An ER nurse and a guy who'd never hit a box.

The first rider

Jimmy Rivas — RN, 37, Chicago

An emergency-room nurse with a demanding job and limited days on snow, who has now been to camp twice. He was not a beginner. He wanted his riding to actually move.

“I was able to progress my riding, and at the same time, I felt safe because I knew I had great coaches I could trust. Morning exercises on the mountain and video feedback were super valuable… Riding Mount Hood in the summer, meeting new friends, seeing old friends, watching pros ride, and getting coached by the best is super special.”

Jimmy Rivas · RN, 37, Chicago

Two-time camper

WHAT HE NAMED

Feeling safe enough to progress

“I felt safe because I knew I had great coaches I could trust.” Safety came first; progression followed it.

WHAT HE VALUED

Video and morning exercises

He picked out the two mechanical parts of the week unprompted — not the parties, not the scenery.

WHAT HE DID

Came back

Two-time camper. In this category that is the only retention metric that means anything.

The second rider

Chris Rosa — camper, 2023

First season on a snowboard. No park experience. Arrived convinced he would be the one holding the group up — which is the exact fear that stops most adults ever booking anything.

“I was nervous about it being my first year snowboarding and possibly holding people back since I didn’t have a lot of park experience, but the coaches were great at breaking things down into stages for me to try and build my confidence and progress at a pace I was comfortable with. My riding improved so much.”

Chris Rosa

Camper, 2023 — first season on a snowboard

WHAT HE FEARED

Holding people back

“Possibly holding people back since I didn’t have a lot of park experience.” Said out loud, by the person who felt it.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED

Broken into stages

“Great at breaking things down into stages for me to try and build my confidence.” That is the coaching method, described by a customer.

THE OUTCOME

“My riding improved so much”

From a rider in his first ever season, at a camp he nearly did not book.

The same week

Two starting points, one structure

This is the argument for a four-to-one ratio in a single sentence: the identical week served a two-time returning camper and a total park beginner, because neither of them was in a group of thirty.

STAGE 01

Soft snow

Summer glacier corn is the most forgiving surface in snowboarding. Falling stops hurting, so your body stops bracing.

STAGE 02

Small group

Four campers per coach. Your coach knows your name, your leak and your goal by Monday lunch.

STAGE 03

Airbag reps

Timberline's airbag lets you try the scary version twenty times with no landing consequence.

STAGE 04

Night video

Every evening we put your footage on the screen and find the one thing to change tomorrow.

STAGE 05

Next morning

You wake up and do it again — 7 days back to back. That repetition is the part winter can never give you.

Where you fit

Somewhere between them, probably

You’ll fit if

You can link connected S-turns on both edges.
You are 21 or over.
You want to be coached properly rather than entertained.
You are somewhere between ‘never hit a box’ and ‘want my first 360’.

You won’t if

You have never stood on a snowboard.
You are an advanced rider after double corks.
You want the big Mt. Hood party week.
You want to be told you are already good.

Sessions

Two weeks, summer 2027

Exact calendar dates are confirmed with Timberline each spring and announced to deposit holders first. Both sessions run Monday through Sunday between June 20 and July 30, 2027.

SUN DAY

The Sunday Guarantee

Ride all seven days. If by Sunday afternoon you cannot do something on a snowboard that you could not do on Monday morning — something you name yourself on day one, in writing — we refund your coaching in full. You keep the video, the drills and the week. We have never had to write that cheque, and we are not nervous about it.

Questions

The ones Chris had

Am I good enough?

If you can link connected S-turns on both your heel and toe edge, you are good enough. That is the only requirement. You do not need any park experience — Chris Rosa arrived having never hit a box and it was his first season on a snowboard. What you should not be is a total first-timer who has never stood on a board; a glacier at 8,500ft is not the place for day one.

Am I too old?

Our camp is 21 and over by design — there are no teenagers in your group. Adult campers across Mt. Hood routinely run from mid-twenties to their sixties. The person you are picturing who will judge you is not there. They are at a different camp, and they are 16.

How is there snow in July?

Timberline sits on the Palmer Glacier at about 8,500 feet, and it is the longest ski season in North America. The Freestyle Training Center is built fresh on the glacier every summer — jump lines, rails, boxes, a halfpipe and an airbag. You ride in the morning when the snow is perfect and you are done by early afternoon.

What if I get hurt?

Summer glacier snow is soft, the jumps are progressive, and the airbag means you can try the frightening version of a trick without a landing. That combination is precisely why we run the camp in summer rather than in February on hard snow. We coach progressions, not dares — nobody is pushed into a feature they have not built up to.

What is actually included?

All-Inclusive covers lodging in Government Camp at the base of the mountain, coaching every day, lift access, and nightly video analysis. Coaching Only covers the on-hill coaching, lift access and video — you arrange your own bed. Flights, dinners out and rental gear are not included.

What if my dates change?

Deposits move once to the other session at no cost, subject to space. Full transfer and refund terms are on the checkout page before you pay anything — nothing is hidden until after your card is charged.

A 37-year-old nurse,
and a guy who’d never hit a box.