Youth in the outdoors

One initiative from the Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation District (HRVPRD) is the Middle School Ski and Snowboard Bus Program, which brings local students of all skill levels up to Mt. Hood Meadows to ski or snowboard one night a week over a span of six weeks.

“This is specifically built for Hood River County School District families …we work with the schools to recruit kids that want to be part of the program,” said Jamie Rivera, recreation supervisor at HRVPRD.

Gear and equipment are donated, transportation is provided and coaches along with volunteers supervise the slopes. Each fall, a fundraiser also helps support the initiative — last year, Rivera stated around $5,000 was raised. 

“For us, it’s about breaking down those barriers …One way or another, we make it happen,” Rivera said, adding they often work with low-income students that might not have the opportunity otherwise.

Residents of the parks district, which encompasses the Hood River Valley, also receive discounted rates or financial assistance for youth activities.

Rivera noted the program, as well as any outdoor recreation, supports both the physical and mental health of participants while building community, “There’s socializing and relationships and friendships that are forged and strengthened through that.”

 Rivera said that he did not grow up on the slopes and first learned to ride through a school program in middle school, which later led to a high school job at Mt. Hood Meadows for him. He hopes this program can create a lifelong love for the students to be up at the mountains as well.

“There’s still kids in the community that grew up like me, where it wasn’t even a thought to go skiing on a weekend or to go up to the mountain,” Rivera said. “That’s the motivating part is that it takes work to make that happen …We get to come to work every day and try to find a solution to that.”