Archive for December 2008

Hey everybody! We hope you are all enjoying a break from work and school, and are having happy holidays. We here at Michigan Tech are missing students, as things are PRETTY quiet around here. The tourists haven’t started filing in yet so it’s just the locals!

We’ve been getting lots of snow and every once and a while it does some interesting things to permanent signs around town. As I drove by this sign in the morning, I thought it said “Michigan Technological Univers”…..

Look for a blog post sometime after January 5. Until then: Happy Holidays from our Univers!

Thursday morning we woke up to beautiful weather after a great day of snow on Wednesday. We got a few inches of light and fluffy snow, which made for great skiing, and the temps weren’t nearly as cold. I got out of bed at about 5:30 and met up with the assistant vice president for enrollment here at Michigan Tech, John Lehman, for a little hike. Meeting up with John really got me thinking; it is really cool to be surrounded by people like myself, and it is like that for EVERYONE here. Whatever you’re interested in, there is a really good chance that someone shares that interest. That is definitely one of the things that makes Michigan Tech (and Houghton) so COOL!

As usual, I got to the top and snapped a photo for your viewing pleasure.

I certainly do hope that you snow lovers out there have a chance to join us sometime soon. For you non snow lovers, you’re bound to find something that you’ll love here. Boredom just isn’t an option in this neck of the woods

This morning I got my bones out of bed bright and early to get some exercise on Mont Ripley. 5:30 the alarm shouted at me, and I was in disbelief that it was actually going off. Needless to say, I rustled myself out of bed after a few licks in the face from the dog (he knew what was up). It was time to earn some turns!

I struggled into the basement after throwing on a few layers, checked the outdoor thermometer and about went back to bed. -10 degrees! But heck, I was already up. I threw some wood on the fire (and cranked it up), and finished the dressing process. By this time the dog was so excited he was doing back flips………….I pretty much had to go now.

I grabbed the fattest skis I owned, as we had surpassed a foot of snow in 24 hours and I knew the flotation would help me not choke on snow.

My journey up the hill was relatively short, as I was hustling to keep myself warm. I got to the top of a dead calm peak and remembered exactly why I do this regularly. It was beautiful and I had long forgotten how cold it was. I even snapped a few pics (only one of which turned out even remotely good).

The ski down was good. Not great, but good. I almost clipped the dog, which would have been really bad. But as soon as I got some speed that feeling hit me. That feeling of weightlessness and true peace. It was just me, the snow, and a couple of skis (and lots of clothes to keep me warm). I even had a few opportunities to enter what we skiers call the “white room”. The white room is a very hard place to describe, but once you’ve been there you’ll want to go back, I can promise you that.

I hope that happens again soon, I really do.

What a fantastic weekend we had. The weather was hard to beat: mid twenties and some snow every day. Mont Ripley was in great shape and had enough snow to open more of the hill. Both days were busy with skiers and boarders eager to hit the slopes, and students are definitely taking advantage of the Experience Tech Program. How lucky are these students!? They get to get some studying done in the morning, eat some good food in the halls, hop in a car, and be on the ski hill within a few short minutes.

I don’t have any pictures from skiing, I was just too excited to be out there. Taking pictures would’ve required me to remember my camera AND take the time to remove it from my pocket to snap a pic. Maybe tonight.

Speaking of tonight, it could be a cold and snowy one! I snapped a few shots from campus for your view pleasure. Skiing should be darn good tonight if we can brave the cold and wind!

We mean business!

I’ve been here at Michigan Tech for a few years now (about eight) and something is just now striking me as interesting, something I’ve really gotten so used I stopped noticing it.

As I rolled out of bed yesterday, I knew the weather was going to be balmy at best. Last night while sleeping I was frequently woken by the sound of pelting snow against my window. It was breezy out there, folks. Real breezy. In fact, the official temp was about 14 degrees, minus 5 with the windchill.

Then I saw the below:

BIKES! Don’t get me wrong, I’m an outdoors person. I do crazy stuff like get up at 5:30 AM to ski before I come into work, but it takes a hearty sole to pedal a bike around in this weather. The only thing I can think about is how long I should warm my car up, not checking my bike tires for air.
Our students are so impressive, no doubt about it.

The wind definitely made it interesting to walk around campus yesterday.

Doors entering one of the buildings

One thing I think just about every Michigan Tech student takes for granted (at some point) is the pleasure, ease, and shear goodness of eating in the residence halls. The honest truth of it is that the food is actually good, it’s cooked for you, and you don’t have to clean it up. All you have to do is show up, grab a tray, and indulge (as many times a day as you’d like).

Yum! Seriously….

The sandwich bar

It's a free for all!

Man, I sure do miss those days. Waffles, cereal, salad bar, panini maker, ice cream, fruit, burgers, pizza, ice cream, stir fry, sushi…..ice cream. All in one day. Enjoy it while you can!

On Friday, December 5 we were treated to yet another amazing sunrise after a nice blanket of snow. This place continues to amaze me on a very regular and daily basis. Attempting to capture the beauty of sunrises and sunsets here is difficult, but fun. Each and every one has it’s own very unique feature. The one below was interesting; it was “sunny” yet there were light crystals of snow in the air. The light reflected to make for amazing colors.

Oh, and where can you find a director that will shovel……..then throw snow in the air (just because). Only here.

Ali (the director of admission) throwing some snow in the air

Speechless

South Entry Lighthouse

While on the road, we caught a glimpse of this hawk carrying a fish that he had sniped from the dock just a short flight away from where this picture was taken. The picture was hard to get as I was driving and trying to take a picture at the same time (don’t try this at home kids).

Later that afternoon we moved on to watch the Hockey Huskies take on Denver. The outcome was less than stellar, but it’s always a blast to go to a game. The adrenaline always runs a step higher during the games. We put new seats in our stadium, too, so games are just that much more comfortable to be at.

Lining up for the National Anthem, which was sung by our very own director of admission, Ali.

Then came the funny part. An assistant director in financial aid, Bill Roberts, was chosen to participate in the intermission competition, which included dressing up in a bunch of hockey stuff and slipping around on the ice.

Bill gettin ready

And he's down (sorry about the blur)

The night continued with plenty of opportunities for photo ops with Blizzard T. Husky.

Blizz and Kyle

Future Huskies!

The day was not complete without a few chores mixed in:

Moving some snow

Wow, it’s hard to believe that we did all that in a day, but that’s exactly why we live here. We’re never bored, that’s for sure!

Kyle

What a great sunrise here in the Keweenaw today. The light did amazing things to some of our beautiful features; the bridge, the ski hill, the university. I did my best to capture it, but my less than stellar photography skills and my little point and shoot can only do so much. Hopefully you can see how cool it was to wake up and be here. Wouldn’t have rather been anywhere else in the world.

Town

Bridge, looking almost fake

Mont Ripley, looking relatively covered

Mont Ripley

The edge of the bridge

Have a great day!

We can’t wait. The ski hill is scheduled to open December 6th (this Saturday)! So many of us have been eagerly awaiting this time, especially new Michigan Tech students. With the new Tech Experience Program, our students will now have easier access to our phenomenal facilities.

Things are looking snowy in John Dee’s forecast, and the webcams are looking white. For those of you that are prospective students, now is a great time to come visit. We’ll make sure you’re all set with tickets to the hill and tickets to sporting events and performances. For you current students out there, we’ll see you on the hill this weekend!