Still Going DownhillLori Sivumaki
Being from Oklahoma, my Montana husband would bring me up and we’d catch a weekend here and there over ye years from the early 2000’s. But we’ve become consistent weekly skiers since January 2024.
Videos
1 video
Photographs
7 photographs
In their words
Exactly as they wrote it
Who they think of when they think of Showdown
Staff: Avery, Katie, little George (literally the heart of showdown
Instructors: Jake, Aaron (they made my son great…and helped me stay relatively caught up)
Family: my son, Colt (this is his place) someday I guarantee he will be a staff member.
Friends: our best friends told us about ski league and we decided to try it. My son’s love is largely because of the Duncan’s (Kohlette, Thomas, & Graiyden)
Their favorite memory
The Time We Thought Showdown Was Going to Leave Us on the Lift Overnight
One of my favorite Showdown memories didn’t actually involve skiing at all.
My friend, Kohlette, and I had strategically picked Arkansas Traveler so we could get the perfect view of Colt coming down Glory Hole for the very first time. This was a BIG moment, as a red group ski dude. We found our spot, watched the run, and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Eventually, we realized the horrifying truth.
We must have missed them.
So we headed back toward the Double Chair, only to discover the chairs had been pulled up.
Apparently, our little Glory Hole viewing expedition had taken longer than expected.
Thankfully, we flagged down a lifty who took pity on us and let us ride up.
Crisis averted.
Except…about 75 yards from the top, the lift stopped.
And it stayed stopped.
Naturally, we immediately assumed the worst.
This was it.
We were going to spend the night suspended over Showdown Mountain.
I’m not sure what our plan was. Build a shelter out of our ski jackets? Signal for help? Accept our new life as permanent chairlift residents?
Then, eventually, we spotted our husbands and kids waiting at the top.
Apparently, the lift had simply experienced a short mechanical stall.
And—according to everyone who knows anything about chairlifts—Showdown was never actually going to leave us hanging on a lift overnight.
Details.
All I know is we went out to get the perfect view of Colt skiing Glory Hole for the first time and somehow ended up starring in our own low-budget mountain survival documentary.
Classic Showdown.
The craziest thing that ever happened up here
From Red to Purple to White
In January of 2024, Colt had never skied a day in his life.
Not once.
And somehow, just a couple of years later, we are standing at Showdown watching him charge down runs that would have terrified the kid who first clicked into skis.
His Showdown journey can basically be told in three colors:
2024: Red Group.
Brand-new skier. Learning how to stop, turn, and survive the mountain.
2025: Purple Group.
Somewhere along the way, skiing stopped being something he was learning and became something he loved.
2026: White Group.
And now? He absolutely rips.
This past season, he didn’t just ski with the advanced kids—he won the Bump Off Contest.
It’s honestly hard to wrap my head around. Two years ago, he had never even stood on skis. Now he’s chasing bumps, charging down the mountain, and making us wonder when exactly he became better than all of us.
From Red to Purple to White. (Skipping everything inbetween)
What started as, “Let’s see if he likes skiing,” turned into something none of us saw coming.
And the best part is that he’s just getting started.
History they know
Colt’s talent may be a genetic thing being related to Dale Sivumaki
About the photographs
Pics from the first days Red on the magic carpet to Purple on the hill to White ailing off the cliffs. There’s a picture of his Bump Off win with his amazing skis he will grow into…eventually. Ha. Then pics of our ski people (Sivumaki's & Duncan’s). Then my crash out into a tree well….still learning.
About the videos
Colt’s highlight reel from winning the Bump Off
Your turn
This page fills up with whoever sends something in. If you have been up this hill — once, or every weekend for forty years — you belong on it too.