Mentorship on the Mountain

What’s the best part of skiing at Jackson Hole? For Aldric (15), it’s getting to spend a carefree day outside with his friends. 

Every weekend, Aldric meets his friends at Teton Village for Powder Pals. They spend the day skiing with mentors Matt Mikkelsen and Kika McFarlane, exploring the mountain and goofing off in the Stash Park. 

Aldric started skiing nine years ago through Coombs Outdoors (a local nonprofit named after the legendary extreme skier Doug Coombs) and has been skiing at Jackson Hole every weekend for the last five years. He remembers the first season, and how overwhelming the mountain felt. “I remember going up the Tram for the first time and thinking wow this mountain is really big.”

The Coombs Powder Pals program is designed to give middle and high school students an opportunity to build confidence on the mountain, while at the same time building strong relationships with mentors they can trust and confide in.

“The kids run the show, as they should,” Matt (26), a local filmmaker, says of their days at JHMR. He says the boys usually make a game plan for the day, choose a few warm up runs and then go right into finding little jumps and powder stashes in the trees. “Some days it’s challenging themselves on Tower 3, some days it’s groomers on Apres Vous. Every other day of the week they have school, stuff to do. Saturday is their day.”

While they’re outside, Matt says side conversations about life come naturally. “We’ll talk about troubles at school or getting a job for the first time. Those early teen years are a confusing time. The beautiful thing about Coombs is that it’s an informal way to work through that stuff when you’re outside and have an activity like skiing at JHMR to focus on.” Whether it’s asking Matt about his photography work or having a bad week at school, Aldric says they talk through it on the lift between runs. 

Looking back on those days where the Tram felt daunting, Aldric now feels comfortable skiing anywhere on the mountain—and being at the top of the Tram after some fresh snow is one of his favorite parts of winter. “I love going up the Tram on powdery days with my friends. It’s so special to be up there when there aren’t as many people.”

For Matt, Powder Pals is the highlight of his week. “Their enthusiasm is really infectious, and I learn so much from them witnessing their energy on the mountain. It’s given me a new lens to view skiing and made me appreciate just being out there.”

For Aldric, he can’t believe how fast the days go by at Jackson Hole. “Every time we’re done skiing it feels like only 30 minutes has passed. I think it’s because we’re just having so much fun and just feel so happy to be outside.”

If you’d like to learn more about Coombs Outdoors, join the Virtual Skiing with the Stars Aprés Party on Thursday, March 4, 2021 at 5 p.m. MST. The annual fundraising event is now virtual and will feature a silent auction as well as exclusive Coombs Kid stories, where they interview mentors like Jimmy Chin and Olympic gold medalist Hannah Kearney. 

Registration information can be found here: https://secure.givelively.org/event/doug-coombs-foundation/skiing-with-the-stars-2021