Season Recap: A Triumph on the Slopes!
As summer is in full swing and only the volcanoes are seeing skis, we look back on a truly unforgettable winter. This year marked a significant milestone for SnowGoat, being our first "full" season with seven races.
Our Westy’s Wildside Western was a true success, and it was so fun to see all the faces who came out for each of our nighttime events. Next, we had Vertfest and WyEaster, both with stellar weather, great skiing, and fast racers. Each race was a testament to the hard work, dedication, and passion of everyone involved—from the racers to the volunteers, and of course, our loyal supporters. And let’s not forget the season finale Kulshan (check out the Seattle Times article)! This event pushed boundaries and set new standards for what our athletes can achieve. It was a full series schedule like this we originally dreamed of when we started six years ago. It took longer than we expected (that pandemic really threw everyone for a loop), but here we are! We are already excited about the possibilities for next year.
The season was not only a series of events but a celebration of our shared love for the sport and the great outdoors. Together, we have more than just a racing series; we have a community.
Snoqualmie Summit Advocacy Update
Since we formed our 501c3 nonprofit three seasons ago, one of our core pillars became advocating for the inbound uphiller’s experience. Using the analogy of a climbing gym as the “entry” into backcountry climbing, ski resorts can be a soft entry into uphilling as tourers gain experience to take into the backcountry. It is also a great way to train for the races or even just a way to get some fitness laps in on hazardous touring days!
Primarily Skimo Northwest has concentrated on working with the Summit at Snoqualmie. This past season, there were significant improvements to the uphill routes, including the addition of the Mountaineer's Route at West, allowing for seamless tours from area to area. There’s a new Central uphill route in development hopefully to be released next fall. Despite a low snow year, we navigated potential issues effectively, ensuring minimal disruption to summit and uphilling activities. All Summit employees will be briefed on the developing Uphill Program at their fall refresher, which should standardize the response you get from employees as they see you headed up the hill. And overall, our advocacy has been recognized as helping increase visibility of our sport's community. Let’s give a big thanks to Rich Bennett, Travis Nesse, Seth Davis, and Ely Gerbin for leading the charge on making sure the uphiller’s voices are heard!
End of Season SnowGoat Survey
What would you like to see happen at your local ski resort? You can make your voice heard through our survey! To carry the momentum of the conversation forward, it would be greatly beneficial to hear all the ideas you might be harboring for resort uphill policies, Northwest skimo racing, or anything else on your mind. Please take our 3 minute survey!
Would you like to see the Uphill Policy change at your local ski area?
Besides operating the races, we view the ski area advocacy as the most important issue facing our community. I’m sure you understand how the community of uphiller’s is growing at a faster rate than ever before. These years will be very formative in how ski areas develop their ways of integrating a new user group into their programming and operations.
Here is where you come in. We would like to expand Skimo Northwest’s advocacy to other Northwest ski areas besides Snoqualmie. If you are a passionate uphiller who wants to see change happen, we would love to work with you to see what we can do to make that happen. Crystal Mountain or Stevens Pass would have the largest impact, but any regional resort we believe would benefit from the conversation. Check out more information on how you can help in that role or any others we have open for 2025 below:
Open Positions:
Skimo Northwest Board of Directors: Lead strategic guidance for premier events, sport advocacy, and youth development. Seeking Board Officers with a finance background for a 3-year volunteer term, 4 hr/month commitment.
Stevens Pass or Crystal Mountain Advocacy Chair: Advocate for uphill travel policies at local ski areas, expanding advocacy beyond Summit of Snoqualmie. Volunteer, 4 hr/month commitment.
Race Operations Deputy: Assist in critical roles like course setup and communication at skimo races. Volunteer, commitment to 3 races.
Youth Development Chair and/or Coach: Gauge interest in starting a PNW skimo team, with a paid coaching position available. Time commitment is 20 hr/month.
New Skimo Race Coordinator: Start a skimo race at your local mountain with support from Skimo Northwest. Potentially paid, commitment varies.
