Monday, July 16

The World According to Preston

By Preston Strout

I have the best job in the world: Camp counselor at High Cascade Snowboard Camp. I am almost completely detached from real life, living in a world of make believe. I have no idea what today’s date is. I have no idea what is going on in the news. Hell I don’t even know what day of the week it is. I snowboard everyday, I haven’t cooked for myself or cleaned any dishes in over a month and happy children surround me. I might not be rich and my portfolio sucks, but the closest I get to a cubicle is when I take a dump in the Timberline Lodge every morning.

For those of you who don’t know, High Cascade Snowboard Camp is located in Government Camp, OR at the base of Mt. Hood. Mt. Hood, for some reason, has snow during the summer. Consequently, 150-200 campers come here every session to take advantage of this natural phenomenon. On the off days the town of Government Camp is a desolate ghost town. With the exception of a stray dog or two, the streets are empty. Once camp is in session Govy becomes a hustling, bustling mini-metropolitan of snowboarding humanoids. Everyone from the first timer to the seasoned pro can be seen wandering around town.

Campers at High Cascade read the educational material to improve their snowboarding.

When you think of Mt. Hood, chances are that you think of the snowboarding. You think about the magical infantry of hard working diggers build and maintain a pipe and park. You also think of the team of coaches that can teach you practically anything you are willing to learn. What most of you don’t think of, however, is the time spent off hill. These moments, which fill in the gaps between riding, are what round off the camp experience. It is here where I work. I am an alarm clock, a mom, a dad, a teacher, a babysitter, a bus driver, a friend, and a janitor all wrapped into one. I wake campers up in the morning and I tuck them into bed at night. In between these two events I have more fun than one could imagine. Each ten-day session my roommate and I look after 15 campers. They bring to our chalet a contagious sense of enthusiasm and excitement, which makes each session amazing.

Snowboarding all day can make you dirty. When a camper refuses to bathe, they get "washed."

The time spent off the hill here at camp is great: soccer, trips to Dairy Queen, skateboarding, rafting, paintball, screen printing, fishing, wakeboarding, trampolines, dodge ball, foursquare, Japanese lessons, mountain biking, yoga, bowling, rock climbing, and too many other activites to name are all very fun. The dynamics of 15 teenage personalities living under one roof for 10 days makes just hanging out at night, however, even more fun. The time spent from curfew till lights out is hilarious. Whether we are just sitting around swapping stories, waxing our boards or entertaining ourselves with push-up contests, something funny constantly occurs. Granted things aren’t all fun and games. For instance, I can think of plenty of things better than walking into a room full of fifteen boys after burrito night. Cleaning and plunging toilets gets pretty gnarly at times too. Thankfully you can get a camper to do just about anything for stickers.

Campers will do anything for stickers.

The campers that come through this place are so incredible and talented in so many ways. I never ceased to be amazed at how intelligent and creative each camper is. Their carefree way of looking at the world time and again reminds me of what is important in life. Normal everyday problems just don’t exist here. Campers don’t care what the Dow Jones is. They’d rather sit around and argue over how old Kevin Jones is. I’ve never once heard campers debating about politics, only which look cooler, JP Walker’s or Peter Line’s tricks. Campers know something many of us have forgotten. Life should be fun and spent doing something you love. Not worrying about the nonsense that bombards us from the “real world”. I’d like to thank all of my campers who have stayed with me thus far. You guys rule.