Don’t put your gear away yet! Arlberg Sports and Revolution Snow & Skate in Wenatchee are sponsoring ONE MORE DAY. We will be open for a Big 'Ol Mountain Bonus (B.O.M.B.) Day celebration Saturday, April 13, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Ticket prices:

• $25 if you purchase day of at the mountain.
• $20 if you pre-purchase at Arlberg Sports or Revolution Snow & Skate in Wenatchee
• Season passes aren’t valid

Additional Details:

• $5 of every ticket sold will go to support the Steve Burchett Fund.
• Activities will include a pond skim, hand plant jam, beer garden, and anything else we can dream up and pull off between now and then (live music, etc.).
• 50% off in our retail shop
• Our lesson center will be closed.
• We will be running Chairs 1 & 2, and maybe 3 depending on coverage.

Otto still holds the door to the ski
school for guests when he's not
teaching lessons.

How do you honor a man so central to the history and spirit of Mission Ridge that he’s practically part of the mountain? It seems the only respectable thing to do is to give a bit of the mountain back to him.

Otto Ross – the smiling 87-year-old holding the door at the Mission Ridge ski school, who was among the first group to scout Mission Ridge in 1962 – will complete his 62^nd year of ski instruction this spring.  In homage to Otto's legacy at Mission Ridge, the soft-rolling basin currently known as the "Outback" will here forth be known as "Otto's Outback."

Otto Wells Ross, born January 27, 1926 in Wenatchee, started skiing at an early age when his father bought him a pair of pine skis (without edges) from a Sears & Robuck catalogue. A love affair was born. At the age of 23 Otto became National Ski Patroller #1375 at Stevens Pass, and two years later obtained Professional Ski Instructors of America Northwest (PSIA-NW) certification #25 (certifications are now above 200,000). Otto would later become Chairman, Head Examiner, and President of PSIA-NW.

Driven by the desire to see ski instruction grow locally, Otto and friend Frank Cumbo started ski schools in Waterville, Chelan-Manson (Echo Valley), and Entiat between 1956-58.

In 1959, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity came knocking. After four weeks of trials, Otto qualified as one of the 45 U.S. Professional Ski Patrollers to serve during the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, CA. He was chosen as an Honor Guard Patrol, and skied during the opening ceremonies with gold medalist Andrea Mead Lawrence carrying the Olympic Torch.

Otto Ross, right, and Gordon West, the original ski school director, in 1966.

After the Olympics Otto returned to his passion, teaching skiing, first at Big Mountain in Whitefish, MT and then at Stevens Pass. Then in 1962, Wilmer Hampton led Otto and three others to the top of a ridge outside Wenatchee to scope the possibility of a new first-class skiing operation. In 1966 Mission Ridge opened with Otto as Assistant Director of the ski school under Gordy West. Otto was the first person to ride Chair 2 and ski from the Mission Ridge summit to its base!

But Otto was not quite ready to settle down. In 1968 he was selected as one of 10 U.S. professional ski instructors to attend the French National Ski School in Chamonix, France. Otto was one of the four who passed, and was certified as Moniteur, the highest stage of French Ski Instructor certification.

Otto returned to the U.S. to teach skiing at Alpine Meadows in Tahoe (where he taught actress Goldie Hawn) and then at Echo Valley before making his way back home to Mission Ridge in 1976, where he has been teaching skiing and opening the door to the ski school for guests ever since.

For one student in particular, Otto’s kindness, perseverance, and passion for skiing have been life-changing. Pat Turner first met Otto at the Entiat Ski Hill when she was in elementary school. “Then my parents enrolled me in ski school in my early teens, and that was the beginning of my journey in the ski world with Otto,” Pat recalls.

Just before Christmas 1965 at the age of 17, Pat was in a car accident which resulted in the loss of her right leg. “Otto asked my parents if they thought I would want to ski again.” She did, and Otto wanted nothing more than to help her. “He got one of the first amputee instruction books published by the Flying Outriggers Ski Club at Mt. Hood and some outrigger skis.”

Otto and Pat’s hard work through the years paid off. Pat went on to become a three-track instructor and racer at Mt. Hood, a member of the amputee demonstration team for the 8^th INTERSKI event in Aspen, and a silver medalist at New Zealand’s NASTAR race. “Otto opened up a world of possibilities for me with those eight little words, do you think she wants to ski again.”

The naming of Otto’s Outback is a small gesture in the humble hope of honoring a man whose passion for skiing has affected the lives of thousands over his 62-year career as a ski patroller and instructor. With or without his name on the trail map, Otto has always been and will always be a part of Mission Ridge – not just as the namesake for one of the mountain’s more beautiful bowls, but even more so in the hearts and minds of those who have had the pleasure of skiing with him.

Mission Ridge and The Wenatchee Valley College Foundation invites WVC alumni and the community to Ski for WVC during regular hours at Mission Ridge on March 23. Mission Ridge will donate $5 per full-price lift ticket purchased throughout the day to the WVC Foundation to support student scholarships and college programs.

Alumni of the WVC Ski Management program, Ski Instruction program and the Ski Team are invited to the 2013 WVC Programmer Reunion starting at 4 p.m. Saturday in Hampton Lodge.

"This is an opportunity for the community and WVC alumni to connect and spend a day doing something they love while supporting their community college," said Stacey Lockhart, executive director of the WVC Foundation.

“Not many people realize it but WVC’s relationship with Mission Ridge goes back over 50 years and some of our alumni and faculty at the time were very involved in helping to get Mission Ridge up and operational as a local ski destination.”  “WVC also had a very strong ski instruction and management program as well as a nationally recognized ski team with members on the Olympic team.”  Today, you will still find WVC alumni teaching and running resorts all over the globe.”

“We are excited celebrate our long standing relationship with Wenatchee Valley College by hosting “Ski for WVC” and the Ski Programmer Reunion for a second year.  It also gives us an opportunity to give back to an organization in the Wenatchee Valley that is doing so much for our community by helping to ensure that we keep affordable, quality education accessible to all who choose to live and play here,” said Jordan Lindstrom, marketing director at Mission Ridge.

The 2013-14 Mission Ridge Season Pass spring sale started today. Here's all you need to know.

A few details:

• Spring pricing is the lowest for 2013-14 season passes.
• We also offer a Spring Pass upgrade (unlimited skiing until the end of this season) for $49 with the purchase of a 2013-14 season pass.
• Average Mission Ridge Season Pass prices are 15% lower than last year's Spring sale!
• On average, Mission Ridge Passholders will begin saving money over purchasing lift tickets on only their FIFTH ski day when they purchase their pass before June 1^st.
• Orders can be placed online in our new online store or at the Season Pass/Ticketing office.
• The Spring ONLY Pass will go on sale on March 11, 2013, and will sell for $99 for all age groups.
• The new and popular Young Adult pass (ages 13-24) will remain for the 2013-14 season.

By Jared Eygabroad

"The Best Quality Snow in Washington" was the concept behind this episode of the Emission Web Series.  Seems easy enough, right?  Just film some skiing and snowboarding and throw together an edit.  But no, we were in what seemed like a drought for a month or so.  I was worried each day about finding snow as I toted my camera to the mountain, but somehow, I still managed to find fresh light tracks due to the desert-like climate preserving the precious snow in and around the area.  Absolutely incredible.

 
Not only does Mission get the lightest natural snow in the Northwest that seems to remain perfect for weeks, but it also has the best grooming and snowmaking in the area.  While we were without snow for the end of January and beginning of February, I found a new love for the rolling slopes that were perfectly manicured each day by Mission's veteran groomers.
 
For the past 3 seasons, I had only focused my skiing on the untouched terrain that Mission has to offer.  However, when all the Northwest areas went dry, I found out there was no other place I'd rather be than Mission.  Every single run, I experienced soft, quality snow that made skiing FUN.  The snowmakers and groomers worked so well together during this time and so extremely hard to create a product that all the customers would enjoy.  They succeeded, and in turn, I found a new love for the courderoy.

 
So we had the two elements for the video, BOTH the highest quality "natural" snow and "unnatural" snow in the Northwest.  Still, we wanted another element.  That's where Gordon West, the third-ever General Manager of Mission Ridge, came in.  Not only had Gordon served as the the General Manager for Mission, but he had also served as the Ski School Director for more than 10 years beginning in 1966, the first year Mission opened its slopes to skiers.

 
Gordon West skis like I wish I could ski; hard, fast, and with perfect form.  Filming him was amazing, and hearing the stories about Mission Ridge from a legend was a true honor.  Since Gordon has been at Mission from day one, there was no one better to talk about "the best quality snow" in the Northwest.  If you see him up at the Ridge, make sure to say "hello" and "thank you!"  His efforts are a huge part of why Mission is successful, and why there will be a great ski area to enjoy forever.  Enjoy the video.