Snowboarder following in family footsteps

By Nicole Montesano

Smoke Signals staff writer

Having ridden a snowboard since she was a toddler, Grand Ronde Tribal youth Azayla Burrow can’t remember a time when she didn’t love hitting the slopes.

“I don’t remember ever not snowboarding,” she said. “I go to Mount Hood Meadows and Timberline. There’s still snowboarding at Timberline until halfway through the summer and then I work a lot at Timberline through the summer. I work in a restaurant there, hosting and bussing, but it’s nice ‘cause I get a pass.”

Burrow, 15, is the daughter of Randy and Jessica Lampert, and has two sisters, Sacheen and Cheyanne Lampert.

After deciding a few years ago to pursue snowboarding like her older sister, Burrow debuted in a nationals competition in 2022-23. She was back in 2024 and secured 13^th place in her favorite event, the halfpipe, but a broken ankle sidelined her.

Jessica Lampert said in an email that this year, “Azayla came into the season wanting to focus on being a part of the high school team for the Oregon Interscholastic Snowboard Association. She rides on the Sandy snowboard team in the Gorge League.”

The OISA has four leagues, Lampert explained, and students compete both individually and as a team.

“As a freshman coming in, she did really well and even took home a first place for halfpipe,” she said. “Her women’s team was in the top three in their league, earning them a spot at the state championships. At state she took home a second-place individual for halfpipe, ninth in banked slalom and 12th for slopestyle (out of 43). … Her team earned third in halfpipe overall and second for banked slalom. She received a varsity letter, too!”

Burrow was ranked seventh in the nation, and in late March, she headed to Copper Mountain in Colorado to compete in the United States of America Snowboard and Freeski Association National Championships.

“She competed in only two disciplines in USASA this year, halfpipe and snowboard cross,” Lampert said. “In previous years she competed in all disciplines, hoping for an overall title at nationals. After coming off podium placings at states and getting an invitation to both halfpipe and snowboard cross for USASA Nationals she was offered to join another family in Colorado. So, in a rush we fundraised, planned and accepted her spots. She was on a plane all by herself two weeks later heading to Colorado. We are so thankful for all the support. It really does take a village or Tribe.”

Burrow placed seventh in the women’s 15–16 year old category for the halfpipe event, and said she was happy with her performance.

“I’m really excited; I met one of my goals. I wanted to get in the top eight (for the halfpipe competition),” she said, speaking by phone a few hours after the competition.

Burrow enjoys all her events, but especially loves the halfpipe.

“It’s so fun; you get so much adrenaline,” she said. “The weather was perfect today and I felt like the pipe conditions were soft enough, so it helped me not be scared to get up high enough in the pipe. I was really happy with my performance. My first run didn’t go so well; I fell, but my second run, I was pretty happy with. I got my grabs.”

She said she also enjoys the snowboard cross competition, in which she placed 15^th two days later.

“It’s also kind of an adrenaline rush; you’re just going as fast as you can down the course,” she said.

Snowboarding has always been a family affair, Burrow added.

“My mom … was a professional snowboarder; she went to the World Cup for snowboarding,” she said. “She taught me and my sister to snowboard. My dad snowboards, too. He wasn’t a professional but he did judging for snowboarding. And then my other sister skies.”

Burrow said she originally started racing and competing in events to be like her older sister.

“Now she has to catch up to me,” she laughed.

Grand Ronde Tribal youth Azayla Burrow, 15, displays medals she has won in competitions. (Contributed photos)

Although Burrow thoroughly enjoyed the experience competing at nationals, she hasn’t decided whether to follow her mom’s path.

“I want to do more events, but I’m not quite sure if I want to go professional,” she said. “It feels like a lot of pressure having to work all the way to get up there, but it sounds really fun. It just seems really hard to do. A few of my goals are just getting my abilities and my skills better. I want to be able to spin more and do better in my competitions, but a lot of it is also for fun. I love my sport.”

Lampert said that Burrow “would like to encourage other Native Americans to give snow sports and extreme sports a try. It’s a great way to get out in the outdoors.”

Burrow said she has enjoyed being in programs encouraging Indigenous people to get involved in winter sports.

“A couple years ago, there was a program called Chill for more Natives to get up to the mountains and we all went to (Mount Hood) Ski Bowl, and that was super fun. But unfortunately, that program lost funding,” she said.

Lampert said it is inspiring to see other Native American athletes on the slopes.
“CTGR has had a great partnership with Chill and even though it’s unfortunate that they have lost funding there are other programs out there that encourage our BIPOC communities to engage in outdoor learning and recreation like skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing,” she said.

Burrow said she particularly wants to encourage girls to try out for the sport.

“Try to just get out there and as much as you can, trying new things,” she said. “We want representation for everybody on the mountain; especially the girls. I’ve met so many amazing girls doing this sport; it’s so fun. … The friend that I’m staying with right now, (in Colorado), I met her through snowboarding. It’s a really nice community.”