The wind is howling in your ears as you carve your skis into the soft powder of Stevens Pass. The energy is exhilarating as you speed down the slopes, ready for another day in the winter of the Washington mountain ranges, and the foreshadowed overcast of flurries.

For some, skiing and snowboarding are just another winter activity, an experience to reflect on and return to once or twice a year. But for many students at Shorewood, it’s their community, their passion; their life.

Freshman Oliver Cunningham is no novice when it comes to the sport of skiing. Cunningham began skiing at the age of two, with his family frequenting Washington resorts throughout the season. “Skiing is my favorite thing,” said Cunningham. “It’s such a short season, it’s just those four to five months you can ski, and it’s something that I really look forward to.”

Although he began on the well-groomed slopes of his regular resorts, Cunningham now enjoys his season by exploring other parts of the courses, specifically the terrain parks. Park skiing, or ‘park’, is a freestyle form of skiing performed within terrain parks on the mountain, allowing skiers to hit various jumps, rails, and features.

“On bad days, we would just hit the jumps… and then I met people who were like super park rats, and I skied with them more and got more into park,” said Cunningham. This introduction sparked an interest in competitions.

Within the terrain park, many resorts hold Rail Jams, in which athletes engage in freestyle competition and are judged based on their performance on the features.

“People as a collective decide who wins, which creates a really positive, fun vibe and environment,” he said.

Cunningham’s passion developed quickly, and followed suit with success, winning the two rail jams he participated in for his age group, and representing Mount Baker’s S rail in the annual SAM (Ski Area Management) Magazine issue of its terrain park contest, in which resorts all over the nation display their best park skiing features.

Through the simple introduction to new people on the mountain, Cunningham launched an infatuation with a new style of skiing, and from it, redefined his experience on the slopes.

Junior Sawyer Lunak finds himself experiencing the world of skiing in a different light: ski racing.

Ski racing is a competitive form of alpine skiing in which individuals race a downhill course, aiming to complete it in the shortest time possible. Lunak began racing in his early years of skiing, allowing him to not only improve his abilities, but to gain a community along the way.

Through his dedication to the sport, Lunak developed a tight-knit family with his teammates, experiencing lasting memories while perfecting his skills on the slopes.

“People on my team I’ve known since I was eight years old… since I was so young… that they’re like brothers and sisters to me,” he said.

For Lunak, the hobby he took up in his childhood has manifested as the cornerstone of his everyday life. He spends most of his days, winter, spring, or fall, up on the mountain training. “Skiing means everything to me. I cannot envision a world where I ski under thirty times a season,” he said. “I could never live a life without it.”

In a similar sense, senior Charlie McFarlane sees snowboarding as more than just a sport. “I feel like snowboarding to me is like a step back from everything,” he said. “I feel like there are a lot of things going on that are stressful, and when I go snowboarding, I forget about that and focus on the moment.”

Through his passion for the sport, McFarlane makes connections with his friends and family, exploring resorts across the Northwest, with some of his most notable being the Grad Targhee range of Wyoming and Washington’s local Mount Baker Ski Resort.

From his extensive time in the mountains, McFarlane immerses himself in the snowboarding communities of the slopes. From icy chairlift rides to the summit, to tailgating in the Stevens Pass lots, he develops connections with strangers over the simple amusement of a pastime.

“There’s a ton of community in snowboarding,” said McFarlane. “[Snowboarders are] very close to each other, even though they don’t know each other very well, just because they share that one common interest.”

Through his love for the community and sport, McFarlane continues to explore his interests and passions, meeting new people and relishing the sweet escape of his local mountains.

An introduction to skiing or snowboarding, whether through friends and family, as a hobby, or simply being inspired by a beautiful forecast in the mountains, can lead to a lifetime passion. Through dedication of time, commitment, and an avidity for the sport, students all around have forged communities, built relationships, and honed their skills, having a substantial impact on their everyday lives and creating lasting memories.