By Samantha Hilyer
“SVC ski is an informal ski club, and I am the informal faculty advisor to the informal ski club,” Dr. George Leiner, associate professor of philosophy, said.
The purpose of having a ski program on campus, according to Leiner, is to provide an opportunity for healthy, exciting outdoor activity for students to balance out all the heavy intellectual work they do in their classes.
Students who ski, Leiner explained, have not been interested in making the ski program into an official club for a few reasons, chief among them being that the skiing season is such a short amount of time.
“We only go for a few weeks to ski, because then the snow melts,” said Bertalan Papp, sophomore biology major and participant in the SVC ski program.
Another reason the ski program at SVC remains informal, stated James Walters, assistant director of Campus Life, is that it is difficult to schedule ski trips due to the unpredictable changes in weather.
Leiner also expressed that he did not believe that formality would be beneficial to the program.
“Skiers tend to be an independent, spontaneous sort,” Leiner said.
There are no definable members of the program, but students often come and go throughout the skiing season, Leiner said, so the transportation in the last five years has become an informal affair.
“Students drive themselves,” Leiner said, “I have vivid memories of going down the icy mountain in a 15-passenger van.”
There are three skiing locations around the area, Leiner said, that are available for the program to visit: Laurel Mountains in Boswell, Seven Springs in Champion and Hidden Valley in Hidden Valley.
Out of these three, Leiner’s favorite place to take the students is Laurel Mountains because there is a more intimate, relaxed atmosphere and challenging terrain.
“Ski within your limits and don’t take unnecessary risks, […] and respect the mountain,” Leiner said.
Papp cautions against Laurel Mountains for beginners, but said it was a good place to ski for those who have experience.
Papp stated that the only reason he believes the ski program should become an official club was if more beginners wanted to join.
“[As it is now,] beginners don’t really get a lot of opportunity, which is sad,” said Papp.
Students with questions concerning the ski program and how to get involved can contact Walters at james.walters@stvincent.edu or Dr. Leiner at george.leiner@stvincent.edu
Seven Springs
Night Passes (4-9 p.m., any day) $25
Day Passes (full day, any day) $60**
** Full-price Day Passes M-Th are $67; F-Sun $87
Laurel Mountain
Lift tickets: $22
Rental: $18
Thursdays 4-9 P.M.