I’m a senior in high school rn and will be going to college next year somewhere in the northeast, probably upper state NY or Massachusetts so I will be around mountains. For anyone that has gone through this already how often did u find u actually got to go skiing? Are u usually too busy at school or are just too lazy or it’s just too hard to schedule that with all your friends? Or am I wrong and I’ll be able to go as often as I like.
Skiing during college
- Thread starter abaxter
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RousedWits
Member
How often are you trying to go? Its definitely possible to ski a decent amount while in college. I'm an electrical engineering major at WSU which is at least 3 hours from any mountains and I have still managed 30+ days these past 2 years. But if your school has mountains close by you might be able to go night skiing on a weekday and increase that number... I use it as a motivation, like if I dont get my shit done during the week I wont be able to ski all weekend.
I suggest finding a group of people you can shred with.
I suggest finding a group of people you can shred with.
I went to school in Colorado and all four years my friends and I skied at least once a week. I'd say it is less about having the time, and more about making sure that you find a group of friends that are passionate about the sport, if you can do that you'll have plenty of chances to ski.
If you want upstate NY a lot of people at Plattsburgh ride. Whiteface is a little bit of a drive but it's not that far, and people are always carpooling. Whiteface has a decent park. Also Gore is on the same pass and is only an hour and a half or so away. Park at Gore blows but there's some great terrain. Lot's of terrain in VT not too far away. Pretty good music scene local or within easy driving distance.
I think with most things it comes down to people. If me and someone else were always going skiing, you could ski a lot just by jumping in the car. That motivates you to just get in and go. If you have to drive there on your own all the time it's easy to lose motivation. You wake up and just don't feel like getting all your shit together and driving to the mountain.
Where ever you go def try and meet a bunch of people that ski/snowboard and carpool rides with them. That's the best way to ski regularly.
I think with most things it comes down to people. If me and someone else were always going skiing, you could ski a lot just by jumping in the car. That motivates you to just get in and go. If you have to drive there on your own all the time it's easy to lose motivation. You wake up and just don't feel like getting all your shit together and driving to the mountain.
Where ever you go def try and meet a bunch of people that ski/snowboard and carpool rides with them. That's the best way to ski regularly.
gnarballsianm
Member
In highschool i was skiing close to 40-50 days a season, easy access to a family car, plenty of time on weekends or after school for night skiing, friends with cars, friends to ride with etc. College rolled around and I had to find a new squad, new means of transportation and time on the weekends between school work and social life. My hometown is seattle and Stevens Pass, my home mountain was 1 & 1/2 hours from my house, im now in Portland at UP in the business school and hood is about an 1 & 1/2 hours with good traffic so that really hasn't changed much for me. Join the ski club, a majority of the kids may be Jerry's or flakes but there will be some enthusiastic riders at your level, upperclassmen who have cars that you can bum rides from, and events and trips thru the ski club at your university that will get you up to the mountain. I just went on a trip to Bachelor with the ski club guys for cheap, solid weekend, probably wasn't the smartest time to go as i am now in the midst of dead week but fuck it right?
Limitanie
New member
I go to school in Denver and only being about 1.5 hours from A basin is a solid plus. Last year I got in 45 days and I'm shooting for 60 this year but we also have 6 weeks off for winter because of the quarter system and I stacked my schedule to only have class on Mondays and Wednesdays. So it really depends on how motivated you are, how far your school is from the mountains, who you know (friends with ski houses are prime), and how your schedule is formatted.
BenWhit
Active member
I went to college in Boston, which made skiing pretty accessible. Aside from family trips, my school had a ski club which is definitely worth looking into. Day trips were generally in the $60 range, including breakfast and coach bus transportation to and from the mountain. Also, check out your local hills to see who has the best season pass offers. When I was in school, the student season pass for Wachusett was $180, in 6 days it paid for itself. Definitely worth it. Depending on where you end up, if in Massachusetts, you have pretty easy access to a lot of the southern VT/NH mountains. Snow, Loon, Waterville, etc.
skiP.E.I.
Active member
I went to University 15 minutes from the mountain, so that certainly helped in terms of accessibility. It's not hard to get on skis at least 5 days a week if you stay on top of your work, and you're willing to sacrifice some partying time for skiing. I also did ski instructing 6 hours a week, so I didn't have to buy passes and usually made most of my rent from that. I found around crunch times when I had lots of assignments due, I would have to take a week off here and there, but that made for more free time when there was a lull in school work. Be open to skiing on your campus, doing casual urban or finding little lines anywhere there's a steep hill close to where you live. It's much easier and cheaper to get out for a 1-2 hour session in the evening than gearing up to go to a mountain, and when you get to the mountain you'll be able to rip because you've been hiking for your turns and swerves.
SetteePrig
Member
13864831:skiP.E.I. said:
Did you go to westminster?
dustygoldflakes
Member
You'll be able to go, just get as much shit done during the week as you can and you can go on weekends no problem. Except exam week, you're not skiing that week or weekend ever I promise.
killashredda
New member
I go to Clarkson which is an hour and half away from whiteface and i go atleast once a week. Our ski club reimburses gas money if you car pool which helps a lot.
lickmyballs
Member
13864538:Roper1021 said:
^^^^^^I go to school at the University of Utah and yea man when you have guys that are hyped to go skiing all week always hitting you up, its easier to get up there. If you don't have a car, make sure to link up with guys who have one.
Holte
Active member
It's all about your priorities. For two winters, I crammed all of my classes into a Tuesday/Thursday schedule, and skied four days a week. Classes were brutal since they basically ran back-to-back for 12-14 hours a day, and I only had Wednesdays to do class work, and the skiing involved a lot of sleeping in an SUV, but skiing 80 days a season doesn't ever suck. You can do it if you want to.
lickmyballs
Member
13865228:TheClap. said:
Was this before, during, or after you dated her?
I went to the University of California in Santa Barbara and skied 25-30 days a year. It is 6 hours from Mammoth, so I would go up every other weekend and ski during breaks. We had a ski team, which meant that for 400 dollars a year we had a condo at Mammoth to crash at. Sometimes there were like 25 people there, but that was no big deal. I didn't race much, I was there to ski the noids and hangers, but it was a great set up. The biggest difficulty was the drive, doing 6 hours each way every other weekend sucks. Still, I found a great crew of people to ski with, and if you were motivated enough you could go every weekend. I feel lucky, I got to choose between surfing and skiing one of the best mountains in North America on weekends. I was a statistics major, which was a lot of work, but you just have to plan your time and figure things out, just like any other college student.
You will be much closer to the mountains, so the key is just finding people to ski with. It really should not be hard, your school probably has a ski team or a ski club. You should be able to network to get to the hill. If you are close enough you might be able to schedule your classes so that you only go to school Tues-Thurs, or something like that. If you are on the quarter system you might be able to take more classes in fall and spring to free up winter ski time.
You will be much closer to the mountains, so the key is just finding people to ski with. It really should not be hard, your school probably has a ski team or a ski club. You should be able to network to get to the hill. If you are close enough you might be able to schedule your classes so that you only go to school Tues-Thurs, or something like that. If you are on the quarter system you might be able to take more classes in fall and spring to free up winter ski time.
killashredda
New member
13865228:TheClap. said:
Sounds about right sorry to hear that but yeah there are some pretty sweet urban spots
lickmyballs
Member
13865325:TheClap. said:
god fucking damn
LucindaLandsbor
New member
Skiing while studying in college is a great pastime, but do not forget about college, there are a lot of difficult tasks in college that you have to do, one of these is papers at AU.Edusson on various topics, this is a rather difficult task, so be ready.
**This post was edited on Feb 14th 2019 at 5:27:15am
**This post was edited on Feb 14th 2019 at 5:27:15am
SuspiciousFish
Active member
As others mentioned, the trick is to stack your classes. I managed to get on a MWF class schedule at CU Boulder so I could ride Tues. and Thurs. Also, find a good crew that knows to prioritize skiing over partying. I definitely had some nights I went to bed early surrounded by loud drunks on a Friday night so I could hit the pow early the next day. Your young too which makes the balance easier. Freshman year I was at a party once and missed the last bus and had to walk back like 2 miles piss drunk and still went up the next day after 2 hours of sleep, no way in hell I could manage that today.
losh
Active member
I go to school in Denver and have 28 days so far this season. It's a commitment because you know you'll get stuck in traffic, but it's there if you want it. Just get your school shit done during the week, it's really not that hard to get up especially if you're less than a couple hours from a resort.
BackWoods420
Member
I go at least once a week. I go to school in Troy(upstate ny). Having a car makes it a lot easier. I do a lot of solo trips. Its all about how much you want to go tbh.
Some weeks i go 3x a week. Some semesters you wont have class on A week day and thats usually the best day to go
If you want to ski, youll get your work done ahead of time and make time to ski. Its just how it is.
Some weeks i go 3x a week. Some semesters you wont have class on A week day and thats usually the best day to go
If you want to ski, youll get your work done ahead of time and make time to ski. Its just how it is.
yung_gaia
Member
i'm in college rn. my schedule is packed so i tend to only ski weekends. but i know a lot of people planned out their classes so that they were packed into mon, wed, fri only, so tues and thurs they have no class, and are free to spend the whole day at the mountain. also it depends on ur friends, obviously if your friends also ski you'll most likely be going more often than if ur friends don't. then u should probably get new friends that aren't gay
Youngm_IPCME
Active member
13864921:dustygoldflakes said:
Wrong! I managed to ski every weekend and almost every day of the breaks as a mechE major. Admittedly, there is the exception of the two years I didn’t ski, as well as having a car and living close to the mountain.
jamessmoak_photo
Member
Depending on how far you'll be from home/your home ski resort or another resort, they're might be a program at the resort where you can work your breaks, but get a free pass for the rest of the year. Snowshoe is only like an hour from my house, and my college that I'll be going too will only be an hour from home, so I'm going that route.
Squirtle
Member
I’ve hardly been able to ski throughout my entire time in college. I’m either at school or working on schoolwork throughout the week, and I work all weekend pretty much every weekend. The few times that I’m able to get a solid chunk of a day available to go skiing none of my friends that ski are usually available in the same time slots. I bought a season pass to my local hill my freshmen year, but sence then I’ve decided that dropping $400 to go skiing on a Midwest hill 3 or 4 times isn’t really worth it. The only skiing I’ve been able to do the last few years have been random ski trips I’ve taken with my friends. I miss skiing terribly. In high school I would go out to the hill about 2-4 times a week and I would have tones of friends there to ski with every time. I cant wait until I’m done with college and my weekends are actually available again; although, skiing with a ton of my friends multiple times a week is probably something that will never happen again.
e.littt
Member
I put a ton of hours during my week to get the time to go skiing whenever I can, it's pretty tough to time manage for everything (5 courses, 3 labs, working part time) but it's totally worth it, time management skills are your friend.
One thing that is super key is either saving a ton of money over summer, or working part time in the winter. Preferably both. I'm currently ~4.5hrs from my usual stomping grounds so gas money is a pretty big expenditure for me, even with carpooling.
But school should come first. Skiing is the reward, not the priority.
One thing that is super key is either saving a ton of money over summer, or working part time in the winter. Preferably both. I'm currently ~4.5hrs from my usual stomping grounds so gas money is a pretty big expenditure for me, even with carpooling.
But school should come first. Skiing is the reward, not the priority.
illewminati
Member
I ski 1-5 days a week, depending on classes/social life/etc. If you go to school near a ski resort, chances are they'll be plenty of motivated people to go up with.
If skiing is important to your college experience, I think it makes a lot of sense to prioritize skiing weekdays (if possible). Weekdays have less traffic, less liftlines, better snow, etc. Find a school close to a ski area and some friends who are down and stack your schedule for days off or mornings/afternoons off. Ski during weekdays and party/catch up on work on weekends. This is especially true if you go to school near a crowded resort (whistler, I-70, SLC area, etc) that turns into a shitshow on the weekend.
And remember that everything is a trade off. You can't sleep, study, ski, socialize, and take care of yourself. College can be a great time to ski, but don't let it get in the way of your life and your wellbeing.
If skiing is important to your college experience, I think it makes a lot of sense to prioritize skiing weekdays (if possible). Weekdays have less traffic, less liftlines, better snow, etc. Find a school close to a ski area and some friends who are down and stack your schedule for days off or mornings/afternoons off. Ski during weekdays and party/catch up on work on weekends. This is especially true if you go to school near a crowded resort (whistler, I-70, SLC area, etc) that turns into a shitshow on the weekend.
And remember that everything is a trade off. You can't sleep, study, ski, socialize, and take care of yourself. College can be a great time to ski, but don't let it get in the way of your life and your wellbeing.
freestyler540
Active member
I did a 3 year program in Owen Sound, Ontario in marine engineering technology. It was a super heavy course and I still got in lots of skiing. Urban skiing is a quick solution.
To ski a resort, I drove an hour away to go to Blue Mountain in Collingwood. Find someone at school that has a car and make it work.
To ski a resort, I drove an hour away to go to Blue Mountain in Collingwood. Find someone at school that has a car and make it work.
BackWoods420
Member
14000017:Quaff said:
For me its grades, girls(aka social life), or skiing. You pick 2 out of the three. Since none of the girls wanna go out with me, i didnt have to make a decision.
sky_steezy
Member
13864384:RousedWits said:
So nice to hear people actually get in a lot of skiing at WSU, I'm a park skier out on the west side of washington and ski 3-5 days a week. I'm a senior in highschool and going to WSU next year. Hows 49 degrees north?
STEEZUS_CHRI5T
Active member
3-4 times a week. I went to Michigan Tech, it’s a pretty challenging school and we still found time. If we made it work you definatey can. Our hill was apart of campus though so it was pretty easy to ride after class.
RousedWits
Member
14000135:sky_steezy said:
49 degrees north is super chill... Their main lift is a bit slow but the skiing is legit. The trees are super killer because most of the people that ski there stick to the main groomed runs. Once you go off the beaten path, its generally untracked.
If your into park skiing they have a decent park and regularly hold rail jams... Pretty sure they are open registration.
Other places within driving distance on the Palouse are Schweitzer, Lookout pass, Brundage, Tamarack, and also Bluewood... Theres Silver Mountain and Mt. Spokane, but Ive heard they are pretty mediocre.
Right now there are 2 snow sport groups at WSU, one that just organizes carpools up to the hill, and there is also the ski team which I'm involved with and we compete all around the northwest.