Major support for Oregon Field Guide is provided by... [ ♪♪♪ ] MAN: My rappel!

MAN: Oh, my gosh, it's beautiful.

MAN: Good morning, everybody.

Woo!

Let's do it again!

MAN: Nicely done!

MAN: Oh, yeah!

Fourteen and a half.

Yes, that was awesome!

[ people cheering ] There you go, up, up... ED JAHN: Next, on Oregon Field Guide: For these kids, surfing is way more than just a sport.

WOMAN: Oregon is Indian country.

This is part of our original reservation, and so it's full circle for us in terms of healing and empowerment and getting opportunities we don't normally get.

Then, what does it take to transform this into Oregon's state gemstone?

MAN: It makes nice pendants and earrings and things like that.

And it just loves to be shiny.

But first, deep in Oregon's sagebrush country, DIYers are bringing a personal touch to the sport of skiing.

MAN: Now just kind of keep your feet together.

GIRL: Okay.

I'm out in the rangelands of Lake County, known for generations as ranch country.

It's a long ways away from any ski resort, so why would someone come all the way out here to build their own custom skis?

If you drive far enough to the remote sagelands of Oregon's outback, you might spot this trailer.

It looks like a homemade tiny house, and in some ways, it is.

But it's also a factory and a classroom and an expression of the DIY life forged by these two, Kristin Bromaus and Michael Lish.

MICHAEL: You good to go?

KRISTIN: Yeah, they're ready for you.

Michael and Kristin host a two-day workshop where people come from all over the world to build their very own set of one-of-a-kind skis.

When people find out about us, they want to come to where we are because they're coming to natural places that are incredibly beautiful and create an amazing backdrop for building their skis.

So we're going to start from the very end.

Yeah, I'll get you started.

We've had 7-year-olds up to 80-year-olds come by and build their own skis.

And then you'll start to see your ski getting formed.

Okay, you're good to go.

The participants for this workshop are a European father-and-daughter team, Attila and Francesca.

So F102, but I don't see 102 there.

MICHAEL: Just go to 90 and go to H, and you're fine.

Okay, so one of you can hold it and the other one lock it.

All right, Mike.

Nice, and then you're going to move down, hold it... Attila skis a little.

Francesca has never skied before.

Very good.

Keep going.

-Beautiful.

That's good.

-Okay.

KRISTIN: So it can be intimidating for some to think, "I don't know anything about ski design, I don't even really know much about how I ski, in a sense, so how am I going to design a set of skis?"

But it's not like that.

It's having a conversation with somebody who knows what you say and how to take that and turn it into a perfect basically custom-fit ski for you.

ATTILA: Nice.

It's ski-looking.

KRISTIN: It's ski-looking.

[ chuckles ] Every part of the process, it gets to look more and more like a ski.

[ chuckles ] Okay, so now we need to just put some super glue on these edges.

MICHAEL: One of the things that we realized in the workshop is the tools and the process had to be accessible to the participant.

And safe.

You got it.

You can go ahead and shoot it now.

[ drill rattles ] So, yeah, use two hands.

Yeah, there you go.

Don't bend it.

You'll break it.

They are part of 90 percent of the process, and we're right there alongside them, step by step, making sure they don't make any mistakes and making them feel confident and safe.

Both of you will help each other when you cut.

Excellent!

[ router whirring ] KRISTIN: I think one of the cool things about watching someone build their own skis is that first process, which is routing and shaping the cores.

The router is-- it's a pretty gnarly tool in the sense of what it does.

It has a kind of high-pitched noise and it's heavy.

And it's kind of awkward.

It's not an intuitive tool, and most people, unless you're a cabinet maker, really haven't ever used a router or really even been around a router.

So it's cool to see especially a young person or a young woman to just pick up that router and just go for it.

[ laughs ] All right, we'll take this one off.

Very good.

KRISTIN: We don't think that customs should be just for what people think of custom.

You know, it's for somebody who has a lot of money and they're an expert skier.

We think that it's just the better way to buy a set of skis.

It's just going to be a better experience in the end.

Whether you're a first-time skier like Francesca, who's never skied before, these skis are going to be even more amazing for her on her first run because she's connected to her skis, and now she's going to be connected to skiing on those skis with her dad, and it's just going to be this wonderful memory.

Beautiful.

Michael and Kristin started in California and moved their ski-making trailer around the West, eventually settling hundreds of miles from any major ski resort.

They now call remote Lake County home and have started foraging their distinct DIY homestead at the intersection of two rural routes.

Highway crews used to park their heavy equipment at this intersection and created a thick base layer of gravel.

Our world is trailers, so I looked at Kris and I go, "You know how much money is in just the groundwork alone?

And we could turn our trailers around all day long if we wanted to!"

KRISTIN: I like the aspect that we can move around and change our perspective.

It's kind of like that rearranging the living room to give new life to that space.

It's just things don't get stale if you can just move them.

They started with one homemade trailer, then built another and then another... and then converted some shipping containers, fabricating everything from gathered pieces.

I like going out into the desert for a walk with the dogs and finding a piece of old wood that's been sitting there probably for 50, maybe 100 years and then being like, "Hm, I wonder what we could do with this."

And then Michael turns it into, like, this cool window or a door knob.

I like seeing what he's going to do with it.

Okay, so the next part of the process is where we're going to take all the layers that we prepped and basically bond them all together.

And once this is mixed up, we're just going to use our hands to spread all this out.

And you're trying to create a nice thin, even layer.

So make sure you push the resin up into all those little spaces.

If you have a little bit in one area, not so much in the other, just move it around.

-Fun!

-[ laughing ] It's very fun.

Yes, this is, I would say, the more relaxing part of the process.

Okay, that looks great.

And the graphics for this ski is a panorama, a black-and-white panorama photograph of some mountains.

-ATTILA: Wow.

-KRISTIN: Yeah.

The graphics are perhaps the most noticeable and distinctive aspect of the custom skis.

Michael and Kristin have made hundreds of skis, but each set is individually designed.

So graphics are super fun.

I love doing it.

The client will send me a concept, an idea, whether it's abstract or more concrete, and maybe they'll send me a bunch of images, maybe they'll send me just one image.

Once I have a sense of what they're looking to achieve, I go into Photoshop and I start kind of playing with all these different images.

And it's a total reflection of what they love, like that color, that design, that photograph, that picture of their kid, their dog.

Whatever it is, they just get so connected to it.

And then let's get rid of this real hard zone here.

And then they're proud of it.

They're proud to display it when they're on the chair lift and talk about, "Yeah, these are my graphics and this is this and this is that, and this is why it's on here.

And I made these skis."

And so it's just a wonderful part of the whole experience and the whole conversation.

Wow, look at that!

FRANCESCA: I think they're amazing.

Yeah, I can't wait to see them in their final shape.

Here.

MICHAEL: Beautiful.

Since Francesca's never skied before, Michael volunteers to take her on her very first run with her new skis.

Yeah, let's kind of start over here.

I'm going to put the ski there, and then toe in first.

You're just going to step down.

Nice.

Okay, we're going to kind of aim this way a little bit.

Good, good.

For now, just kind of keep your feet together.

FRANCESCA: Okay.

I'm going to kind of move us that way so we lose some speed.

That's good.

Just take your time... FRANCESCA: I'm skiing on my own skis that I made myself, so it's a great satisfaction.

It's great to put them on the snow.

--that way.

Look at that, nice!

Ha, okay!

And now...

The fact that I made them myself, I don't know, it just adds something more to the experience overall because I made them.

I'm here trying to learn myself, and it just-- it's amazing.

MICHAEL: Good.

-[ Michael laughing ] -[ Francesca whoops ] MICHAEL: Nice!

Okay, let's do it again.

Okay, let's go.

Kristin met Michael by answering a job posting.

Michael had started making skis in a mobile workshop in Mammoth, California.

His business was taking off, and he needed a business manager.

Immediately when I first met Michael, I felt very comfortable with him.

I felt, "Okay, this person is going to...

This is where I need to be right now."

You know, of course, living in small space, too, people are like, "How do you do that if you're not together and you're living in this tiny space?"

But we just did, and it just worked.

We just had separate sleeping spaces and we kind of had our own routines, and we just figured it out.

MICHAEL: We were business partners probably up until about five months ago, and then after ten years in close proximity-- I mean, all of our facilities have been small spaces.

After-- about six months ago, we finally got together.

So now we're a couple.

Kristin learned ski making from Michael, but she added a new dimension to their business.

Drawing from her background working in restaurants, she developed the House in the Fields.

House in the Fields is a one-table restaurant, a moveable feast, you could say, with a changing view wherever it is parked.

This is the way Michael and Kristin like to cap the workshop experience.

KRISTIN: And I think that all the things we've gone through over the years, the fact that we're here now and the vision we're putting forth that we're doing now and that we'll keep growing and developing, it's kind of exponential.

The further along we get, the more we kind of feel like we get back from it.

[ ♪♪♪ ] [ people yelling excitedly ] This might look like your average cargo trailer, but for professional surf instructor Kelly Potts, it's a self-contained surf shop on wheels.

Kelly travels up and down the West Coast, offering free surfing clinics to Indigenous communities.

Today, she's with members of the Siletz Tribe, and we're tagging along for the ride.

Surfing is a popular sport in Oregon.

Every year, surfers brave the frigid waters to take advantage of the abundant beach breaks and diverse waves.

However, there's a noticeable lack of diversity in Oregon's surfing communities, which are often situated in and around Indigenous ancestral lands and coastlines.

Kelly Potts is seeking to change that by offering free surfing clinics to tribal members.

Not only are we going to teach you how to get up to your feet, we're going to teach you how to get back down to your board.

I call it finishing like a pro, hair still dry.

One of those members is Kimberly Lane, who saw Kelly's surfing clinics as a great opportunity for fellow members of the Siletz Tribe.

For me, when I think of the benefit that I want to bring to the tribe with this partnership, with All Are We, is just that same empowerment, connection, healing.

-I'm doing it!

-WOMAN: You're doing it!

Oregon is Indian country.

This is part of our original reservation, and so it's full circle for us in terms of healing and empowerment and getting opportunities we don't normally get.

My name's Kelly Potts, and I'm from Maui, Hawaii.

I was born in Portland, Oregon.

My dad was an old surfer from Houston, and he would just take us out to the coast while he was surfing, and I would just play in the water and in the estuaries.

So I have a lot of memories growing up here in the Northwest.

I remember the first day he got me out on a board, and he was like, "All we're doing today is learning how to paddle.

We're not even going to catch a wave."

[ chuckles ] I think it was like on the second day we got to catch waves but he wouldn't let me stand up.

And then the third day, he got me standing up.

And then after that, he was like, "You're on your own, kid.

I gotta get back to work."

[ laughs ] So being raised in Hawaii, you learn a lot about looking out for a need and not just recognize it but to be there, to do something to help out.

And I said, "You know what I'm going to need to do, I'm going to need to take a road trip.

I'm going to need to see where are the good places that are conducive for teaching surfing."

It was when I got into that Northwest territory that I started to recognize all the Indigenous communities out here that are near the coast, and it really was very obvious who I would want to host my retreats for.

-Good morning, darling.

-Good morning.

How'd you sleep?

You can push it back in, I'm sorry.

I was thinking about the fin setup.

Great.

Oh, hi, nice to see you.

Thanks so much for coming.

-I love the ocean.

-Yeah.

Yeah, I like the waves and the ocean.

GIRL: I'm terrified of the ocean.

Like, a couple years ago with our auntie, and so just kind of wanted to do it again.

KELLY: Okay, cool.

Well, let's get you going, ladies.

Let's get you suited up.

Lexi and Nevaeh have been taking lessons with Kelly for several years, whereas this will be Kendall and Bianca's second time surfing with Kelly.

All four girls are tribal members.

WOMAN: Good, and this helps to keep the board sticky so that you don't fall off.

KELLY: I've got a group of volunteers that have been helping out with a lot of the different events throughout the years.

Whoo, looks beautiful out there.

And I feel like they want that connection with the communities that have been around them all along but never had the chance or the opportunity to get to know.

Okay, what's the most important thing in surfing, do you think?

Not drowning.

Not drowning.

Let's be safe, right?

-Safety first.

-I said "fun."

What is the source of energy that waves come from?

The bottom has something to do with it.

Sand has something to do with it.

Yes, Nevaeh, wind, yeah.

You get to ride the wave from a heartbeat of a storm that's traveled from that far away.

So I see little baby paddles happening right here.

So go ahead and flick that sand behind you, just flick that sand!

I think what has built trust is knowing that I've been instructing for 20-plus years.

You know, I have ocean rescue skills, and I think that gives them a little more comfort, knowing that they're in good hands.

Body sideways, get that back foot, stand up and point.

There you go.

Stay low, bend those knees.

Good, looks good.

All right!

When the participants show up, they're usually full of nerves and anxiety and they're very apprehensive.

And then I just see that, after their first wave and their second, that they just open up and they're recognizing their own ability.

Kelly will, like, go.

Like she'll pull you out and, like, go with you, like one-on-one.

KELLY: Yeah, Nevaeh, eyes up.

Awesome, nice job, girlfriend!

Nice job.

NEVAEH: She, like, gets you out of your comfort zone.

KELLY: All right, out and around.

At first it feels scary because you feel like it's going to go like this, kind of scary but kind of fun.

It definitely feels joyful, because once you get on and, like, know what you're doing, it's really fun, and it gets-- and you get way better.

And we have the wetsuits and booties.

Only your hands really feel how cold it is.

They keep us warm, so... KELLY: I can see their confidence build each wave they catch.

That right there is the most empowering thing for me to witness, knowing that they just experienced something that they didn't think that they were capable of doing.

And by the end, they were really good at it.

A lot of these kids are really, really good at it.

Oh, this is a good one!

[ overlapping conversations ] [ Kelly laughs ] Yeah, girls!

That was my butt!

All the smiles in the water are so much, like, brighter than smiles on land, and I saw such an amazing improvement from yesterday to today.

KELLY: I think there's a lot of barriers that would keep these families from wanting to get into the surf world.

It's kind of a white man's sport, you know?

It didn't used to be, I don't think, you know.

Hawaii is renowned for being, like, one of the first places in the world to be recognized for surfing.

A lot of Indigenous communities across the world used to surf.

I think a lot of people had canoes, and they would be catching waves in, you know?

So, yeah, I could see that that would be one barrier, not recognizing your own people out in the water.

And also just access to equipment, having to put on a wetsuit in the cold water.

So we're able to make it easier for them to get out in the water more.

This surfing experience, it's not just about addressing, like, that hierarchy of needs.

It's about addressing the needs of, like, connection and that feeling of community, but also healing and empowerment.

We all need that.

KELLY: I just want to congratulate you all, because I thought you all ripped super hard.

What are you proud of yourself for today?

For standing up, actually.

Yes!

Yes!

-GIRL: Not drowning.

-KELLY: Not drowning!

[ all laugh ] -I just kept going.

-You just kept going.

Yeah.

Long rides.

Bring it in, ladies.

And now we are all connected, and the ocean is what connects us.

Now we're a community.

We're a community of surfers, we're a family.

We get to be here for each other, look out for each other, take care of each other, right?

I love you all.

I'm so proud of you.

Let's curl it in.

So the Hawaiian word for wave is nalu.

So we're going to shout "nalu" as we throw our hands into the sky on three.

One, two, three.

ALL: Nalu!

[ all laughing ] [ ♪♪♪ ] We've learned over the years that a lot of people share our love for stories about Oregon geology.

So here's one about a man who shapes Oregon sunstones into a thing of splendor.

[ birds chirping ] JULE GILFILLAN: The Rice Museum of Rocks and Minerals is full of natural treasures.

But down in the basement, Karl Ziltener is doing nature one better.

So we've gone to the sunstone field and we've found us a bag full of rocks.

These rosy-colored rocks are Oregon sunstones.

Sunstone is the Oregon state gemstone.

It makes nice pendants and earrings and things like that.

And it just loves to be shiny, so it polishes easy.

Even the straw-colored ones, which are pretty common, turn out a beautiful stone.

We're going to look for a stone that is big enough to cut something out of.

Now, if you get one like this, that's a fair-sized stone.

Karl checks the stone for cracks.

So that we don't have one that falls apart after we put some work into it, okay?

So that might work for what we're going to do.

There are any number of ways to cut a stone, but each faceted gem has a few standard features.

A gemstone has five major parts.

It has the crown, the girdle, and the pavilion.

It also has a table, which is the very top.

It also has a culet, which is the very bottom.

Karl's going to cut an eight-sized shape called a petal eight.

For this kind of stone, I decided I would do the girdle first.

Now, the girdle ties the top and the bottom together.

Next, Karl moves on to the pavilion, the longer facets that make up the bottom of the cut.

This is when getting things just right is critical.

We, as faceters, get to play with light.

The main facets on a pavilion need to be at a proper angle so that the light goes down through the stone and reflects and comes back out the top rather than bounce out the sides.

If the pavilion is too shallow or too deep, light won't bounce back to the top and the gem won't appear to sparkle.

So getting those facets the right angle is essential.

And on a clear stone, that isn't easy.

We're going to paint the stone.

By doing this, we can look at it and see what's happening on the stone.

Even when everything is just right, sunstones can be tricky.

Ooh.

Something went wrong.

Look at this, I got one facet I cut too deep.

So I'm going to have to go back and recut those.

Sunstones are an interesting critter.

I like to work with them, but they have soft sides.

And you can get yourself in trouble big-time on cutting them.

One of them you'll overcut, and the other one not quite enough, and all of a sudden you're all over the place.

So it's just a love/hate kind of thing.

Let's put it that way.

[ chuckles ] There we go, now we got a nice sharp point and a nice flat girdle line all the way around there.

Once the pavilion is just right, the bottom of the stone is pretty much done.

At that point, ready to turn it upside down.

Add a little dab of glue, a little blue ink to make the facets visible... Now we can grind on the crown.

Let's have at it here.

And I pronounce it... ready for a table.

Once that flat spot on top is done, the gem is ready for a good polish.

Everything that comes up should be nice and shiny.

You shouldn't have any dull spots.

I declare that stone done.

Shall we take it off and look at it?

Nature gave us some nice-looking things.

Wonderful-looking.

And following the rules of light and all of that, we can really enhance them and make them really sparkle, so to speak.

[ chuckles ] [ ♪♪♪ ] You can now find many Oregon Field Guide stories and episodes online.

And to be part of the conversation about the outdoors and environment here in the Northwest, join us on Facebook.

[ gulls cawing ] Major support for Oregon Field Guide is provided by... Additional support provided by... And the following... and the contributing members of OPB and viewers like you.