Summer campers at Windells and High Cascade on Mount Hood will have access to all sorts of jumps, rails and training stations including a new dryland training facility with a 14-by-14-foot trampoline next to a 60-by-60-foot bag jump and a resurfaced launch ramp.

“We’re really excited to have a good training zone where people can learn and progress at their own level and then take their skills into the Concrete Jungle skate park or up to the on-hill terrain park,” says Windells brand manager Nick Visconti.

The facility is called The Lab, and it is located at Windells Action Sports Camp west of Sandy, between Portland and Mount Hood. The new trampoline is designed to simulate the launch rate and air time of a medium-sized jump on the mountain, and it will be shared by campers from Windells and High Cascade Snowboard Camp as a result of the recent merger between two summer snow camps that were competitors for years. Campers from High Cascade and Windells will also share access to the Concrete Jungle Skate Park at Windells and the 22-foot Superpipe and Lap Park up at Timberline on Mount Hood, among other on- and off-hill amenities.

High Cascade and Windells are both planning for full summers with six week-long camp sessions through August 12. It has been an extreme low-snow year on the lower mountain but up around 7500 feet where most of the summer action takes place the snow base has held up relatively well, with help from several April snowstorms and a strategic snow-farming operation at Timberline.

The freestyle terrain on the upper mountain is manicured by Timberline groomer Caleb Hamilton and Destoy Terrain Parks, who use Google Earth and CAD technology to design the best parks possible as the snow melts during summer. Campers will be able to sample the rails and berms and jumps on the east side of the Palmer Snowfield, along with legendary freeskiers such as “Crazy Karl” Fostvedt and snowboarders like Scotty Vine and Kelly Clark.

“We are at the epicenter of the skiing and snowboarding industry for three months out of the year, so we welcome all sorts of pros for campers to interact with,” says Visconti.

There will also be several “team takeovers” this summer at Windells, including a session by the pros who ski for ON3P Skis, a fast-growing ski company based in Portland.

Visconti says registration numbers have been coming in steadily, but there is still room for late-comers to sign up for camp. Prices and dates are here for Windells and here for High Cascade.

Last modified: May 15, 2015