Ninkasi reVegetate Rail Jam Will Benefit Eagle Creek Fire Restoration Fund At Mt. Hood Meadows

Freestyle snowboarders and skiers from throughout the Northwest converge on Mt. Hood Meadows this weekend to compete on a unique and challenging rail jam course built right in the base area. reVegetate is presented by Ninkasi Brewing and proceeds will benefit the Eagle Creek Fire Restoration Fund.

The two day jam will feature men’s snowboarders on Saturday and women’s snowboarders and men’s and women’s skiers on Sunday. The event will be in a jam format, where heats compete for 40 minutes and competitors can take as many runs as they want, making for continuous action. The top performers of each heat advance to the finals. Podiums pay $750 for first place, $500 for second and $250 for third in each of the divisions. 

There will also be a Groms (10 and under) event on Saturday at 10 AM. And so everyone can have fun, impromptu side events called “Jibbin’ for Jacksons” will be held with celebrity judges awarding distinctive, progressive and enthusiastic riders with $20 bills. Jibbin’ is an expression for hitting or riding rails, and this event is all about having fun and sharing the stoke. 

reVegetate Village will feature demos from Burton, Fix Bindings, Slash Snowboards and Deviation Skis. Village sponsors include Dakine, Rising Hammer Lightworks, Findlay Hats and Toyota. DJ Kyle is a curator of fun, infectious and upbeat grooves to create a party atmosphere throughout the weekend. Manny’s food cart will serve up authentic and flavorful Mexican food and the Ninkasi beer trailer will keep everyone refreshed. A unique piece of artwork from Rising Hammer Lightworks (who designed the championship trophies) will be auctioned off to raise money for the Eagle Creek Fire Restoration Fund. Proceeds from each pint of Ninkasi sold over the weekend will benefit the fund, as well as all the competitors fees. 

Resort ambassadors Sean FitzSimons, US Snowboard Team member who competed in the Beijing Olympics, and Erika Vikander, who took second in the Freeride World Tour this year, will be signing jerseys to raise money for the fund at Noon Saturday in the Village. 

In 2017 the Eagle Creek Fire burned 48,000 acres of in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The fund was established to help the ecosystems, trails and wildlife habitat recover. In 2018, the National Forest Foundation used funds raised in the Eagle Creek Fire Restoration Fund to reopen over 60 miles of hiking trails and reduce rock slides and erosion. However, there is a lot of work that needs to be done including reopening hiking trails, restoring wildlife habitat and planting native plants. 

reVegetate honors the original Vegetate event conceived 25 years ago to draw attention to Meadows sustainability efforts, including the award winning native wildflower revegetation program. Meadows pioneered what have now become best practices in our industry when there is new construction by transplanting native vegetation in ground disturbed areas to be replanted after the construction. Meadows also worked closely with the Mt. Hood National Forest to collect the seeds of native wildflowers and grasses to be used for planting and hydro seeding in revegetated areas. The original Vegetate was one of the first freestyle snowboarding events and the environmental theme resonated with young snowboarders. The event was revived in 2018 and 2019, but Covid prevented events at Meadows the past two seasons. 

The rail jam arena is set up right in the base area viewable from the South Lodge Deck and the Snow Beach. The event is free to watch - it does not require a lift ticket or admission to enjoy. Competitors can advance register for the open rail jams at SkiHood.com/reVegetate.

Meadows continues operation Friday - Sunday, April 29 - May 1; and Friday and Saturday May 6 and 7 closing with the Pond Skim event Saturday, May 7.