Growing The Snowboard Community with Beyond The Boundaries

Learning to snowboard is not an easy task and learning tricks can be even harder. Beyond the Boundaries has solidified itself as the preeminent women’s snowboard camp. They emphasizes a philosophy that encourages, inspires, and celebrates —all key to learn the world of snowboarding.

This Summer Beyond the Boundaries teamed up with High Cascade Snowboard Camp to create the first all-women's adult camp at Mt. Hood. The week-long session gave campers the chance to focus solely on their riding, prioritizing getting on snow without the distractions of life. This environment created the perfect space for progression and community. Watching their snowboarding progress all week long was very inspiring. From linking turns on the first couple of days, learning to hit jumps and rails, then ending the week off riding the pipe. It goes to show with you the right coaches and like-minded people how far you can progress your snowboarding in a week. On and off the hill, the women jelled so well together cheering on their fellow camp mates, setting the mood and making sure everyone got their tricks dialed.

The Beyond the Boundaries crew, lead by Burton Ambassadors Christine Savage, Mary Walsh and head coach Kelsey Boyer, truly embrace the meaning of community. The women are there to progress their snowboarding, but they're creating relationships that will last a lifetime. With every new camp that Beyond the Boundaries puts on, they're helping build a more inclusive and diverse snowboard community -- something we can all get behind.

Mt. Hood holds a very special place in my heart, and also Mary’s, so being able to host a Beyond the Boundaries week there with High Cascade has been a huge goal of ours since we first began Beyond the Boundaries. It’s actually the place where Mary and I became friends! I spent eight incredible summers living up at Hood— working at Timberline initially before moving on to work at and eventually run the Burton Demo Center. Those summers are hands down some of most memorable and magical summers I’ve ever had, so to be able to share this special place with the Beyond the Boundaries ladies was truly a dream come true. Timberline’s halfpipe was the place where I first learned how to ride a halfpipe, so it was so cool to get the crew into that same pipe (some for their first time!) for a pipe clinic and then the Burton Feelgood pipe jam where we gave out prizes for progressing, including a Burton Feelgood snowboard! – Christine Savage

Beyond the Boundaries Week at High Cascade was our first camp since everything shut down in March of 2020, so in addition to being a culmination of a long-held dream of ours to bring camp to Mt. Hood, it was also a celebration to be able to finally reunite with our community. Spending time at Mt. Hood with friends and Beyond the Boundaries veterans, as well as welcoming new women into the family was so much fun and truly special.It all came together on the second-to-last evening at HCSC, when we gathered at the Burton house for an incredible meal prepared by Chef Paige. Sitting in the living room with all of the ladies and the Burton crew, we cheersed to highlights of the week and commemorated one another's accomplishments and new tricks. And then, of course, we got to enjoy amazing food. All in all, the week was amazing and I'm already looking forward to next year! Huge thanks to the Beyond the Boundaries staff and all the women that joined us for the week, and to Burton for supporting us! – Mary Walsh

Mt. Hood is where my love for snowboarding sparked and that flame continues to grow every summer I make it to the glacier. Being able to share this magical place with Beyond the Boundaries is what it’s all about for me. Seeing the women take in the natural beauty around them and feel comfortable in a space to progress makes my heart happy. The week was full of progression, strength, laughter and light after such a hard year. The energy this group of ladies portrayed was contagious. They spent the whole week supporting and elevating each other to step outside of their comfort zones and that is the true beauty of snowboarding. – Kelsey Boyer

Follow Beyond the Boundaries to keep up with the latest camps they have coming up and what they have going on in their community.