Windells Session 1

Words by Riley Snyder
Photos by Darcy Bacha, Erik Hoffman & Riley Snyder

Some of you may have heard, some may have not, but Windells Camp is officially back in session for summer 2011! Windells is a year-round facility that houses not only skiing but snowboarding, skateboarding and BMX as well. Hidden in Welches, Oregon is the Windells campus, which is home to some of the best action sports facilities in the Northwest and maybe even the continent. The Building Out Back (aka BOB) has an indoor skate park along with two Olympic fly bed trampolines into a foam pit, where you can practice aerial awareness or just get down on some ramps. The skate park is one of the best in the world, and many professional skate teams come to session the insane features that are all over the campus. And when it comes to snow sports, campers are not limited to skiing just on-hill, as Windells also offers on-campus dry slopes with a Bag Jump and rail line to perfect what you learned on the mountain. Combine all that with numerous amounts of activities with all sorts of giveaways, and there’s only one question you should be asking yourself…have you booked your session at "The Funnest Place on Earth" yet?

Diggers hard at work building some new rails for this summer. Photo by Erik Hoffman

New head digger Chase Weaver taking some laps to make sure everything is in perfect condition. Photo by Riley Snyder

The park this year has some changes based on camper feedback to make it the best park at Windells to date! Chase and his crew of diggers have been killing it by building some great progression features as well as the big ones that you see in all the edits and photos. In short, there’s something for everyone!

Clayton Vila with a stylish late 180 over the wall. Photo by Darcy Bacha

A snowboarder with a back lipslide on the down c-rail. Photo by Erik Hoffman

Windells Academy student Nick Goepper sessions a jump while Clayton Villa watches from the rope tow. Photo by Darcy Bacha

The Windells Academy is just like Windells, but runs year round with school involved, making it quite the program. For more info be sure to check out windellsacademy.com.

Coach John Ware Hitting the Neff wall ride. Photo by Riley Snyder

Coach Steve Stepp hanging out with some campers at the top of the triple line. Photo by Riley Snyder

West owners Alex and Brian checking out the Digger Dog situation on the hill. Photo by Erik Hoffman

Coach Ben Moxam chowing down on some Digger Dogs during lunch. Photo by Riley Snyder

A camper mentally preparing for the jump line on the rope tow. Photo by Darcy Bacha

Coach and Line MC Andy Parry getting blunted on the triple line overlooking the seven public park jumps. Photo by Riley Snyder

Learning your first backflips on a jump built by the Traveling Circus crew is a common occurrence for campers at Windells. Photo by Riley Snyder

Rebecca Black enthusiast Will Wesson having a little too much fun on the Nike 6.0 tube. Photo by Riley Snyder

A camper getting high above the clouds with a sick flatspin 360. Photo by Riley Snyder

Every day at high noon the park shuts down for some maintenance on all the features, giving the campers the opportunity to eat their lunches or even pick up some Digger Dogs, such as the recently updated "Double Cork Combo", which reflects the progression of skiing and snowboarding.

Windells Marketing Coordinator Marsha Hovey leads a quick, spontaneous lunchtime yoga session on hill. Photo by Erik Hoffman

Backflips to switch-on wall rides are a ski in the park for Ben Moxam. Photo by Darcy Bacha

Interviews! Photo by Riley Snyder

After the campers get back from the hill, the fun is nowhere near over, as the skate park is there to allow people to work on their skating skills or just mess around.

The Life Blood skate team came to Windells last week and destroyed the campus skate park. Photo by Erik Hoffman

Photo by Erik Hoffman

The Concrete Jungle is one of the best parks out there. Photo by Erik Hoffman

Skate coach Ian Neil crails the gap. Photo by Erik Hoffman

If skating is not your thing then there are numerous other activities where stickers and free product are given out. All of the events are really fun to partake in, so why not do it...because who doesn't love free stuff?

Kids get really excited over free product. Photo by Erik Hoffman

Head Counselor Johnny Tsunami filling up a camper’s mouth with some delicious whipped cream before the "Pie Your Counselor" activity. Photo by Erik Hoffman

"Pie Your Counselor" is a classic around camp. Krista gets pied by a crazed camper. Photo by Darcy Bacha

Last year there was an event called "The Dizzy Bat Wiggle Stick Race", so this year, Mr. Tim Windell himself teamed up with Line Skis to bring you "The Wiggle n’ Shake Race". Ever heard of a Shake Weight?

Counselor Cody Lee coaching on the proper technique of "shake weighting". Photo by Riley Snyder

Improper form leads to falling. Photo by Riley Snyder

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! Photo by Riley Snyder

STOKED! Photo by Riley Snyder

Shaking and Wiggling is not Andy Parry’s forte. Photo by Riley Snyder

As always, product was tossed from a high point to the crowd below, and last week the high point happened to be none other than the Line Traveling Circus van. After the product was distributed, some campers got a tour of the van as seen in their webisodes.

Product tosses get WILD. Photo by Riley Snyder

Will Wesson handing out some swag after giving a tour of the Traveling Circus van. Photo by Riley Snyder

Campers stoked on the Traveling Circus van coming into camp. Photo by Riley Snyder

And what would summer camp be without some dodgeball? That’s why Windells has developed "Zombie Dodgeball", which is arguably the most fun game at "The Funnest Place on Earth!"

"Zombie Dodgeball" is a favorite among everyone at camp. Photo by Erik Hoffman

Who's ready for Session 2?