7. Gus Kenworthy took silver medal in slopestyle skiing and won over the media with his decision to adopt five cute Russian puppies. Gus is another Nike-sponsored athlete who knows his way around Mount Hood, and he was one of the lunatics involved in Nike’s “fly-over-the-chairlifts-and-try-not-to-kill-yourself” video shot at Skibowl last spring. 

8. Andrew Weibrecht came through in the clutch once again to win his second Olympic medal in Russia, an amazing accomplishment for a racer who has never had much success in World Cup competition. A native of Lake Placid, New York, Weibrecht coaches a summer racing camp on Mount Hood with Ted Ligety.

9. David Wise, another former Windells camper, took the gold in the Olympic debut of halfpipe skiing.

10. Halfpipe snowboarding gold medalist Kaitlyn Farrington also attended multiple summer sessions at Windells Camp when she was a kid, and later returned as a visiting athlete to inspire campers. She has trained at the 22-foot halfpipe run by High Cascade Snowboard Camp at Timberline, and her first big halfpipe win was at Mount Hood Meadows in February 2008.

11. 20-year-old halfpipe skiing gold medalist Maddie Bowman is also a former Windells camper.

12. The narrative takes a plot twist with Mt. Hood Meadows-raised snowboarder Vic Wild of White Salmon, Washington. Wild was the most successful Hood-trained athlete of all in Sochi, with two gold medals in snowboard racing. Except he won them both for Russia after the U.S. team failed to give him the support he needed to train for the Olympics.

13. Honorable mention goes to Jackie Wiles, who finished far off the podium in 26th place in the women’s downhill, but did well to compete at that elite level at the age of 21. Jackie Wiles didn’t just pass through Mount Hood for summer training; she was born and raised in Oregon and grew up racing at Cooper Spur, Meadows, Skibowl and Timberline. Her Olympic performance in Sochi was hardly a show-stopper, but 21 is very young for a speed specialist. Jackie will have four years to gain strength, confidence and experience for the next Winter Olympics, in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Last modified: February 24, 2014