In December, Portland faced its second warmest temperatures in history with an average of 46.1° Fahrenheit (F). In comparison, Portland’s December temperatures in 2022 were nine degrees colder.
On the weekend of Jan. 13, snow levels accumulated up to four feet in Mt. Hood, a condition not suitable for skiing. Skis or snowboards can be caught in the snow, causing a hard fall.
Junior Alex Klinkhammer, a first year on the snowboard team, notices that the weather has been inconsistent and not capitalizing on snow days may be a risk for the whole season.
“I think we should’ve persevered and gotten through that snow,” said Klinkhammer. “This is going to be the peak of the snow and in a month or two, we’re going to be snowboarding on a [flat] ground.”
The ski team has recently implemented drylands in order to replace the missed practices. Drylands are important for team building in the absence of practices at Mt. Hood.
Junior on the ski team, Obie Mclemore, joined this year with past skiing experience. Dryland training has also made acclimating himself to the team far easier.
“Dryland training [helps] form a community and make a bond between everyone,” said Mclemore. “I’ve gone up a couple times without the team; you can always go up on your own, practice your basics and fundamentals.”
During the week of Jan. 15, Portland had roughly eight inches of snow that quickly froze into ice, causing another roadblock for the teams.
Senior and one of the ski team captains, Peri Rosenfield, is going on her second year on the team, but she has been skiing since she was three years old. The discrepancies in the weather has posed a challenge for the team.
“We didn’t have dryland on Tuesday or Thursday like usual [due to the ice],” said Rosenfield. “We had practice Saturday, but I couldn’t go because I wasn’t able to get out of my house.”
The team still aims to achieve highly this year in districts and state.
“We are still trying to get up as much as possible and we are continuing our training regularly,” said Rosenfield. “The captains and I have made efforts to talk to everyone new and get everyone comfortable.”
