooms at the Morning Star Lodge. “We call that the family annex,” Mary says with a laugh.

“We love everything about it,” she says of Silver. “That’s the crux of it—lots of good family memories and traditions, and it brings us back together.”

Doug Burke, Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park

For the past 15 years, Doug Burke has been volunteering on the slopes at Mt. Spokane, working with the Powderhounds Ski Program. This multi-week lesson group is for individuals with developmental disabilities and is run at Mt. Spokane with the support of the City of Spokane Parks and Recreation Department. In addition to his wife and daughters, Doug first got involved with his son, Kyle, who has Down syndrome.

In the beginning, Kyle was 13-years-old and had never been on skis. “His first year or so, he didn’t want to ski really, he just wanted to lay in the snow and eat the snow,” Doug says. But “once he saw others having fun, he started on his way.”

“It’s a wonderful program,” Doug says. The Powderhounds primarily consists of people with cognitive delays, from children up through adults. Trained volunteers are partnered with participants, and ski and snowboard together on consecutive Saturdays through the winter.

Alice Busch, Therapeutic Recreations Director for the City of Spokane, has seen the Powderhounds help participants increase their physical and social skills as they get outside and do something non-electronic, all the while developing independence. “One thing that happens continually is the growth we see in students when they accomplish goals,” she says. “The volunteers are amazing instructors, friends, and advocates.”

“We have an absolute blast,” says Doug, who has recruited many friends over the years to volunteer and help grow the program. On those Saturdays between January and February that they’re on the mountain, he sees a change in the program’s participants. On the slopes, “they don’t have a disability, they’re just skiers or snowboarders,” Doug says. “It’s a fun, fun program and you can see it in their faces.”

Jason Graham, 49 Degrees North

Growing up with a parent in the Air Force, Jason Graham first learned to ski in Germany. Then “at 15 or 16 I got a snowboard and never looked back,” he says. After moving to Spokane he continued snowboarding, with a season pass that brought him to 49 Degrees North every weekend.

After high school, though, it wasn’t so easy to get to the mountain. When Jason started college he found himself “slowing down a little bit” with the sport; it was no longer an every-weekend thing. “I really missed it,” he says. He wanted that to change, and thought about how to find “purposeful involvement” that would get him back on the slopes regularly. After looking into both teaching and ski patrol, Jason became a snowboard instructor at 49.

Jason now teaches snowboarding every weekend during the winter season. “I love sharing the passion for it,” he says of working with new snowboarders, sometimes one-on-one and sometimes in small groups. “I love the ‘a-ha’ moments when kids learn. I love seeing the variety of people.” Sometimes someone very athletic will struggle to get their balance, while someone else with zero sports experience will unexpectedly excel. The surprises make it fun. “Someone you’d never expect to just picks it up out of nowhere,” he says.

His own young children have started snowboarding, something he hopes they’ll continue to grow and develop in as they get older.

Getting re-engaged with snowboarding has changed the shape of Jason’s weekends and given him a way to pass something he loves on to others. “Like everything else, it’s easy for life to take over and not have time for things,” he says. Instructing has changed all that. It’s good to be back up at 49 “every weekend, making it a regular part of my life.”

Kelli Christopherson, Lookout Pass

“We’ve been skiing there since it was just the one chair, so I would guess 2003,” says skier Kelli Christopherson, who, along with her husband, Josh, calls Lookout Pass her home mountain.

Josh taught Kelli how to ski, and years ago they got into racing—competing as masters—and visiting all sorts of mountains and resorts.

“Through racing, we kind of got to shop around [different mountains] and we kept going back to Lookout because of the people,” Kelli says. Back when she was a newer skier, Josh advised that she always ski with a buddy. “It was one of the big rules, that I would never ski by myself,” she says. “Over the years obviously I got better, and he actually started being an instructor, and when we would go ski he would be busy.”

It was never difficult to find a new friend at Lookout. “It’s fun to ski by yourself, but the locals, the guys who ski there, it was just kind of like a family. They were like, ‘Oh, you should go ski with us,’” Kelli says. “I like the small mountain feel.”

She also loves the quality of the conditions—“They’ve always got good, soft snow,”—and the fact that, somehow, Lookout always seems to be about the first mountain to open and the last to close. Last year, they opened on November 4.

You’ll find her skiing off of Chair 3, where they leave the bump runs up all year. She likes Big Dipper, Hercules, and Purgatory. “It’s definitely steep and fun,” she says. “I like to challenge myself. That’s where I like to hang out.”

Kelli is considering becoming a ski instructor herself, another way she can plug more into the community at the mountain. “They’re trying to rope me into it,” she says with a laugh.

“It’s the people there,” says Kelli. “It’s the community that makes the difference.”//

[Sponsored by Ski the NW Rockies.]

The post Northwest Ski Resort’s Season Passholder Profiles appeared first on Out There Venture.

Born in Duluth, Minnesota, MacLeod learned to ski in 1955 when he was 4-years-old. “It was not common back in the day to ski as a family, but my dad just got the idea that we were going to be skiers,” he says. So, along with his parents and older sister, they skied the runs and used the rope tows at Mont du Lac in western Wisconsin.

MacLeod’s first pair of skis were wooden; he doesn’t remember the maker but knows the bindings released. Today, he uses Rossignol Soul 7 skis. “It’s so much easier on my legs…they turn really nice. I’m amazed at how technology has improved the skiing experience,” he says.

As MacLeod grew up and then became a student and football player at the University of Minnesota, he continued skiing whenever he could. “That’s how you stay in shape for football—you ski. I called it high altitude training at the time,” he says.

After college graduation in 1967, the Green Bay Packers drafted MacLeod into the NFL at age 22. The following season he transferred to the Indianapolis Colts and was a professional linebacker for 6 years—missing one season to recover from a torn Achilles tendon and playing for two more seasons after that. “I have my legacy [from] of all that,” he says, referring to the physical impacts of football tackles and hits since he was in 7^th grade. “It adds up after a while…You don’t want to play in the NFL too long or else you can’t be a skier.”

MacLeod even managed to hit the slopes while performing as an athlete. “When I was playing professional football, my wife and I would take a ski trip every spring. After I decided to [leave the NFL], I was looking for a place where I could ski and build homes, and Spokane looked like a good place for that,” he says. “But there was a hell of a recession at the time.” So after relocating, with no job but time to ski, he joined Mt. Spokane’s Ski Patrol and started his first season. Before too long, he passed the firefighter exam for Spokane County and was stationed at District 1.

In the mid-80s, MacLeod “retired” from patrolling but remained a loyal season pass holder. “You can’t beat powder—that’s what’s so nice about the backside of Mountt Spokane. A lot of people don’t even know about it, which makes it even better,” he says. A man of routine, MacLeod skied regularly five days a week each season until 2001, when he retired from his 20-year firefighting career. He then reduced his schedule to four days. About 10 years ago, he tore his other Achilles tendon, which was his only significant ski injury. Last season, when he started feeling pain in his knees, he decided to do only half-days on the mountain. And this season he plans to ski three rather than four half-days each week.

“I’m trying to put my body back together so I can keep skiing,” says MacLeod, who also does gym workouts. “I’m just getting old. I have to adapt, but I don’t have to like it.” MacLeod also skis once a week with Faye, his high school sweetheart and wife of nearly 47 years.

While MacLeod is regular fixture at Mt. Spokane, every year he lives out his dream ski trip: heli-skiing in Nakusp, British Columbia, with Canadian Mountain Holidays. “If you want to ski powder, it doesn’t get any better.” //

Amy McCaffree, who writes the Out There Kids column, is enjoying her 15^th winter as a Mt. Spokane season pass holder. Her favorite ski runs are Rock Slide, Teakettle, and—especially with her kids—Crash & Burn.

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Kyle Lucas and Sarah Lucas Parker met in the fall of 2013 and fell in love that winter on the skin track and slopes. Both were avid skiers since childhood: Kyle grew up skiing his home hill of Turner Mountain, near Libby, Montana; Sarah began lapping Mount Spokane not long after she started walking. When they met, both held season passes at Schweitzer Mountain Resort, and they figured it would make a fitting wedding location.

“It was a natural decision for us to get married, in the winter, at the top of a mountain,” says Kyle, adding, with his typically dry humor, “The fact that this mountain in particular has chairlifts made it easier on our guests.”

The dismal winter of 2014/2015 threw a curveball familiar to any newlyweds-to-be planning an outdoor ceremony with a ski wedding twist. “Our photographer asked us two weeks before the wedding what our plan was if there was no snow,” says Sarah. “I had planned for rain, wind, fog, snow storm, but not for no snow!” Luckily, the day they tied the knot, the skies, and ski runs, opened up for a ceremony with a bluebird view of Lake Pend Oreille below.

At the mountain halfway between their childhood hills, the couple decided to raise some junior skiers of their own. With their first child, Libby, stepping into skis for the first time, Kyle and Sarah decided to take the next step in their lift-assisted love story: buying an on-mountain condo. But they have no regrets about settling down and making it official with just one ski area—“At least you don’t have to worry about where to get a season pass for the next 30 years,” Kyle says.

“We both love skiing and realized to maintain our mountain lifestyle and be able to share it with our kids we had to make it as convenient as possible,” Sarah explains. “We bought Libby a season pass last year, and, with Kinder Camp, she gets to hang out with other skier kids, while Kyle and I get time together and don’t have to flip a coin for who gets the powder first.”

With Libby’s skills progressing and another child on the way, Kyle and Sarah are already eyeing bigger terrain on the mountain for the kids to work toward. Because in skiing, as in life, there’s always another day. //

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Joe and Kathy Fontana moved to the Spokane area from northern California over two decades ago. Growing up, they had maybe skied a dozen times. “We come from families with a lot of kids,” Joe explains, “and Tahoe was a good four-and-a-half hour drive.” It was also expensive. “It’s only something rich people can do,” says Kathy.

They soon discovered that this wasn’t the case in the Inland Northwest. “When we moved up here and found out how affordable skiing was, it was pretty unbelievable,” Kathy says. The first hill they skied was 49° North near Chewelah, and although they tried other resorts in the area, they just fell in love with 49°.

In 1999, the Fontanas got their first season passes, and their two girls started racing at 49° in 2000. “We now have a house up there,” Joe says. “Most of our friends that we still socialize with we met through skiing.” The family-friendly and warmly-social atmosphere was the biggest reason the Fontanas ended up being 49 locals. “It’s very welcoming,” says Kathy. “We could bring our family up there, and we didn’t have to worry about them.”

Now Joe and Kathy are empty nesters. Without the kids in the mix, the Fontanas are realizing more and more how blessed they are to have a great mountain in their backyard. “It’s a wonderful hill,” says Joe. “Some of the fall lines are pretty unique.” Kathy adds, “Even though we’ve tried all the other ski resorts, we still feel like 49° is home.” //

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“Breckon has a lot of energy so snowboarding is a great outlet for him. He stuck to his heel edge for the first season and mastered riding ‘fakie,’ which means to ride opposite of the way you would naturally ride,” says his mom, Desi. The next season, Breckon learned how to carve, using the toe edge to heel edge pattern. “For his third season, we signed him up for a 2-hour class to help him with carving, and I noticed a huge difference after that one lesson. Although he thinks he has mastered the sport, we will enroll him in at least one lesson this year so he can learn some new techniques,” she says.

Breckon enjoys challenging himself on the mountain, and rides every weekend during the season at Lookout Pass with his family. His favorite run is Lucky Friday – a double-black diamond with powder stashes and snow-covered stumps for jumps. “Breckon loves to cruise the terrain park. He’s learning how to ride the rails, and looks forward to sticking his landings this season. His dad taught him that the trees and the sides of the runs have more snow and are more adventurous – he’ll go over any jump that he sees on the groomers,” says Desi. Another goal is to backflip off a jump, and he’s been practicing on his home trampoline since last summer. Someday he would like to join a snowboarding team; however, there are currently only ski racing teams affiliated with the local ski mountains “We hope they will eventually start a snowboarding team at Lookout Pass,” Desi says. “But until then he may take up skiing again to get on the team.”

Like many parents, the Mowrys’ main concern is their son’s safety on the mountain. “Luckily, he has not had too many bad crashes,” Desi says. “As much as we love to snowboard all day, sometimes it is better to have a 6-hour day instead of an 8. Your body gets worn out, and you are more prone to injury the longer you ride.”

Breckon’s dad, Cade, who has been snowboarding for 26 years after starting in 8^th grade, looks forward to taking Breckon backcountry snowboarding when he’s older. “Cade has hiked Bridger Bowl and Big Sky to ride some of the more difficult terrain,” she says. “I would also like to say our son looks up to me as well. Though I am not as strong of a rider as Cade, Breckon and I take some fun runs together.”

Desi notes that snowboarding has taught Breckon the importance of being outside and utilizing his body and physical energy. “He uses the time on the mountain to release his energy and learn to master the art of snowboarding. If he is practicing a move, he will try it over and over again until he gets it right. It’s good for him to keep it up and know that if you practice and focus then you can usually achieve what you want,” she says. “Mentally, I think all kids have a fight with any sport – ‘Do I want to do this today? I really wanted to stay inside and play my Xbox’ – but once Breckon gets on the snow, you can’t get him off.”

Breckon’s advice for other kids new to snowboarding? “Learn how to have good balance and how to lean on your board so you can adjust to each edge,” he says. “Personally, snowboarding is more fun than skiing because I can go faster and not fear getting my legs tangled together if I wreck.”

Desi encourages parents of novice snowboarders to be patient. “Most kids will learn this sport quickly, but there are some who may have a more difficult time,” she says. “Based on my experience learning how to ride, I wish I would have taken the time for lessons. If there is an opportunity for lessons, get them into it. Much like school, kids learn differently from different people. They may get frustrated faster with a parent than they will with a [ski school] instructor.”

In addition, she says, “If possible, get your kids on skis before a snowboard. They need to learn balance with skis on snow before they can ride a board. I have not met many people who have snowboarded without skiing first.” And start them young, she says. “Kids are resilient – they can fall and get up, whereas older kids and young adults fall and get hurt. The fear is not there yet with younger kids, so they will be more willing to take risks.” //

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