BHS student Sofie Kaaen (center) on the slopes at Anthony Lakes, ready to compete in the upcoming races for the Anthony Lakes Ski Racing Association for the Blue Mountain league later in February.

ANTHONY LAKES — High school ski racing is returning to Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort.

The Anthony Lakes Ski Racing Association, which includes high schoolers as well as ski racers as young as 6, will host the Trouble Creek Slalom and Nordic Race on Feb. 25-26 at the ski area about 35 miles northwest of Baker City.

Although the association continued to have a ski team, “the high school team went away during the lockdowns” due to the pandemic, said Luke Brown, the ALSRA head coach.

“We’re kind of rebuilding the high school team here,” Brown said.

The association, which offers beginning skiing and snowboarding for younger members and competitive racing for older members, draws from Wallowa, Pendleton and La Grande as well as Baker County, he said.

Local teenagers on the racing team, which is part of the Blue Mountain League, include sophomores Ethan Hills and Sofie Kaaen, and juniors Wade Hawkins, Caleb Hills and Clark Norton.

“They’re the five kids who are going to get this league reestablished,” said Leland Bauck, who manages the ALSRA. “I think it’s a great thing they’ve decided to do this.”

Bauck said the association is working to regain momentum lost during the pandemic.

That includes encouraging younger skiers to join as well as bringing more high school-age students to the racing team.

“We want to rebuild our program for the Mighty Mites, the little kids,” Bauck said. “If you’re six years old and can ride the chair lift you can be on the team.”

Bauck said ALSRA strives to make participation affordable, an acknowledgement that skiing can be expensive.

“I think we’re probably the lowest cost ski program,” he said. “They’re four or five times higher if you were to go most other places.”

The student rate for three months of skiing with ALSRA starts at $250, with a reduction of $75 for each

additional member from

the same family.

A $35 fee is for registration in the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association.

Brown said the association has had several fundraisers to allow for even beginners to have the equipment they need to get started.

Bauck’s vision for the team’s future is to transition from the Pacific Northwest division to the Intermountain division.

That would allow ALSRA racers to compete at events across the intermountain region, as far east as Wyoming and south to Utah.

This is among the more competitive youth ski racing circuits in the world, he

said.

The league schedule does preclude some of the students from being involved in other sports, as the weekend schedule would mean they’d be pulled away from options such as basketball, wrestling and swimming.

Coach Brown says he tends to see a lot of the same kids come back to the Anthony Lakes area during summer months to take part in mountain and dirt bike racing.

If you’d like to know

more about the ski team and the upcoming races, visit anthonylakes.com/winter/alsra-ski-team/ or email info@anthonylakes.com for details.

The next race upcoming will be on Feb. 25-26 for the Trouble Creek Slalom and Nordic Race, with youth to adult brackets.