Winter PE classes help students get comfortable on Skiway slopes
One of the perks of living in the Middle of Nowhere, N.H., is that we have easy access to a variety of outdoor activities to take advantage of in our downtime. In the winter, many students venture to one place in particular — the Dartmouth Skiway. Located 20 minutes north of campus, the Skiway has four lifts and 31 trails spread out over two mountains.
Every winter, hundreds of students enroll in a variety of snow sports classes at the Skiway through Dartmouth for a fraction of what it would cost in the real world. According to the Registrar’s Office, there are currently 228 students enrolled in classes of all skill levels, including downhill skiing, snowboarding and Telemark skiing.
Natalie Shell ’15 took beginner downhill skiing last year and is now enrolled in intermediate lessons.
“I learned when I was little but had not skied since I was about eight, so there was a good 11 year gap where I forgot everything,” said Shell, who grew up in California.
The lessons gave Shell “a lot of confidence on the slopes, and really taught [her] how to reposition [herself] on the skis.”
Blake Osborn ’15, another warm-weather native who hails from Texas, usually goes “skiing once every couple of years” and wanted to capitalize on the nearby facilities to work on her technique.
“I used to not take the lessons because I could just get down the mountain and apparently my form has been completely wrong,” said Osborn, who said she feels that she has “already gotten better at turning” in her two intermediate lessons so far this season.
So who teaches these lessons? Dartmouth students themselves! Joshua Wang ’15, a snowboard instructor since last winter, was certified at the end of last season on Mount Snow, about two hours south of Hanover.
Wang went the extra mile, as “most instructors at the Skiway aren’t certified.”
Not to fret, as all hired instructors go through “a few clinics at the beginning of the term, so [they] know what to teach and feel more comfortable,” Wang explained.
Wang also mentioned that being an instructor “makes [him] more motivated to go to the Skiway.”
Osborn agrees, saying that she “really wanted to go to the Skiway and knew the only way [she would] get out there was through a class.”
Aside from actually learning how to ski, getting to know other Dartmouth students was another advantage of taking the lessons. Shell said she forged a special bond with her instructor, mentioning that there was “a lot of time on the ski lift between runs [when] she would give me her perspective on Dartmouth as a senior when I was a freshman.”
Osborn said she enjoys getting to know students from different classes at Dartmouth.
“It’s actually really cool because [my instructors] are ‘16s so you get to know underclassmen too,” she said.
Once you get over the initial fear of heading out on to the slopes, there’s no turning back.
Shell said she looks forward to continuing her foray into skiing, and hopes to “take intermediate or advanced [lessons] senior winter, or just ski on my own.”
So the next time you have a few hours to kill on a Tuesday after your 10A, maybe head up to the Skiway to see what you have been missing out on.