Fresh powder and fantastic views melt away all of the school day’s stress. Central’s Ski and Snowboard Club at the high school is bundling up as they gear up for their weekly trip to the mountain.
“I like going to the mountain and just skiing with the kids and the fresh cold air. It’s nice after a long day at school,” said Mr. Jonathan Hakim, Ski and Snowboard advisor.
“I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. I lived in Vermont and Colorado, skiing and snowboarding there,” Hakim said. “It’s just a passion of mine.”
Hakim said he only got involved in the club four years ago. “Mr. Shellenberger knew I liked to ski and snowboard,” he said. After being invited to chaperone, he found that he quite liked helping to run the club.
Starting Jan. 31 after school, the club will ride the bus up to Ski Roundtop and spend the rest of their afternoon taking off down the various slopes and trails of the mountain. The resort includes many different trails, including Minuteman, Lafayette’s Leap, Ramrod, Gunbarrel, Recruit, Susquehanna and more. Many of the harder trails tend to lay on the right side of the mountain.
Hakim said that Gunbarrel was the most favored hill.
“It’s really difficult and the kids are usually proud of themselves when they make it down.”
Sometimes making it down can be a challenge in itself. Injuries are typical among the club in the club, with one of the smaller injuries being a broken finger.
“Every year I bank on someone breaking something,” Hakim said. “The worst injury I remember was someone breaking both bones in their shin.”
Not all trails are strenuous, however. Sophomore Anna Lumsargis stated that her favorite trail was the Susquehanna.
“I like it more because it’s like going on the road less traveled, but it’s with skis,” Lumsargis said. “I joined back in seventh grade because I liked to ski and it gave me a chance to hang out with my friends after school.”
The club has been popular in the past with an average of about 30 people every year, but they are having troubles rounding up people to join this year.