March Newsletter: Wrapping up our winter!

Star Madison Rose and participant Aridai high five over their love for skiing!

Skiing with the Stars and CoombsFest Wrap-up

We are still smiling from a weekend of skiing, dancing, and community gathered to celebrate Coombs Outdoors at Skiing with the Stars and CoombsFest. We want to give a special thanks to our Stars, MSS Instructors, Volunteers, parents, participants, and friends for joining us to celebrate; we would not be here today without you. We are grateful for our hosts and Legend sponsors, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Four Seasons Jackson Hole, Snow King Mountain Resort, First Republic, and Stio for providing incredible support for our celebrations. 

In its fifth year, the 2022 Skiing with the Stars was the biggest yet with 18 teams skiing with 20 stars and 18 MSS Instructors. We had more than 150 guests attend the Après Ski Party which featured a presentation by Coombs participants and a panel of athletes including Breezy Johnson, Caroline Gleich, Benji Alexander and Vasu Sojitra. A highlight of the day was the 20 Coombs participants that joined the Stars for a morning of skiing with Olympians, film stars, mountaineers, and industry advocates. 

CoombsFest at Snow King also brought the largest crowd in the event’s history with hundreds of participants, parents, volunteers, supporters, and friends enjoying a day of skiing and celebrating another successful winter. The sun was shining and the Teton views were stunning as we gathered as a community at the top of the new Summit Gondola with music from KHOL, food from Hatch, drinks from Melvin Brewing, and a huge raffle with prizes from may local businesses.  

Check out some amazing photos from Skiing with the Stars by following the link below. Here you will see our Stars skiing with our Participants, a fun poster signing, Stars, Instructors and Donors skiing together, and our amazing panel during our Après party.

That’s a Wrap on Winter Programs

Just like that, our winter programs have come to an end. Last week we wrapped up our Nordic Ositos programming, Learn to Ski programs and Coombs Club at Snow King, and Powder Pals at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. With almost 350 participants in Winter 2021/2022 programs, it has been a busy and exciting season.

In addition to getting more kids out on the snow, Coombs hosted weekly evening workshops for middle school participants including a tune and wax night, sports nutrition workshop, and a seminar on filming and editing ski content that wrapped up with a film watch party. Our first winter cohort of our Empower internship program provided 13 high school students with competitively paid positions at local businesses including Black Tie Rentals, Hole Food Rescue, Teton Literacy Center, Coombs Outdoors, and Snow King where 9 interns received their Jr. PSIA certifications and were employed as Jr. Instructors teaching younger Coombs participants how to ski. The Empower program also hosted monthly workshops for participants that focused on professional and personal development.

We celebrated the end of our season with our participants and volunteers competing in an exciting scavenger hunt and costume party at the mountains last weekend, and a pizza party for our Ositos and their families! Special thanks to our volunteers and participants who showed up to ski every week with a smile on their face.

Coombs hits the water

After working closely with Coombs parents and understanding their needs, we learned that access to swimming lessons has been a big need for our community. In response to this we have partnered with Astoria Hot Springs to organize two cohorts of swimming lessons which will bring 20 kids 7 days of swimming lessons over 4 weeks! Our first cohort wrapped up this week and all 8 participants graduated with the ability to float, be comfortable in the water without a life jacket, and swim to safety.

This is a significant achievement not only in the individual lives of our participants, but also in the breaking down of barriers that have kept people of color from having access to swimming historically. Many of Jackson’s summer activities take place on or near the water and knowing how to swim is a critical component of being able to participate in outdoor recreation during the warmer months. Here’s to creating safe, positive, and long lasting experiences in the outdoors.

Coombs is looking for both full-time Summer Instructors and a full-time Activate Program Coordinator to join our team. Read more about these positions below, and apply today!

Summer Camp Instructor Activate Program Coordinator

Partner Highlight!

We'd like to thank Astoria Park Conservancy for partnering with us to make our swim lessons possible! Through their Access Fund programming, Astoria Park Conservancy focuses on connecting individuals with their natural environment and community by reducing financial barriers. Our partnership continues to help Coombs participants connect more deeply with themselves, nature, and their peers. Thanks for all you do!