Mike McGuire styles a tail grab in the gutter jump on Mount Hood.

There are three reasons why people work on Mount Hood all summer: the people, the money and the riding. Every measly paycheck is blown on weekend lift tickets and large tabs at karaoke. And it’s worth every penny. The people you meet here in Oregon, when the rest of the world has hung up their skis, become friends for life. 

My first experience skiing on Mount Hood was in 2015, when I visited to coach the Stevens Pass Freeride Team and shoot some photos. That trip transformed me, seeing the pros at West Coast Sessions, visiting Treefort Lifestyles (crafters of all accessories for the skiing lifestyle) and jumping in the foam pit at Windells Ski Camp. I’ve made trips back every year, hooked on the community, the extended ski season and even the surprise spring and summer pow days. 

Summer 2024 was no different. The snowpack was school bus-deep from heavy late-season storms that fell well into May and June. We rode all the way to the car until late July. There are always familiar faces, skiers from all over the globe who spend their summers here to ski on the Palmer Glacier. 

As my summer at Timberline comes to a close, it’s easy to see that it’s the people who make this place so memorable. Two months on Hood with a camera goes by in a flash. Memories are made from sunrise to sundown. And the longer you ski into the summer, the closer next ski season becomes. 

Dane Kirk hits the wall ride. Hanging with Level 1, ON3P, Edge Outdoors, Capeesh, the Montana Bandits and so many other ski crews this year make Hood a truly unique community of characters who love to slide on snow.

Sammy Carlson is always one of my favorite skiers to catch up with here on Hood. There are few people who command the attention of the whole lane like he does.

There’s always some heckling before Sammy drops. When it’s time to shoot everything is dialed—his tail grabs are pulled back and the drift is artwork. Standing on the knuckle puts everything into scale. If you offered me a Lamborghini or a sunset shoot with Sammy, I’d park the Lambo under the jump and drive my old Suburban home after dark.

Annette Diggs has been another familiar face on the glacier these past few summers. As the creator of Edge Outdoors, you can find her ripping a jump on skis or board year round. Here, she and Jen Picarazzi live it up on a picture-perfect day on Mount Hood. 

Anyone who knows Annette knows she’s not afraid to be herself, and her ski programs are making a huge impact on introducing and retaining Black, Indigenous, Women of Color to snowsports. As a photographer, Annette challenges me to connect skiing with stories that are often overlooked, and she brings so much contagious energy to the hill.

Jen Picarazzi sliding rails for the camera. It was a action-packed summer of skiing for the Edge Outdoors crew.

Grace Elden sending it to the moon on a slushy July afternoon. There’s nowhere like Mount Hood in the summer. 

18-year-old Red Bull athlete Kai Jones putting on a clinic.

Clearly Parker White never missed a day of P.E. in middle school. What better way to end a summer session on the hill than with a muddy dodgeball tournament?