Ski Bluewood: Bringing Powder to the People Since 1979

COLUMBIA COUNTY - Bluewood Ski Resort offers a variety of racing programs, skiing and snowboarding, and accessible programs. Pete Korfiatis, Bluewood's general manager since 2021, has extensive experience in alpine racing and coaching. He was a nationally ranked alpine ski racer by his late teens and later held multiple positions with the U.S. Ski Team, including coaching for the men's team at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Korfiatis brings a wide range of winter sport experiences to the mountain with the help of Bluewood's race team head coach and local nonprofit Skyline Adventures.

In 2023, Korfiatis asked Lizzy Sherry to take over the Bluewood Alpine Race Team (BART). She follows in the footsteps of her Uncle Rusty Lyons, one of the original coaches for Bluewood's race team, which began around 1982. The program is transitioning to its new name, Bluewood Ski and Snowboard Team (BSST).

Sherry began skiing at just two-and-a-half years old. By age six, she wanted to become an Olympic skier, and at 15, she was ranked nationally in the top five in slalom and giant slalom.

Attending the University of Utah, Sherry was on the ski team from 1999 to 2001 and qualified for the NCAA championships. She was an All-American and All-Conference athlete and received the Toril Forland Outstanding Skier Award from the team.

After ending her racing career in 2002, she began coaching for teams in Minnesota, Park City, Utah, and at Timberline Ski Resort on Mt. Hood in Oregon. She moved to Walla Walla in 2020, and now Bluewood's ski team program is benefiting from her racing and coaching experience.

The BSST offers three programs: the Blazers, the Youth Ski League Team, and the Junior Race Team. Kids aged 6 through 15 build snowboarding and skiing skills in the non-racing Blazers. The YSL team provides introductory race training for kids five through 11, and the Junior Race Team provides advanced race and competition training for skiers age 12 through 17.

The skiers and snowboarders in the Blazers program meet on Saturdays and some holidays. The assistant coaches take the kids on groomed runs, through trees, and on the terrain park. The young boarders and skiers rip around the mountain as they learn lifelong skills. The Blazers must have at least a year of skiing or snowboarding and be able to get on and off the lift. Participants will have the opportunity to compete in a non-sanctioned ski race at Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort in February.

The YSL and junior ski teams train on Friday afternoons, Saturday, Sunday, and some holidays. They travel every other weekend to competitions within the Eastern Pacific Northwest Region. Training continues through the season, including race day and special events to support the programs.

"I am very proud of all the ski racers on this team as they continue to grow and excel in a very challenging, competitive sport," said Sherry.

This season, everyone on Sherry's coaching staff is a former participant in the program, a member of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, and either holds their level 100 coaching certification or is working toward it. Sherri said she loves that they are young, former racers, and that they understand what it takes to become good skiers. The coaching staff prioritizes safety, technique, and sportsmanship.

Bluewood has expanded access to its winter sports and activities through a partnership with Skyline Adventures, a Dayton-based nonprofit. The outreach program makes skiing and snowboarding at Bluewood available to people who might not otherwise have access, including those experiencing economic hardships, disabilities, or special needs.

Skyline Adventures sponsors a Veterans' program and the Touchet Valley Bluewood Bombers, a local Special Olympics winter sports team of athletes with disabilities representing Southeast Washington.

Coaches for the Bombers are from Waitsburg, Dayton, and Walla Walla. This season, Audrey Ahmann, Brad Graham, Wendy and Brian Richards, Jody Gradwohl, Casey Potts, and Jeri Fulbright assist eight athletes on Saturdays.

Karen Huwe

Members of the 2026 Bombers ski team practice (l--r) Israel Ramsey, Coe Richards, Andrea Fulbright, Rachael Gradwohl, Shawn Ahmann, Robert White, and Enrique Ramsey.

In past years, Bombers athletes competed in slalom, giant slalom, and Super G at the Special Olympics Winter Games in Wenatchee, Washington. Unfortunately, this year, Special Olympics Washington cut skiing from its winter programs.

Visit Bluewood.com or SkylineAdventures.com to learn how to join a ski team, be a volunteer, or donate to transform lives through outdoor adventures.