Winters in Oregon feature scenic views of snow-covered mountains beckoning skiers and snow boarders to the slopes. Mount Hood — the closest, just two and half hours from Portland — has been a skiing destination spot for UP students from likely before the campus Ski Club was formed in 1939. The club still going strong today, paired with snowboarding; included among a long list of sports clubs from Student Activities.
And once upon a time UP had a Ski Team (1946 to mid-1950s) which engaged in intercollegiate competition against colleges and universities in the West and Canada. Pilot skiers competed on Mount Hood and locations such as Donner Summit in CA; Yosemite; Banff in Canada. During their short run, the Ski Team had successes each year– 1947 in the Giant Slalom Race – Pilots took 5 of the first 10 places; 1948, 1st and 5th place individual at Yosemite; 1949, a 1st in Giant Slalom; 1949, 3rd team overall against University of California, Stanford, and University of Oregon; 1950, 1st place in the Pacific Northwest Ski Association meet; advancing in 1951 a 5th place finish at the National Intercollegiate Ski Championship; and in 1954, 1st place again locally at the Oregon Intercollegiate Memorial Ski Championships.
The Rec Sports sends out a weekend Ski Bus during the season, and continues to offer rental equipment for recreational opportunities for students on a continuing basis, not just during the rare campus closure and even rarer twelve-inch snowfall.
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Very interesting. I had no idea! Nicely done!