I agree with the OP. Given the size of the NS community, it wouldn't be difficult to get enough subscribers to become a YouTube partner.
The fact is that even though NS wants to be the online source for skiing-related videos, that's not going to happen soon. Everyone uses YouTube. Period. People also use Vimeo. That's never going to stop. There just aren't enough options with NS's video system (i.e. HTML5).
And the argument that NS wants the video to stay here I understand, but if you look at what other companies are doing (i.e. CNN, Apple, etc.), the Internet is no longer on sites. Facebook, for example, has become a microcosm for the wider Internet. Apps are changing the way that people use the Web.
Putting one featured video up per week on a Newschoolers YouTube channel is not going to hurt the site. It will get more people interested in it.