Mountain bike team on their Whistler trip in August.

A Letter from the head of school

The summer of 2023 was very pleasant. With all of the stories of heat waves around the world we enjoyed sunny days in the mid 70's from May through August. We all had the opportunity to get out & make the most of the amazing beauty of the Pacific Northwest on the mountains, lakes & beaches seven days a week. We had four of our students asked to represent their countries in the Junior World Championships in New Zealand later this month & we wish them all the best of luck. Everyone pushed their trick repertoire in the FTC at Timberline with several students putting down double cork 1440's to get ready for the busy competition season to come. Our mountain bikers got down to Mexico & up to Whistler to stack up their skills against the best in the world in addition to finding new students who will be joining us this fall. For the first time in the history of the Academy we have programs where there are no seats left in the vans. We have brought on new coaches, new cooks, new teachers & new residential staff who went through an exhaustive interview process to join our team so we look forward to the best year ever!

Mike Hanley
Head of School

Meet New Office Admin, Sabina Williams
Hello! I am the new office administrator. I've lived in Utah for the past 5 years, spending winter in Salt Lake City skiing and going to school (but mostly skiing) and summer in Moab river guiding. When I'm not on the mountain or river, I really enjoy climbing and mountain biking. I'm excited to be here at Wy'East!

New office administrator Sabina Williams

ACADEMICS

It’s been a lovely summer here on campus. And while our academic pace slows down a bit, the students have worked diligently to keep the vibe up. It’s been wonderful to see how a lightened load, some extra recreation, and plenty of good sleep has benefited our Summer Academy students. Friendships have blossomed this summer, and we welcomed diverse perspectives into the group as we were joined by former students, graduates from the class of 2023, and athletes from other programs and countries into our cohort. The students have willingly participated in a soft-launch of upcoming changes to our academic program and provided valuable feedback that will aid our team greatly as we prepare for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year. Watch your inbox later this week for our Fall Welcome Letter which will include a supply list, important dates, and policy updates for this school year. See you in September!

Hannah Eagle
Lead Teacher

Meet New Teacher, Jeremy Jones
I have always loved tall evergreens. The only problem is that I grew up in Dallas, Texas where it's pretty much exclusively deciduous trees and nothing grows taller than 100 feet. So when the time was right, my wife, son and I moved to Portland in 2009. It still feels a little bit like being on vacation! After our son went off to college in Michigan this Fall, my wife and I moved out to the Hoodland area just a few miles from Wy'East and after a couple of serendipitous minor miracles, I landed my dream job of being in the woods, around young people excited to live life fully, with colleagues who care deeply about the flourishing of all of these wonderful kids. It's truly a pleasure and honor to support the intellectual life of your child through a prism of dignity, hope, and agency.

STUDENT LIFE

Olivia Espenschied bungee jumping for a weekend activity.

Dear Wy’East Academy Families,

As the sun sets on another incredible summer, we want to take a moment to reflect on the whirlwind of excitement, learning, and growth that students experienced during their time with us this past month. From heart-pounding activities to serene nature escapes, this past month has been nothing short of extraordinary. Our weekends were a rollercoaster of emotions and adrenaline as students embraced adventure like never before. From the heart-stopping bungee jumping to the exhilarating white-water rafting trip, the fearless cliff jumping to mastering the art of wakeboarding, and the pure joy of tubing on the glistening waters of Lake Billy Chinook – students embraced every challenge with determination and courage. Amidst the pulse-pounding activities, we ensured that students had the chance to connect with the natural world around them. Our hiking excursions led them to hidden treasures of the local landscape, while the peaceful Trillium Lake evenings allowed them to reflect and rejuvenate in the company of their newfound friends. Our staff's dedication to making every moment memorable extended to the dining table, where they prepared daily delicious breakfasts to fuel the day's adventures, whether it was on hill training or weekend activities. Time on campus was filled with dodgeball matches with campers and trampoline sessions which fostered camaraderie and a healthy, active lifestyle. We are immensely grateful for the trust you placed in us to provide a safe and enriching environment for your students. Witnessing their growth, resilience, and the genuine friendships formed has been an honor for our dedicated staff. As the Summer Academy comes to a close, know that the memories made here will continue to inspire and shape your students' lives. We hope they return home with a sense of accomplishment, newfound confidence, and a passion for adventure that will stay with them forever.

Thank you for being a part of this remarkable journey. We can't wait to see everyone in September for the start of Fall Term.

Warm regards,
Barbara Edwards

CULINARY

Greetings from the Culinary Department-

This past Summer was a busy one for us. Before we get into summer, I would like to send out a BIG shout out to the PTO and Parents that helped out with this year’s Graduation. It was a special evening for the Graduating Seniors.

Now let's dive into summer time for the Culinary Department. In the beginning of June, we had the pleasure of providing food to a group of Skaters from all over the world. It was nice to have them use our campus as their backdrop. The Culinary Department also did a late evening plated dinner for them on one of the evenings. While this event was going on, we hosted our first wedding on campus. It was a small intimate wedding party of 30. The Bride and Groom were happy about everything. Then, the Culinary Department was off working on Camps. Every week we would have a different group of campers come through the cafe and enjoy the food that we provided. During the first three sessions, I would do a private three course dinner for the Adult campers and guest Pro’s that was held in the Clampland area.

Coming into the new school year, the Culinary Team is retaining two employees that we hired for summer time. First, we have Ace, who will be working the morning shift cooking up the eggs and lunches for the student athletes. He grew up in the San Diego area and has been living in Oregon for a while now. He will be a great addition to the team. Then, we have another Weller on campus! Ethan Weller, nephew of Jamie Weller has joined the Culinary team and has made a big impact for us. He will be working the dinner shift.

With the upcoming school year, the Culinary Team will be making some tweaks to the menus. One big change is that at lunch, we are going to provide a better nutritional hot lunch for the student athletes. As well as, we will have flavored water out all time. You will have to wait and see what else is on the horizon from the Culinary Department!

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you all in a month!!

Travis Gibson
Culinary Director

FREESKI

New assistant ski coach Shannon VanDerwerken

This Summer was one for the books on the Freeski Team. We started our days with a well rounded, healthy breakfast in government camp accompanied with completing the daily Wordle, packing a lunch and then making our way up the Volcano. Each morning in the lodge we would run a group stretch session and talk about the daily plan to progress before we hopped on the lift up to the Freestyle Training Center (FTC).

The FTC had three parks with something for everyone this year from beginner style jumps and rails to a jump suitable for larger double rotations and everything in between. Our freeski coaches would work together or often divide and conquer to be in place for all the athletes to progress throughout the three parks in the FTC. The combination of the FTC and your student athletes willingness to put the work in, we can honestly say that everyone finished their stay with us this summer having learned a ton and polished their skills in preparation for the season ahead!

We are starting to look forward to the upcoming semester and we will be sending a welcome letter with the latest on the 23/24 school year! We can’t thank you enough for entrusting us with your student athlete, and helping us create a summer for the books!

All the best,

Topher & Brian

Meet New Coach, Shannon VanDerwerken
Hello! I am from Aspen, Colorado. I've been coaching freeski for 10 years and mountain biking for 5 years. I'm very excited to be part of Wy'East and work with these talented athletes. I look forward to meeting everyone.

SNOWBOARD

Greetings Snowboard Families!

With the start of Fall semester quickly approaching, I’d like to outline a few exciting plans that the program will be doing. Time always seems to fly by once we get rolling so don’t be surprised when December sneaks up on you and it’s time for the holidays. The first few weeks of the semester will be spent building campus wide dynamics between all the students, regardless of sport so that we continue to work together as the tight knit community we are. We have our Week of Welcome, then moving into our trial period where our program will narrow focus into A, B, and C sectors depending on objective & subjective criteria. We’ll be spending time with your athlete to create their Quad Plans, season goals, contest map, and travel schedule. The trial period will conclude after our team trip to Austria where we will be training both on snow and on world class Air Bags. More details about that specific trip will be coming down the pipeline so stay tuned.

The month of November will be spent sharpening the competitive mindset of each athlete, identifying and working on areas of weakness to build progression, and strength and conditioning to allow for a full winter season of healthy riding. On average, our typical Monday - Friday training plans are designed around spending two and a half hours each day on the dry slope facilities and trampolines, 45 minutes of strength and conditioning, and 45 minutes of cross training to accomplish those goals. We like to mix in days off campus to experience what Oregon has to offer and break up the routine with surf days, skate days, and hikes.

We’ll be doing a Pre-Competition Camp in early December before the semester ends to spend 6 days on snow preparing for the events to come starting in January. The objective here is to continue the progress made in Austria while dialing in top-to-bottom runs with features that each athlete will expect to see in either Future Tours, Rev Tours, Nor-ams, and beyond. The location of this camp is TBD and we’ll make that decision in November. We are all excited to get this season underway and thank you all for the support as we work to change the lives of these young athletes.

Cheers!

-Brandon, Stewart, & Alec

Meet New Coach, Alec Young
Hello! My name is Alec, and I am one of the assistant snowboard coaches for Wy'East Academy. I'm 23 years old, have been snowboarding for 13 seasons, and was a competitive snowboarder in boardercross, slalom, and giant slalom for 10 seasons, and have coached both privately and for a competitive team over the past 5 years. I look forward to getting to know and work with all of the athletes at Wy'East.

MOUNTAIN BIKE

Students mountain biking in Whistler in August

Our MTB program headed up to Whistler BC, Canada for the month of August for 2 training camps that focused on rider progression on and off the bike. While up there, we were able to ride the famous bike park 5 days a week, and also local spots around the area that are great for mtb skill building. Riding was not the only thing we focused on while up there. We also taught the kids how to work on their own bikes, talked with pros and bike shop owners, went on hikes, and made many team building memories. All and all, our Whistler training camps were a huge success, and I couldn’t be more stoked to get into the school year.

Asa Howe

Meet New Coach, Alex Bolio
Hello! I'm Alejandro. If I need to present myself with 3 words, they would be values, passion, and progress.The reason I'm here is to help people to believe in their dreams and show them that with hard work and a plan, everything is possible. I'm excited to be a part of Wy'East.

New assistant snowboard coach Alejandro Bolio

SKATEBOARD

Hey Families,

I hope everyone is having a great summer back home. This summer has been non stop for skateboarding on campus. It has been amazing to get warm sunny weather and lots of new faces on campus all summer long. We just wrapped up the Northwest Open on campus which was a massive undertaking and I’m very thankful to everyone who helped with it. Despite smokey skies from a nearby fire we saw at least 1,000 people on campus Friday-Sunday. Friday was the Pro Invitational contest in the jungle with competitors like Louie Lopez, Jake Yanko, Silas Baxter-Neal, Sebo Walker, Elijah Akerley, and Simon Bannerot. Friday ended with a best trick contest on a 35 foot rail going down the hill in front of the bowl into the jungle. Academy student Tag walked away with some cash from the best trick contest getting a feeble and a smith down it. Saturday and Sunday were our public competition days where we ran 4 jams each day handing out $1,000 cash in each jam. Saturday ended with a Pro only jam on a giant repurposed snowboard feature at the bottom of the asphalt hill. I will attach the recap videos and write up to future newsletters when they are finished. In the meantime if you want to see what the event was like please check out the Seek Skate Camp and Tactics Instagram accounts.

A couple notes on fall. The first phase of our new street plaza is completed and located down by the dodgeball court. This first phase is a simple design focusing on flat ground, rails, and ledges. The students this year will help me with planning out and designing the second phase of the park. We will focus on utilizing the PNW and all it has to offer while the weather remains nice and our first trip will be mid Oct to San Francisco.

I am looking forward to the start of the fall semester here in just a few days!

Brian Johnson