Crystal Mountain - Students from Left: Michael Hammer '12, Ben Armstrong '13, Fallon Boyle '12, and Kyle Sleeper '12
Last week we had snow in Tacoma. What that meant for most of the student body was frozen fingertips from snowball fights, class cancellations, and semi-successful attempts at building snowmen. What it meant for a smaller portion of us was gravity driven mountain sports. Skiing. Snowboarding. Smiling.
The storm system that hit Tacoma also dumped a couple of feet of fresh powder onto ski resorts such as Crystal and Snoqualmie. To some fellow riders’ dismay, they had to return home for Thanksgiving, and would not be able to enjoy the fresh turns. However, thanks to insane prices for a flight home to the midwest, I was destined to “shred the gnar” with some friends and bask in the adrenaline of facing the fall line.
Preparing for a day on the slopes involved watching ski movies, waxing/dewaxing my skies, talking about skiing, and getting super stoked to try out new skiing gear I purchased for amazing deals over the summer (P.S. if you plan on buying gear, get it after the season is over during the summer), and thinking about skiing. Oh, hot chocolate was also involved, and in more than negligible amounts…by that I mean significant amounts. Copious amounts. Delightful amounts.
Having the ability to check out the weather report and be at the slopes in an hour or two is yet another reason why I love living in Tacoma. Let’s all hope for a huge La Nina winter, because hitting the “powpow” is pretty much all I want to do…besides homework of course!
Side note: Isn’t it funny that as broke college students with heavy financial concerns, we still choose one of the most expensive sports in the world to pursue? At least it’s not polo. Horses… I shudder at the thought of how much that would cost.