To say the least, Bloomington in the winter doesn't call to mind Aspen. But both outdoor veterans and novices can find something to do al fresco, although ideal spots are few and far between.\n Students, professors and recreational sport instructors voiced reasons why areas in and around Bloomington provide opportunities to avoid cabin fever, exercise dormant muscles and enjoy the outdoors without summer crowds.\n "I wouldn't call it a Mecca of outdoor winter activities," says Greg Martz, program coordinator for Outdoor Adventures. "But we do have two ski hills within easy driving distance that have really good ski instructors. Our terrain is hilly, so we at least have that variety to go sledding on and occasionally go cross-country skiing on. So it's not a total bust, but you do sort of have to seek it out."\n One of the most popular areas, Brown County State Park offers wooded, hilly and watery areas for winter fun. For something more organized, the Outdoor Adventures desk in the Indiana Memorial Union offers weekend trips.\n \nIce climbing\nDespite Bloomington's mild springs, towering ice formations tend to stick around from January to May. \nBut many locations are kept secret so they don't become crowded and so the Department of Natural Resources doesn't kick off the few brave climbers to avoid accidents, especially around the dam on Lake Monroe, Martz says.\nHe discloses Griffey Lake Nature Preserve, cuts in rock along state route 37 and around White River in Shoals, Ind., as a few other locales.\n"Bloomington is a recreational hell," says Tom Stuessy, a doctoral candidate who teaches ice climbing. "It's not a place for a guy who likes to paddle and climb, so when we find a place, we don't talk about them so beginners don't tear them up."\nIce climbing is considered one of the most dangerous winter activities, Martz says, because of falling ice chunks, accidents with ice axes and eroding ice. Rookies should climb with a guide and take more than one lesson. Make sure ice axes are sharp, Stuessy says.\nJust above freezing and just after midday are the best temperature and time to climb, Stuessy says. Warm ice poses less challenge and acts like Styrofoam, absorbing axes and crampons. \nIce colder than freezing often becomes brittle and loses its bond to surfaces, causing chunks to break. Warmer ice freezing is weaker.\nIce for climbing also can be created. Slowly trickle water down chicken wire, cargo netting or cardboard during freezing weather, Stuessy says. Make sure the surface isn't completely vertical, so that water doesn't run straight down.\nHoosier Heights Indoor Climbing Facility at 5100 S. Rogers offers a place to practice for the winter.
SKIING AND SNOWBOARDING\nFor $10, a student could join the IU Ski and Snowboard Club and make weekend trips for reduced group rates at Ski World in Nashville, Ind., and Paoli Peaks in Paoli, Ind. Outdoor Adventures also rents cross-country skis for $15. \nGrowing up in Winnipeg, Canada, Ski and Snowboard Club president Maja Papiez has sled, ice skated and played hockey in London, Ontario, where snow piles grow to be as high as six feet.\nBecause whatever snow does fall melts within a couple days, skiers have to make do with snow manufactured at Ski World and Paoli Peaks, says Papiez, an advanced skier who started skiing when she was 4. \nMade from compacted ice and air, fake snow is slicker than normal snow, a more noticeable difference to veterans than rookies.\n"I still don't enjoy skiing on ice," says Papiez, a senior. "It's really slippery. You can't hold an edge on ice as easily. People get more hurt on ice more often. I just don't find it as fun as fluffy, white snow."\nAn hour south on State Highway 37, Paoli Peaks offers terrain only for snowboarders without as much overall steep terrain as Ski World. Unlike most ski lodges, Paoli Peaks' main lodge and parking lot sit atop a hill. Perfect North Slopes in Lawrenceburg, Ind., remains open longer than southern Indiana ski lodges, but is usually crowded, senior Daniel Kojetin says.\n"Some people think skiing in Indiana is horrible," says Kojetin, vice president of IU Common Adventure Club and an instructor at Ski World. "A student from Colorado who's at Indiana might think: 'Why should I want to ski here?' But it's not going to get any better. You can practice for bigger trips out west."
HIKING AND BACKPACKING\nAfter skiing and backpacking in Colorado and Utah, recreation and park administration professor Bruce Hronek says he still finds beauty in the flatlands of Indiana. He particularly enjoys hiking.\n"It's a very special time of the year to enjoy the natural environment," says Hronek, who names the Charles C. Deam Wilderness area in Hoosier National Forest and Brown County State Park as good places for solitude. "It's just the beauty that's there after a snowfall that's especially striking. There's nothing quite as refreshing as a clear, blue sky, the cold weather and snow on the ground."\nLeafless trees during the winter expose deer, foxes and migratory birds. Animals can best be spotted around berry-bearing trees and bushes. Bring binoculars before 10 a.m. to Hoosiers National Forest (especially Little Africa hiking trail), McCormick's Creek or Spring Mill State Park in Mitchell, Ind., Hronek says. \nMost animals are color blind, but could be alarmed by swaying clothing. Winter birds include hawks, owls, juncos, thrushes, warblers, finches, nut hashes and even bald eagles nesting around Lake Monroe in March.
SNOWSHOEING\nLess popular than skiing in Bloomington, snowshoeing allows easy to advanced cardiovascular workout. Some of ideal sports are Camp Palawopec (five miles north on state route 46) and away from camp areas at Brown County State Park. \n"You can get a good vibe," says sophomore Clay Downing, who teaches snowshoeing, about the state park. "You're not going to get really lost because there are good land markers, so you can find your car."\nPowdery, light snow is easier to plow through than wet snow that could cling to the snowshoes, Downing says. Outdoor Adventures rent snowshoes for $10. JL Waters rents for $10-15.
ICE SKATING AND OTHER FUN\nLakes in southern Indiana are too dangerous for skating because the temperature doesn't stay cold enough for ice to remain at least six inches thick, Hronek says. Winter camping, sledding and spelunking also provide fun. The temperature inside caves remains steady all year. But caving requires skilled guides and participants, Hronek says. Doghill and Donahue caves in Bedford are possibilities.
STAYING SAFE AND WARM\nWear three layers of clothes, including gloves and boots. The layer closest to the skin should be insulating synethic material like nylon or fleece that would absorb moisture, Downing says. The second layer should be wool, a sweater or sweatshirt, while the outermost layer should keep wind and moisture out like a parka or raincoat. \nDon't wear cotton, even jeans, which become cold when wet. Also, don't immediately remove all layers because you could become cold too fast, Downing says.\nEat often because winter activities require many calories in staying warm. Go with an experienced person. Tell others where you're going and when you'll return.
the great outdoors -- \noutside of bloomington\nOutdoor Adventures provide weekend winter activities like caving under a full moon and hiking at night in McCormick's Creek for $90 on average. Spring catalogs featuring classes and events can be found near the atrium in the Union.\nThe trips feature a five-students-to-one-instructor ratio, using student leaders to keep prices down. Most trips for spring semester have filled, but call 855-2231 or email outdoors@indiana.edu for more information.\nNow this is a sure-fire way of making money, but as time proves over and over again that the second or third or ninth incarnations are usually not as good as its predecessors. Rarely is a second film as good, with the exception of "Terminator 2" or "Mission Impossible II," but these films are not made to be as good, they are created solely for the purpose of making money because the first one did. All the filmmakers have to do is think up a crazy way to get the stars back together and they will make money, but the film is never good, and this is why.\nWe want the film to be like the first one, if we enjoyed it, but we also want it to be different. It's a lose-lose situation. If it is too similar, like "Teen Wolf 2" where the only difference is the wolf is a boxer, then we don't like it because we've seen it before. If the film is too different like the "Meatball" films, where one deals with aliens and one is soft-core porn, we hate it as well. We as filmgoers are hypocrites. We won't like a sequel if it's the same, and we won't like them if they are different. The only thing that is sure it that we will go see them. \nBASED ON A BOOK\nIf "Harry Potter" is any clue to the hype and eventual success of this category, then the upcoming "Fellowship of the Rings" will be the same. Now will these films be better than the books and the hype? Well Potter was not, it was a good movie, but the books are better. I liked the film, but as a big fan of the books I know that the third and fourth ones are so much better when compared to the first. Will this happen with the Tolkien books? There is a chance that the films won't be as good because books are just usually better as books.\nThe film versions usually never reign supreme. We already know what happens in the end and we have already visualized what it would look like. We are somewhat disappointed when it is put up on the screen differently than we had visualized it. There are many films that are like this and it is very rare to see a critically acclaimed one.\nLast year's "Hannibal" may have been a hint as to what hype does to a film since it had big stars, was a sequel and was originally a book. It did great money wise, but it was not that great of a film. The big stars have acted better in other films, the movie was nowhere near what "Silence of the Lambs" was and it was better than the original book, even though the ending was horrible. So if we have learned anything about hype, it's that it will cause a lot of box-office cash, but will usually end up turning out a second-rate product. This has been proven over and over, but the industry will fool us again.
