As I climb into my sleeping bag, strategically placed in my truck bed between two snowboards, my camera bags and a can of white gas, I can't help but wonder why the hell I'm on a mountain, trying to snowboard in June. Shouldn’t the summer be for skating, surfing, margaritas or really anything but snowboarding? Apparently not. If there is shred to be had, I’ll be damned if I’m going to miss out.

This is how I came to find myself in Government Camp, Oregon. More specifically at High Cascade Snowboard Camp, packed into the back of a pick-up like an illegal immigrant and trying to catch some shut eye. It’s much colder than I expected for the end of June, plus it’s raining. We also seem to be stuck inside of a cloud so I haven’t seen the mountain since I got here, but rumor has it, there is one. I wasn’t prepared for this shit, I have flip-flops on! It’s not all bad though, the good people from the Burton Demo Center are my new neighbors and I’m snowboarding in the summer. Now if only the damn rain would stop I wouldn't be relying on my boards and bags for shelter.

One day with High Cascade is all I need to realize that these kids are living the dream, nahmean? Their parents sent them off to snowboard camp for the summer, that’s a hell of a lot cooler than pony camp or band camp. As far as I can tell, here’s the average day for a camper: get up, go ride all day, come back to camp and skate for a while, at some point buy a hot dog from this guy, maybe play some dodgeball, go cause mischief, then head to bed and get ready to do it all over the next day. Rough life, huh?

As for me, my days involve riding and drinking tall boys in one of the two bars in Govy. I can’t skate worth a damn and with these tired legs I would be out faster than the fat kid if I tried to play dodgeball. Oh, I also shot some photos when we weren’t buried in the clouds, check 'em out!

Session One may be over, but there are still five more to go. If you do plan on heading to High Cascade this summer, or really anywhere else in the mountains, make sure you pack the full range of gear. In two days I have endured everything from hot sun and blue skies to intense fog and snow. No matter what though, remember that style always comes first during summer shred days. So don’t leave home without some fringed, tight pants and tees that hang to your knees.

words and photos by Greg Miller

pic 1- Kumara Kelley : Wall ride rock to fakie 
pic 2- Danny Marchetti :  What the hell is hanging of his tail?
pic 3- Tommy Noe - Probably should have got a season pass.
pic 4- Jesse Csincsak - Coaching the kids.
pic 5- Brandon Minnesota : Throwing boners.
pic 6- Kumara Kelley : This girl is a hustler...
pic 7- Kumara Kelley : ...and she jumps through clouds
pic 8- Ben Bogart - Chillin with his grills
pic 9- Connor Manning -  cueing up till the sun comes back