Archive for March 2009

I can’t decide if I should be slighlty sad or SUPER EXCITED that spring is coming. Sunday marked the final day of Mont Ripley being open, which brings me to reflection. This was an excellent ski season and much fun in so many ways. Mont Ripley gets better every single year. Next year will be better than ever, I’m sure.

Needless to say, I’m sad that I won’t be going home to ski for another 8 months. I’m already thinking of ways to NOT think that it’ll be eight whole months before my boots clip in again. Just the noise gets me excited. To boot, Sunday was not a very good ski day. Gloomy, cold, icy….just not ideal “Spring” skiing. See photos below.

We play a little game called “pick a line and see how much grass you ski over”. Quite fun, really. But as you can see, we were all having a good time despite poor conditions. Even Buster the dog.

Sunday did it for me though, I’m extremely excited for warm weather. I’m sure this thing they call “Spring” will come sometime soon, and I’m pretty sure I’ll find a way to make it through the summer :). Waterskiing, windsurfing, biking…..there’s no shortage of things to do in the summer either.

Bring on the warmth!

As the snow begins to get a little dirty around town and the temps begin to rise, we mark the end of the winter season with plenty of phenomenal events. This past weekend was really the beginning of that, as Mont Ripley held their annual “Snow Comp”. It’s a time for people to dress up, be silly, enjoy the weather, and plain ol’ have a great time.
For me, it’s the time of the year that I look back on how much pure fun I’ve had on the snow. I had my best day of skiing EVER this past winter, we got tons of fantastic snow, and we all met a lot of students new to Michigan Tech and new to the sport. What a great season!

A few quick photos from snow comp, as always:

The man with the plan- Todd

“Ollie” contest

Not everyone makes it……..

We’ll keep everyone posted on the progress of “Spring”, but as of now John Dee isn’t exactly instilling a lot of confidence in that possibility. Oh well, enjoy the snow if ya got it, right!?

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What beautiful weather we have been having. Last weekend temps pushed 60 degrees and lots of sunshine. When that happens it certainly makes it hard to think about winter sports. Dare I say, that I MIGHT have thought about the snow going away? I did…..I admit it.

But I must say, spring skiing is awesome. Everyone’s attitude changes immediately, and everyone is just out because it’s nice. We could have been skiing on dirt (pretty close, we were skiing on slush), but it wouldn’t have mattered. It was just nice to be outside getting some sun. I’m ready for SPRING!

Where else would you find a grill on skis? Mont Ripley in March, that’s the only place.

If you are coming to Michigan Tech for events this coming weekend, please travel safe.

GOOD LUCK to our Women’s Basketball Team who will travel to San Antonio for the NCAA Elite 8 this weekend.

Not that I needed anything else to do in my spare time, but every once and a while in the late winter it becomes time to get a little creative. Mid March is the time of year that pretty much everyone is kind of ready for warmer weather (even us snow lovers). That being said, it’s also the time of year that skiing starts to lose it’s luster, cross country skiing is just a way to exericise, and snowshoeing much the same.

May I suggest doing something you’ve never done before? That’s what I did, and all of the sudden I’m not so sure I want winter to end……ever.

Enter Extreme Sledding. Yes, extreme. Last week some friends and I went snowshoeing and we thought “ahh heck, let’s take sleds”. Off we went into the woods with plastic sleds on our back, just like when were three……..errrrr wait (who am I kiddin’, I still sled on a regular basis).

Extreme Sledding is really simple. Pick the “line” you think you can make it down with your sled and go for it. I would like to note that it is not safe. AT ALL. And I wouldn’t teach my kids this. Hopefully they never see these pictures.

Mark is not messing around. Perfect form.

Chris makin’ faces, always good for a picture.

Rounding a corner with a drop off on one side….real smart.

Sometimes you just don’t make it.

I was the winner for biggest cliff huck. What was I thinking?

Snowshoes make GREAT brakes, however. This increases the safety factor by about .0000000001%.

All in all, we had a great time and I would do it again. It’s kind of fun to pick your way through trees on something that’s just a little out of control, but in control enough that you know you’ll be OK if anything were to actually happen.

Try it sometime, just don’t tell your mother/girlfriend/spouse that I told you to do it :).

It’s amazing to think that I will be graduating from Michigan Tech in just about two months.  Two months! All around me, my friends are applying for jobs, internships and graduate schools, gearing up for the big move away from Tech. Some choose to stay in town though, earning their Master’s degree at Michigan Tech and keeping the connections they’ve made over the years. Others choose to take on jobs farther away, working for NASA in California, or Harley-Davidson in Wisconsin. Me? Well, I’m still waiting back to hear from my schools, but if all goes well, I will be going to grad school out in Washington for Student Affairs Administration.

So I have officially come full circle. Five years ago I was sitting in my parent’s living room, applying to different colleges for my undergraduate degree. I can remember the old thoughts, like the feeling of waiting for a decision to be made and the excitement of going to visit a new school. My younger brothers are seniors in high school right now (they’re twins), and we’ve been sharing a lot of these experiences.

Some people will say that the time has flown by… for me, it seems like so much has happened, I’d estimate that ten years have passed! In my time at Tech, I learned how to snowboard at Mont Ripley, graduated from the LeaderShape Institute,  performed in the jazz bands, and even did a study abroad program in New Zealand. And that’s not including the various vacations, weekend trips, and time spent studying…

So graduation is right around the corner. Wow. And in the meantime, I really can’t complain. I like to keep myself interested by exploring around the natural features of our area. A pair of snow shoes is indispensable!

“Breakers” Ice Walls:

The Dredge:

And of course, there is always snowboarding at Mont Ripley:

Wish me luck!
-Nate