Professional snowboarder and philanthropist Josh Dirksen, of Bend, gets low and carves his snowboard around the first corner of the Dirksen Derby course at Mt. Bachelor in December 2022.

During the last 15 years, the Dirksen Derby has evolved into an event that truly marks the beginning of the winter sports season in Central Oregon.

The 15th edition of the snowboard rally race at Mt. Bachelor is set for Friday through Sunday near the Skyliner chairlift.

“That’s always been a special thing about the derby is the timing, the start of the season, and when all your friends get together and you talk about what you’ve been up to and what you’re going to do during the season,” said Josh Dirksen, founder of the event. “It’s special that Bachelor consistently has snow so they can open this time of year.”

In 2007, Dirksen, a pro snowboarder from Bend, was simply trying to raise money for a fellow snowboarder who was paralyzed in a snowboarding accident. Since then, the Dirksen Derby rally race has become the unofficial kickoff to the ski and snowboard season. The 2007 event included 58 riders. This weekend’s derby will feature about 500 snowboarders racing on two banked slalom courses.

Various age groups (6 to 67) and divisions of snowboarders, and a few sit-skiers, are timed on their runs along the course. Friday includes check-in and an organized practice, followed by one run and Saturday and one run on Sunday for a two-run combined time.

The event was originally intended as a fundraiser and a way to support Tyler Eklund, a Bend snowboarder who was paralyzed as a teenager after a fall at a competition in California in April 2007. Eklund, now 30, has taken part in the Dirksen Derby on a sit-ski in many of the years since, and he is often joined by a number of other sit-ski competitors.

During the last few years, the Dirksen Derby has expanded to raise funds for many other causes and nonprofits, including Oregon Adaptive Sports, which enables Eklund and others with disabilities to ride the mountain.

The Derby also raises funds for Protect Our Winters, a nonprofit led by winter sports athletes that seeks solutions to climate change, as well as the Central Oregon Avalanche Association.

Dirksen says the event has raised $25,000 this year and has now raised more than $300,000 since it started in 2007.

“In the beginning, it was solely for Tyler,” Dirksen said. “His medical bills stabilized. He’s doing super well. He gets up and races every year. I don’t think there’s been a year he’s missed besides the first one.”

Dirksen, 46, and other organizers and snowboarders have been digging and shaping the courses by hand since Sunday. Nearly 2 feet of snow has fallen at Bachelor in the last week, and the base depth was 43 inches as of Wednesday.

“We have a lot of snow this year,” Dirksen said. “We’ve had years where we’ve done it with 11 inches of snow. This year we have way more than that, and it’s super fun having a lot of snow to work with.”

Favorites to win the pro division this year include brothers Ben and Gabe Ferguson, of Bend. Ben finished fourth in the halfpipe in the Winter Olympics in 2018 and Gabe also competed on the professional halfpipe circuit. The Ferguson brothers are now focused on filming snowboard movies rather than competing, so they have more time to take part in local events such as the Dirksen Derby.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they start winning it every time,” Dirksen said. “They’re fast snowboarders. But there’s some good competition.”

That competition includes Dirksen himself, who will be competing in the pro division for the first time. His 9-year-old daughter Alana is also racing.

“I’m an older pro, but sometimes I’m fast still,” Dirksen said. “It’s kind of fun just being with my daughter and making it a family event.

“The date of the derby and the location are definitely very unique and make it what it is.”