SEEK NORTHWEST OVER THE YEARS
Seek Northwest Skate Camp is the result of 30 years of summer camps on Mount Hood. We are the collective legacy of Shred The World, High Cascade, Windells and Vans Skate Camp.
THE HISTORY OF Seek Skate CAMP
1988 – Tim Windell creates Shred the World Camp.
1989 – John Calkins and John Ingersoll form High Cascade Camp contributing $4,000 a piece.
1990 – Shred the World Camp builds 2 mini skateboard ramps along with a Vert Ramp, Cristian Hosoi, Tony Hawk, Steve Caballaro are seen skateboarding at the camp that eventually became Windells.
Also 1990 – High Cascade holds its first summer camp with a snowboard slalom course and hand dug snowboard half pipe. Skateboarding is High Cascade’s first off-hill activity.
1993 – A vert ramp is added to High Cascade’s skate facilities in Government Camp.
1997 – Windells purchases Shamrock Motel and transforms it into Windells Campus, The “Funnest” place on Earth.
1999 – Vans, Inc. purchases High Cascade after Calkins and Ingersoll decide to part ways.
2001 – Vans Skateboard Camp is formed at High Cascade.
2004 – The building out back (BOB) is born creating Windells first indoor skatepark
Also 2004 – Steve Van Doren from Vans, Inc. makes a surprise visit to the Bend, OR offices. The bomb gets dropped: Vans has chosen to sell the camp.
2005 – John Ingersoll, Kevin English, Preston Strout, and Meagan Stein purchase High Cascade from Vans, Inc. as its new parent corporation, VF, fears the liability of owning a snowboard and skateboard camp. High Cascade Camps, Inc. is formed. As such, they agree upon the simple yet powerful mission statement of“Life Improvement through Snowboarding and Skateboarding.” High Cascade Skateboard Camp emerges from the former Vans Skateboard Camp.
Also 2005 – High Cascade Skate Coach Jamie Weller creates the High Cascade Tent Tour, a camping trip that tours the Pacific Northwest’s growing number of concrete skateparks.
2006 – Dreamland concrete skate park added to Windells, Phase 1 of creating the Concrete Jungle
Also 2006 — Jamie Weller makes the move from High Cascade to Windells and our current skate camp is born.
2007 – Concrete Jungle continued with more concrete and additional rails added
2008 – Concrete Jungle ongoing as more concrete creations are added throughout the campus
2009 – Windells Academy began! The United States gets its’ first Skateboard High School.
2010 – More concrete was added to the Concrete Jungle, cabins were renovated, the first Windells Academy classroom was added to campus.
2013 – BOB gets a makeover; Scott Everly and his team of X Games builders remodel the indoor skatepark to simulate a more street style influence park.
2014 – Former bitter rivals Windells and High Cascade join forces under one umbrella company, “We Are Camp”. Combining the legacy and resources of the two legendary camps.
2018 – High Cascade moves from government camp campus to join Windells summer camp programing on our private Academy Campus.
Also 2018 — Jamie Weller begins pouring a new concrete skatepark in BOB.
2019 — We Are Camp celebrates 30 years on Mount Hood.
2020 — Our Camps are rebranded so that each brand can remain authentic to its’ campers and Seek Northwest Skate Camp is created. Windells becomes a ski brand.