The snow has been iffy this winter, but on ride days with SOS Outreach, the energy at Park City Mountain has remained steady. Even as conditions have shifted throughout the season, kids continue to show up ready to ski and snowboard — and just as eager as ever to be outside with their friends and mentors, said Erin Reynolds, Utah mentor program coordinator. “I think everybody knows that the snow has been less than ideal this winter,” she said. “But every ride day we have kids that show up that are excited and ready just to get out.” For the nonprofit, which works to expand access to skiing and snowboarding for youth in Summit and Wasatch counties, the season has largely stayed the course. Participation numbers have remained as high as recent years, Reynolds said, and the focus has remained on continuing the programs that bring kids onto the mountain week after week. That enthusiasm shows up across the program, from younger kids learning to ski for the first time to older students who have been involved for years, like last week, when a teenage girl in the mentor program texted staff on a Saturday evening asking if she could come to the next day’s Learn to Ride session. Learn to Ride is SOS’s introductory program in which younger participants take their first ski and snowboard lessons. The student didn’t need to be there, but staff invited her to join. “Of course you can come,” Reynolds said. “If one kid is excited about it, we’re excited about it, and we will show up and get out.” When she arrived, the older student helped younger participants get organized and showed them how the program works, helping with gear and guiding some of the new skiers through the day. Once she arrived, the student naturally stepped into a leadership role, helping younger participants navigate gear and learn the basics of the program. “She’s just such a responsible young lady,” Reynolds said. “She was showing her friends the ropes and how it works and helped with some gear stuff.” Moments like that illustrate the long-term progression built into SOS programming, where students often remain involved for years and eventually return as mentors or volunteers, said Reynolds. Through SOS Outreach programs, kids build friendships, confidence and leadership skills, with many participants later returning as alumni volunteers to support the next generation of skiers and snowboarders. Credit: Photo courtesy of SOS Outreach by Alex Mager This season, the Park City program has seen its largest group of alumni volunteers yet with almost 20 former participants now helping out as mentors or serving in the Learn to Ride sessions, registration nights and other community events. “Our alumni community is really growing,” Reynolds said. “More and more of them are getting connected and staying connected year over year.” For many participants, the program also extends beyond the mountain to include their families. This winter marked the second year of SOS’s parent ride weekend, when parents of participants are invited to take lessons themselves and experience what their kids have been learning with the program.  “Last year, for the first time, we were able to have a weekend where parents of our participants got two days of lessons,” Reynolds said. “We were able to do that again this year, which is just an incredible experience to hang out with parents that want to get out and see what their kids go through and learn how to ski or snowboard.” Even as the winter season that never got going continues to wind down, SOS is preparing for the months ahead. Summer programming continues to expand, with outdoor trips and experiences designed to keep students connected to the outdoors and to each other all year, and SOS remains dedicated to its career development programming, which introduces Park City teens to potential career paths in and beyond the ski industry. The SOS career development program is a crash course in workplace skills, from interviewing to resume building. During the winter off-season, students are paid for completing their 50-hour workshop before finding summer job placements. Credit: Photo courtesy of SOS Outreach by Alex Mager That focus on exposure to real careers was part of the reason SOS welcomed filmmaker Vanessa Chavarriaga Posada to join students on the mountain in February. Chavarriaga Posada, who appears in the Outlier film series alongside skier Dani Reyes, visited a ride day at Park City Mountain. The project highlights women working in and navigating the ski industry, overcoming the challenges of existing in a space where they are often underrepresented. For SOS participants, meeting someone working professionally in the ski world offered a different perspective on what is possible through the sport. “I think that was an impactful day for everyone,” Reynolds said. “For kids to be able to see someone like them who is a professional skier in the industry and hear about everything skiing has given her.” For Reynolds, the willingness of students to show up even during a winter with less-than-perfect snow says a lot about what the program means to them.  Experiences like that fit into SOS’s broader approach of pairing time on the mountain with mentorship, career exposure and leadership development as students move through the program.  As participants grow older, the goal is not only to build confidence outdoors, but also to help them see pathways for how those experiences might connect to future opportunities. This summer, SOS plans to bring back an overnight whitewater rafting trip in southern Utah in partnership with Canyonlands Field Institute. The trip is returning for a second year with support from mentor Rich Gershen, who has helped organize the experience for students. “We’re excited to be able to keep offering more activities throughout the summer,” Reynolds said. “It gives kids more chances to stay outside, stay connected with their mentors and keep exploring.” The post SOS Outreach kids keep riding through winter’s challenges appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less