70 Years of ‘Ski Maidens’: Skiyente Women’s Ski Club Celebrates a Milestone on Mount Hood

In late February, the Skiyente Women’s Ski Club marked 70 years of "badass" sisterhood on the slopes of Mount Hood, culminating in the annual Maryanne Cup race at Summit Ski Area. Named for the club’s legendary founder Maryanne Hill, the event celebrated both the club’s history and its thriving present.

Founded in 1955, Skiyente began when a group of women decided they weren’t content to “putter around the bunny slopes.” They wanted to race – and race seriously. Seven decades later, the club stands as the oldest active, chartered all-women’s ski club in the United States.

Hill’s competitive spirit shaped the club from the start. Raised in Government Camp, she learned to ski before lifts or rope tows existed, hiking uphill to ski back down. A determined racer, Hill competed with the Cascade Ski Club and entered the 1947 Olympic Trials just two weeks after breaking her tibia and fibula at Sun Valley, finishing 12th. “She always finished a race,” her daughter, Lesli Bekins, recalled. “Even if she had to hike back up to grab a missed gate, she finished. She was that determined.”

“She wanted a serious racing club,” Bekins said. “Other clubs were social clubs. My mother was about competition, improvement, and athleticism.”

Hill went on to become a Certified Ski Instructor at Mount Hood and a Certified Ski Instructor Examiner, shaping generations of skiers. She served as Skiyente’s first president, setting the standards and spirit that still define the club today. Members continue to honor her with the annual Maryanne Cup, which Hill attended for decades, cheering on competitors well into her later years.

Her influence extended far beyond skiing. After graduating from Pacific University in 1944 with a degree in Education, Hill taught at Milwaukie High School, Lewis & Clark College, and Lincoln High School in Portland for 14 years. Following an inheritance from her aunt Grace Reid, she returned to Government Camp to run the Government Camp Water Company and Hills Place Restaurant, a summer attraction and community hub. Hills Place burned down in 1969, along with one of its cabins and the adjoining post office, but Hill rebuilt and continued to serve her community. Her ski medals from the war years survived, though many trophies were lost in the fire.

Hill’s determination extended to her personal projects as well. She helped construct her own cabin, cutting cedar logs that now form the staircase and ceiling beams – a literal foundation of her home and a testament to her hands-on spirit. In 1998, she co-founded the Mount Hood Cultural Center and Museum, sharing her love for Government Camp and its history with generations of visitors.

That same spirit of leadership lives on in Skiyente: on race days, multiple generations of women compete side by side, a vivid reminder that the club’s values endure. Beyond racing, the club participates in PACRAT, hosts the Maryanne Cup annually, and has organized children’s events like the Betty Dodd Kiddie Classic, a race for ages 5 to 12. Members also uphold long-standing traditions such as the King Winter Coronation and Dance, originally honoring a man but now celebrating contributions from any gender. Annual social gatherings – including the Membership Drive, Fireside Holiday Party, Masters Mania, Thank You Night, Spring Fling, and Summer Function – combine camaraderie with community service, such as spring and fall highway cleanups near Mt. Hood Meadows.

Skiyente’s commitment to the mountain community extends off the slopes. The club supports women’s and youth causes, including the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Hope on the Slope, Relay for Life, Cancer Ski-out, Portland Mountain Rescue, Mt. Hood Ski Patrol, and the Erin Nicole Scholarship Fund.

For Hill, skiing was inseparable from her life in Government Camp. She grew up with her family running small businesses, building cabins, and shaping the town itself. Her daughter remembers her cutting cedar logs for her cabin staircase, hiking uphill for a ski run before lifts existed, and always insisting on finishing what she started. Her love of the sport – and the community – never waned, even after she retired from teaching and ran the family businesses into her late 90s.

With seven decades behind them, the Skiyente Women’s Ski Club continues to celebrate competitive spirit, multigenerational participation, and community engagement on Mount Hood. Hill’s vision – of a supportive, skilled, and tradition-rich women’s ski community – lives on in every race, every training session, and every new generation of Skiyente women.