Words by Jeff Schmuck

It's official...summer camp season is here! Windells got the party started last week at Mount Hood, Oregon while Camp of Champions, Momentum, Dave Murray and PSI are kicking things off this weekend in beautiful Whistler, BC. Then a little later in the summer South American Snow Sessions and Evolve Chile will be holding it down for the Southern Hemisphere, while the brand new Camp Woodward at Copper Mountain, Colorado and the D-Splash water ramp camp in Le Relais, Quebec will be adding something a little different to mix.

The Horstman Glacier on Blackcomb. photo: Josh Bishop

NS has arrived in Whistler where I'll be bringing you all the action from the summer camps on Blackcomb, and we'll have periodic updates from Mount Hood courtesy of Josh Bishop and David Lesh, South America Snow Sessions from Garrett Russell, and D-Splash via the legends themselves, Phil Belanger and Eric Iberg. So since we're going to be your one stop shop to check out everything that's going down at camp this summer, we figured before things really kick into high gear we'd give you the low down on the nuts and bolts of a selection of the multitude of camps taking taking place over the next few months.

Tom Wallisch & Nick Martini at Windells. photo: Julie Weinberger

For those of you who've already signed up and are summer camp-bound, you've made the right choice. Get ready for the most fun-filled week ever! And for those of you who are still on the fence and are thinking about going, we can't stress this enough...seriously, seriously sign up. There are still spots available at all the camps and we guaren-damn-tee you'll have oodles of fun, learn a ton of new tricks from a ton of awesome coaches, make a quiver of new and life-long friends, and all in all have one of, if not THE best ski experience of your life.

photo: Jeff Schmuck

And if us saying that isn't enough for you, here's some highlights from each of the camps' programs this summer, including dates, pricing, coaches, off-hill activities and some words from the pros on why you should come to camp...

Dates

Camp A: June 20th - June 27th

Camp B: June 27th - July 4th

Camp C: July 4th - July 11th

Camp D: July 11th - July 18th

Pricing

Deluxe Package (includes accommodation): 8-day camp: $2,325 CDN/5-day camp: $1,215 CDN

Standard Package (no accommodation): 8-day camp: $2,175 CDN/5-day camp: $1,140 CDN

Go to http://www.campofchampions.com for more details on pricing and packages. Prices may vary per session.

COC Head Coach Matt Sterbenz

Coaches

Matt Sternbenz and the 4FRNT team, Joe Schuster, Matt Margetts, Sean Pettit, Jess Cumming, Anthony Bornowski, Cody Barnhill, and many more, plus guest coaches Sammy Carlson, Andy Mahre, and others.

The COC Dorm

The Compound

Activities

The other crown jewel of COC (next to their immaculate and world-renowned park) sits just outside the COC Dorm...The Compound: a 3,200 square foot tent which houses a 40-foot mini ramp for skateboarding and BMX'ing, X-Box's galore hooked up to multiple flatscreens with tons of games (including weekly Rock Band and Guitar Hero competitions), foosball and ping-pong tables, and some arcade-style vintage video games. Plus you can hit up their demo center for not just skis and snowboards, but mountain bikes as well, so you can head out and get your shred on at the absolutely insane Whistler mountain bike park or on the vast network of trails around town. All that, and there's weekley excursions to play paintball, mini-golf and much, much more. Check out http://www.campofchampions for more details.

COC's Ken Achenbach likes to man the grill at the end of session parties.

Joe Schuster with campers Keegan Agnew & Bobby Lieberman

"I'd would say most importantly Camp of Champions has the best park in the summer. I feel like it's as good as any park I would ski in the winter, and we've got a lot of different and cool coaches. We've also got some other things for after you get off the hill like the mini-ramp in the circus tent that the other camps don't provide, so I feel like our after-ski activities are better than a lot of other camps. But more than anything it's our park that really stands out, so if you're ready to shred hard...come to Camp of Champions." - Joe Schuster

Dates

Session 1: June 21st - 29th

Session 2: June 29th - July 7th

Session 3: July 7th - July 15th

Adult Mogul Session 5: July 18th - July 26th

Pricing

Full Package (includes accommodation): $2,180 CDN

Local Package (no accommodation): $1,580 CDN

Go to http://www.momentumskicamps.com for more info on pricing and packages. Prices may vary per session.

Dorey & Chug

Coaches

TJ Schiller, Ian Cosco, Justin Dorey, Mike Riddle, Peter Olenick, Colby James West, Sarah Burke, Kaya Turski, Roz Groenewoud, Josh Bibby, Dane Tudor, Matt Hayward, John Spriggs, Corey Vanular, JF Houle, Frank Raymond, Chris Turpin, Rory Bushfield, Iannick B, Dana Flahr, Tim Russell and more.

Momentum's plush accommodations at the Blackcomb Lodge in the heart of Whistler Village

the camper lounge

Activities

On top of having the most pimp accommodation of any camp in Whistler, Momentum has a slick camper lounge complete with X-Box and Playstation along with video review with your coaches, a trampoline just outside the hotel that the lovely Roz G oversees, and takes daily excursions to go either water ramping, mountain biking, skylining (so you can feel like Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell in Tango & Cash), wakeboarding on Whistler's numerous and beautiful lakes, plus paintball, volleyball, disc golf, and most infamous of all...the weekly end of session lake party where the most ridiculous and over the top contests imaginable for swag go down! Check out http://www.momentumskicamps.com for more details.

the always wild and wacky end of session parties take place at Lost Lake...

...just make sure you bring an iron stomach if you want to win free stuff!

TJ Schiller

"Momentum has the most skier-friendly lane with the most skier-friendly people. I'm pretty sure we have the most coaches, and they'll all bend over backyards to help you with whatever you need. It's a fun, friendly vibe and now that we've got High North's old lane we've got some pretty gnarly features in mind that will be set up there. Last year we had a 100-foot table to an 80-foot step up, and I'm not sure exactly what will be there this year but I'm sure it's going to be super righteous." - TJ Schiller

Dates

Session 1: June 6th - June 13th

Session 2: June 16th - June 23rd

Session 3: June 26th - July 3rd

Session 4: July 6th - July 13th

Session 5: July 16th - July 23rd

Session 6: July 26th - August 2nd

Session 7: August 5th - August 11th

Pricing

Overnight Camp (includes accommodation): $1,799 USD

Day Camp (no accommodation): $1,439 USD

Pro Camp (no accommodation/no coaching...just skiing the lane): $800 USD

Go to http://www.windells.com for more info on pricing and packages. Prices may vary per session.

Tom Wallisch. photo: Julie Weinberger

Coaches

Tom Wallisch, Matt Walker, Bobby Brown, Nick Martini, Mike Hornbeck, Tim Durtschi, Liam Downey, Ashley Battersby, Ben Moxham, Steve Stepp, Witt Foster, Collin Collins, Rory Silva and more.

one of the best parts of summer camp...scoring tons of free stuff! photo: Anna Borgman

BOB. photo: Ethan Stone

Paco Garcia on Windells' street course. photo: Felix Rioux

Activities

One word: BOB. BOB is Windells' 12,000 square foot indoor recreation facility of fun. It includes a quiver of ramps (including a 75-foot mini ramp along with a few full size ones) and a sick street course for skateboarding, BMX'ing and inline, plus a pimp trampoline, and an even more pimp foam pit. And that's not all...just outside of BOB in the midst of the Windells camp (which unsurpassably embodies the spirit and nostalgia of a true summer camp) is an outdoor street course and even more ramps. Other activities in and out of the camp include whitewater rafting, paintballing, basketball, foosball, dodgeball, mountain biking, bowling, go karts, sumo wrestling and sooo much more. Check out http://www.windells.com for a long list of other fun stuff that goes down.

photo: Ashley Barker

Dates

Session 1: July 17th - August 2nd

Session 2: August 1st - August 15th

Session 3: August 15th - August 29th

Session 4: August 29th - September 7th

Pricing

Camp Package (under 18): $4,000 USD

Camp Package (over 18): $3,200 USD

Go to http://www.sasnowsessions.com for more info on pricing and packages. Prices may vary per session.

photo: Ashley Barker

Coaches

Garrett Russell, Dash Longe, Mauri Cambilla, Nico Alba and a ton of guest pros such as Eric Pollard, Chris Benchetler, Pep Fujas and others.

SASS's accommodation in the summer. Imagine it all covered in snow, because remember...it's winter there right now!

Activities

South America Snow Sessions offers something a little different and more educational than the camps North of the Equator in their post-shredding activities. Off-hill, courses are offered on how to speak Spanish, and on the hill extremely helpful and informative backcountry safety courses take place regularly. Plus you can't beat the daily barbeques that go down under sunny skis that see more grills full of mouth watering Argentinean meat than you can shake a ski pole at. And in addition to all that, you can now earn credits for college while attending South American Snow Sessions...and that's hard to pass up. Check out http://www.sasnowsessions.com for more details.

Garrett Russell. photo: Ashley Barker

"South America Snow Sessions is an adventure in the Southern Hemisphere in a Spanish-speaking culture with amazing nightlife and amazing backcountry terrain. It's pretty much as ideal as it gets. It's based out of Bariloche, Argentina and we've got a mountain with 46 chairlifts, tons of people and tons of powder and fresh trees to be slayed. It's a great experience and I love going down there ever year and meeting new people and sharing the wonderful world of skiing. So whoever wants to join us, come on down!" - Garrett Russell

Dates

9-Day Camp (2 Days Santiago, 7 Days Portillo): July 24th - August 1st

13-Day Camp (3 Days Surfing, 8 Days Valle Nevado, 2 Days Santiago): August 1st - August 13th

3-Week Camp (Portillo, Valle Nevado, El Colorado, La Parva and Surfing): July 24th - August 13th

Pricing

9-Day Camp: $1,899 USD

13-Day Camp: $3,799 USD

3-Week Camp: $5,399 USD

Go to http://www.evolvechile.com for more info on pricing and packages.

Coaches

KC Deane, various Moment skis riders, and more.

Activities

Those that make the trek to Evolve Chile will not be disappointed, as on top of getting to shred deep pow at Valle Nevado, La Parva, El Colorado and Portillo, you'll get to indulge in an amazing and cultural South American experience which includes visits to several destinations within Chile, including Cerro de San Cristobal, Vinas del Mar, Val Paraiso, Mallsport, Renaca Beach, and bike tours of Santiago, the gorgeous capital city of Chile. Plus, the camps' accommodations include heated pools, basketball and volleyball courts, games rooms, lounges, and movie theatres. Check out http://www.evolvechile.com for more details on an experience that you'll surely never forget.

"If anyone is thinking about checking out summer camps this summer you should come down to South America. One of the great things about coming down to Chile is that it's actually winter down there so we're going to be riding a lot of pow, and there's a great park down there as well, so you can work on your tricks in the backcountry as well as the park. And the other great thing about going to Evolve Chile is that it's so diverse down there. You'll get to experience a completely different culture and then on top of that on the last day you'll get to go surfing, which you won't be able to do at any other camp." - KC Deane

Dates

Session 1: June 14th - June 20th (canceled)

Session 2: June 21st - June 27th

Session 3: June 28th - July 4th

Session 4: July 5th - July 11st

Session 5: July 12th - July 18th

Session 6: July 19th - July 22nd

Pricing

Overnight Camp (includes accommodation): $1,599-$1,699 USD

Day Camp (no accommodation): $1,099-$1,199 USD

*And as a special offer from the good people at Woodward...if you say you heard about it through Newschoolers you will be given $200 off!

Go to http://www.woodwardatcopper.com for more details on pricing and packages. Prices may vary per session.

Coaches

Jon Reedy, Dave Zweig, Jess Cumming, Mike Hornbeck, and guest coaches TJ Schiller, Simon Dumont, Phil Casabon, Taylor Seaton, Leanne Pelosi, Gabe Taylor, Zak Hale, Madison Ellsworth and Erich Dummer.

Josh Bishop

Activities

Camp Woodward will be offering something extra special this year, because on top of the amazing new facility they run (if you haven't heard about it, you've obviously been hiding under a rock, so click here to read all about it), they will also be offering an on-snow camp. Yep, you heard right...there's snow at Copper! So on top of the kick-ass indoor facility, they will have rails, jumps and even a halfpipe for you to shred, along with go karting, bungee trampolines, mountain biking, skateboarding, whitewater rafting, hiking, create a skate (build your own skate deck), video editing, fishing, bumper boats and of course...free time in the Barn. For all the juicy details on this exciting and well-rounded new camp, check out http://www.woodwardatcopper.com

Dates

Session 1: July 27th - August 1st

Session 2: August 3rd - August 8th

Session 3: August 10th - August 15th

Pricing

Full Camp (includes accommodation): $1,399 CDN

Overnight Camp (no accommodation): $649 CDN

Go to http://www.d-structureqc.com for more details on pricing and packages. Prices may vary per session.

Coaches

Phil Belanger, Eric Iberg, JF Houle, Chris Turpin, Tanner Hall, Henrik Harlaut, Tom Wallisch, Corey Vanular, Charles Gagnier, Iannick B, Kaya Turski.

Activities

The D-Splash camp will be one of the most unique camps of the summer as you'll have the opportunity to hone all those tricks you've been thinking of doing but are nervous to try on snow via an epic water ramping facility in a safe and cool environment just outside of Quebec City. In addition to the ramps, you'll have access to a host of trampolines, skate parks, and other activities such as basketball and sightseeing around picturesque Quebec City...and campers will get to actually live with the all-star cast of guest coaches. Pretty damn cool. Check out http://www.d-structureqc.com for more info.

Tanner Hall

"Water Ramps are important to everyone on skis who wants to progress their skills or just keep the air awareness through the summer. In my younger years when i was 14, 15, and 16 I really took advantage of my local water ramps and tramps. It really helped me with getting alot of the rotations down and had a lot of fun doing it. It's not snow, but its good enough to where you can try different rotations like misty and rodeos and even bios, corks and doubles. The main thing is air awareness, knowing where you are in the air. With landing in a pool it gives you more confidence to commit to the trick you are trying and after awhile you will notice it gets easier and easier and when it's time to bring it to snow. Its still scary but you will have the confidence you need to get it done. The feeling you get from your first attempt of a trick you learned on water to snow and you succeed its great and makes you wanna do more! Thats where and how we can keep progressing this sport we all love so much. So if water ramps can help me as much as they did I'm confident that it can help all of you in the same way only if you are willing to try. Blessed Love!" - Tanner Hall

That's all for now, but there's much more to come beginning this week. So stay tuned...and see you at camp!