Our Story

This started in a garage.

A few friends tuning skis, playing hammerschlagen, and looking for any excuse to get on a chairlift together.

ADL crew celebrating together in a snowstorm near a stone archway

Since 2011

A few runs turned into a passport full of stamps

It started with Kyle Watson's love of skiing — sparked as a kid watching Phil and Steve Mahre take Olympic gold and silver — and a ski-tuning bench in his garage, surrounded by his kids, the family dog Chloe, and a crew of friends who just wanted an excuse to get on a chairlift together, and an even better one for a party. The stickers and t-shirts came first; the name came next: Alp du Lakemont Ski Club, ADL for short.

The real kickoff was his Japow trips and Mahre Camp — the ski camp with the Mahre brothers, still going strong today. Somewhere along the way, a shotski became tradition, raclette on the mountain became a ritual, our newsletter became The Shotski, and Dream Trips carried the club across Europe, to Japan, and down to South America.

Japan Italy Switzerland Austria Chile

Portrait of Kyle Watson, ADLSKICLUB's founder

In Memory

For Kyle Watson, who started it all.

Kyle was fearless from the moment he could walk — skateboarding with his buddy Jerry, skiing backwards down a mountain as a teenager, always chasing the edge of whatever seemed possible. But everything came back to family. He was, in his kids' words, "the best dad in the world": cooking dinner, catching the LA Kings, planning surprises, telling the same stories and jokes on repeat. However many people he touched along the way, he always made it feel like his heart was right at home.

He had a way of lighting up a room without trying — a laugh and a grin that turned hotel staff, bartenders, lifties, and total strangers into old friends within minutes. He poured that same generosity back into the sport he loved, founding 2 Hammers to help young ski racers chase dreams of their own.

Kyle's story is still being written — in the memories we share, the friendships he sparked, and the trips we'll keep chasing in his honor. We miss him every day, and "44" will live on with all of us.

Leandros Watson in an ADL jacket carving around a slalom gate on a sunny spring day

Taking Over

Like father, like son.

I’m Leandros Watson, Kyle Watson’s son, and I run ADLSKICLUB today, along with some of our founding members and best friends of my dad. I grew up around ADL — the skiing, the trips, and the people who made this club what it is. I watched my dad build it from the ground up, starting with ski-tuning nights in a garage, trips with friends, and a simple belief that skiing and other adventures should always be fun. Somewhere in there I also picked up a Hammerschlagen trophy at Mahre Camp 14.0.

After losing my dad, taking over ADL means a lot to me. This club was something he poured so much of himself into, and I know how much it means to the people who have been part of it over the years. I’m not trying to replace what Kyle built. I’m trying to keep it going.

My goal is to carry forward the spirit that made ADL special while growing the club, creating new experiences, and bringing more people into the ADL family — and to keep it about what my dad always cared about: great skiing, good people, and having fun along the way.

See you on the mountain — Leandros Watson, Operations Manager

What’s Next

Same idea, next chapter

Skiing is the heart of it, but the club has always really been about the people and the fun — the swag, the pro deals, the pray-for-snow parties. This season the focus is memberships, the online shop, local Washington State events, and the Mt. Hood Mahre Camp. The international trips are on pause for now, and we hope to bring them back the right way over the next few years.

ADL group skiing in the Dolomites, Italy

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