Anyone on here go to Western State

F

FK.

Member
Sorry for jacking Co's threads. But I am from Pa and was wondering if anyone goes here. I am seriously checking it out for it's recreational/resort management program. If anyone goes there, u think you could just post some stuff about the college and if the park scene is any good at crested butte or where-ever. Thanks from the other side of the country(in pa where it barely snows!!)
 
Crested Butte park normally sucks, it is fun sometimes but not very good...but the mountain is amazing, best steeps in the state. I don't g o to western state but if I end up going to college I will probably go there.
 
Hey i used to go to Western and have mixed feelings on the school and area. I love Gunnison and CB and surrounding areas its absolutely beautiful, and skiing is pretty sick. But not much of a park scene at all. They have some fun stuff, and a decent pipe, but not going to be Breck or Key or anything like that or remotely close. If you love pow, and its a good year absolutely no where better!

I personally chose to leave Western, I couldn't stand the school. I mean I dont know most of my teachers were mediocre, and not even into it really. Nothing was really engaging to me about any of my classes, but i was only there a semester, so it just could've been my teachers. Another difference I have then most people in that area, is i dont drink or smoke. So it wasn't as fun for me as it may have been for others. They pretty much have a drinking or substance knicknamed day for every day of the week.

But hey if thats what your into you'll love it, finding a party there is like looking for Hot Girls and Beemers in SoCal.

Now there aren't many girls, which works for some...but kinda sucks at times too. Gotta grab them quick in the freshman crop haha!

The outdoors there is awesome for skiing, snowmobiling, biking, climbing, etc. The food sucks donkey nuts, but is required your first year. I would get the most limited meal plan you can!

I have a friend in this major and he loves it and the school though so get some other peoples opinions too. I just know for myself I'm very into having alot to do besides drinking and smoking pot, so I didn't fit, but this is just my opinion.
 
i go to western right now and i love it. I get to ski everyday of the week and still go to classes. There are a lot of people that go up almost everyday so you always have a choice of people to ski with. There's a free bus going to and from the mountain and it's really convienient. Western isn't all that hard of a school which works out perfect for skiing and pretty much anythuing else. I've skied 92 days already this season and love it here
 
so what I got out of those two posts is, Crested Butte has bad food and teachers, but great parties and skiing, the classes are easy but not engaging, the park isn't great but it has great pow skiing.

Sound correct?
 
depends on who you talk to, everyone has a differing opinion. I love CB hate Gunny. Food is great in CB but sucks at western. Its boring to me in gunny, but could be fun to anyone who enjoys altering themselves through the means of alcohol or other substances. The powder is hit or miss, you may have 3 bad years then 1 good from what i know. Only thing is there, everyones a good skier, so all the good pow gets ripped up faster then the chinese populate
 
what school did u transfer to, I'm also thinking about university of Utah, Cu boulder, CSU fort collins, UVM, and university of montana at missoula. any reccomendations?
 
All those other choices are much better education wise. I can tell you that CU and CSU are both great schools, about 1 and 1/2 and 2 hours away respectively from skiing (which is not that bad unless you go every day).
 
I dont go to western, but I go to school in Colorado and drove over to CB for a day and they people I met from Western were really chill and cool, also the mountain kicks ass
 
Cali Design College. I was working some pretty cool jobs while i was out of school, but realized you could'nt make enough money to eat working in the ski industry. I know some kids that go to Bozeman that are really stoked on it. CU has tons of skiers. And smail is right, a degree from western will not nearly be looked upon as highly as something from CU/CSU/CC so on so forth. Not saying a job is impossible, i just found the school to be partial to education. Obviously its what you make of it, but most the people are there to get a peice of paper, and ski 5 days a week. Which is fine, and good for a few people. If you want more to your life than skiing and school day in day out i'd look elsewhere. Nothing wrong w/ skiing and school like that, but it gets repetetive and stale very very quick to a few.
 
I apologize for asking about them in the CO threads, but do any of u known about university of Utah, they have a program that is just like Western's and the mountains are crazy from what I hear, anyone know anything about them or the area?

P.S. Thanks for your insight so far everyone
 
Alright, here's the lowdown on Western State and the surrounding area.

Western state is one of the smaller colleges in Colorado. Enrollment is around 2,500 and while in recent years there have been more and more women around...there still isn't a lot of women. There is a reason why the "Gunnison-ratio" exists. About 3 to 1 typically. Education at the college actually isn't bad for the money you would be paying. Western is NOT CU, UofU, or any other university. It's a small state college. There are some easy classes at Western, there are some very difficult classes (Macroeconomics with Dr. Plante for example).

Lots of parties because that's about all there really is to do in this valley. Not at all hard to find parties. The party scene however gets old because of the same people at every party. Oh, and since Gunnison is a small town....drama drama drama and everyone knows about your drama. Very chill people here though, usually very nice. Crested Butte is much the same...only smaller.

Skiing. I work for CBMR (Crested Butte Mountain Resort) currently. This year may in fact be a record setting year. CB's all time high for snowfall in a season is 415"...we're at 399" so far. It's been very good this year. You don't ski CB for the same reasons you ski Breck, Keystone, or Copper. CB's park sucks! Their terrain on the otherhand is ridiculous. Everything from steep glades, to pillow lines, to scare yourself steeps...all inbounds and not much hiking. One thing to keep in mind though, it currently costs $550 for a college pass and there aren't many perks to that pass. You get 3 free days at nearby Monarch, Telluride, Taos and Angelfire. It's kinda a rip off. Like it was said before, everyone is a dang good skier at CB. Powder gets tracked really fast, and typically doesn't stay "fresh" for many days after a storm unless it's been really cold. I have seen everyone from 6-year olds to 70-year olds ski Phoenix and Spellbound bowls.

Other outdoor recreation. Amazing! Everything. Kayaking, mountain biking, single track, backpacking (3 wilderness areas near Gunnison), fishing, climb 14,000ft peaks, boating (Colorad's largest body of water...9 miles away), cliff jumping (60ft+). Tons of things to do. Longboarding on campus is super fun. Get an idea of what to do and where to do it....and go basically. WP (Wilderness Pursuits) through the college is extremely helpful. They have tons of gear.

Hope that makes it easier
 
well i guess you were asking about CSU too. as for what everyone's said, there's not many people who are really into skiing/boarding. The best thing for you to do is find friends who are actually commited to going up all the time, and getting a girlfriend with a condo/cabin up there is nice for weekends (none of my friends or me have achieved this, lol). there are a lot of weekend warriors though, so you can find rides up if you know enough people too. As for the school itself, it's hit and miss depending on your major. the higher level classes you take are more interesting, as some of the lower level teachers dont give a damn, and are there for research. But there are many good programs, and there are reports where you can figure out which teachers are good. there's a ton of variety of courses which is good, and the campus/facilities are nice. the drive sucks to summit county, 2 is doable, but with traffic it's usually 2&1/2 to 3 hours. Im in mechanical engineering for reference. you can easily scedule a day off to get in 3 days a week, and if you know how to work the class you can get 4. the party scene is also pretty big, but is different than boulder, where you have to have a connection (not hard, just like a friend who's there already) to really know where it's happening, unlike boulder where you can just go to the hill.
 
Well I don't go to school anymore actually, I was a business administration major with a marketing emphasis. Meh.

I'm a liftie at CB....it's ok...not really something I would do for more than one season though
 
any perks to being a liftie besides a pass and wage, any employee housing like at some of the other CO resorts?
 
what dream would that be? Oh ya, the one where I almost go into debt in order to continue to live up here? Yeah, I'm fully living that.

No, no employee housing. Pay isn't much either ($8.5/hour) and living up here is expensive.

 
trust me im jealous, you probably get to ski 2-3 days a week at one of the sickest mountains in the country, damn, observe your surroundings and realize how much better you have it than people living in places like PA!!
 
More like 4-5...but you seriously don't make shit for money in a ski town. Imagine 8.50 an hour, 40 hours a week that is only 340 bucks. Most places rent up there is alot. Then food...shit that is why they have to work two jobs in summer, there life has perks but it isn't like they are living the dream...
 
4-5 days a week? No. Not if you are working full time.

Yes, we are on the mountain and we do get breaks...but that one hour doesn't constitute as a "day" of skiing.

Almost always it's 2 tops. Usually though, you don't want to be at the place you work at 7 days a week. I don't know, I've easily been on the mountain well over 100 days this year, but as far as skiing....probably 35-ish. Which I'm not complaining about at all, I bagged 8 total last year. I'm just saying that I wouldn't exactly count this as "living the dream". I would highly recommend Western State though because Crested Butte is so close and is indeed one of the sickest mountain in the country.

Just a sidenote: I would count "living the dream" as being a photographer for an outdoor expedition camp in Alaska. Definitely living the dream! I really hope it happens
 
Why would you be a lifty to only ski 35 days a year? There are many other jobs that pay better, give more time to ski and aren't nearly as shitty as bumping chairs in 10 degree weather for gapers.
 
Waiting/busing, rentals, retail, washing dishes, ski tech, assorted hotel jobs, bartending and I am sure many other jobs too.

The only jobs I could think of that would be worse than a lifty are parking or food service.
 
i know people who do parking, it blows. food service is hit and miss from what i've seen, at least you're inside but year, parking is the worst thing ever, get up super early and stand in the cold for hours.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top