Montana slopes welcome snowboard, ski club

One of senior Kyle McHugh’s most memorable moments of the recent IU Ski and Snowboard Club trip involves losing one of his skis that was caught on a sapling.

When he found his ski, it was hanging off a branch over a 30-foot cliff. If the branch hadn’t caught it, the ski would have been lost.

“It makes you appreciate the mountain and want to get better,” said McHugh, co-president of the IU Ski and Snowboard Club.

With the beginning of winter comes the arrival of many seasonal sports, but for the club, this is nowhere near the beginning of their activities. The club members not only participate in winter sports, but also engage in other activities such as rock climbing, horseback riding and paint-balling.

“We’re an adrenaline junkie club,” sophomore and club member Freddie Trimarco said.
 
The club recently returned from a trip to Big Sky Resort in Montana, in which about 100 students participated. Senior Allie Renkert, co-head of regional trips, said the number is actually small compared to the number of students who usually go on the trip.

“In the past, we have taken way more people,” Renkert said.

The club left New Year’s Day and came back the Sunday before classes began. It was about a 30-hour drive, and the members had four days of skiing and snowboarding.

“We’re like one big family,” Trimarco said. “It’s a lot of fun. You’re constantly busy.”

There were several injuries during the Montana trip, including Trimarco, who broke his shoulder. It was his most memorable moment of the trip, he said.

“It’s the inherent danger of the sport,” Renkert said.

During the trip, Renkert traveled 11,100 feet up the mountain.

“It’s some of the most beautiful scenery you’ll ever see,” Renkert said. 

McHugh said he became involved because he wanted to share his passion for skiing with other people.

“It’s a really great club to be a part of if you like to have fun and meet new people,” said McHugh. “You don’t have to ski and snowboard and don’t have to have any experience whatsoever.”

Renkert said she didn’t have any experience when she first joined the club.

The club is taking two big trips this year, including the one they just got back from and another to Jackson Hole, Wyo., over spring break.

“I’m going snowboarding tonight,” Renkert said. “It’s a part of my life now.”

The club also takes smaller trips to places such as Perfect North Slopes and Paoli Peaks, both located in Indiana.

Trimarco said the members of the club usually form a carpool system and try to ski and snowboard as much as possible. He also said he likes getting to know people from other places.

“People speak the same language when you’re a skier and snowboarder,”
Trimarco said. 

The club is having a call-out meeting Thursday, Jan. 19, but McHugh said the best way to get involved is to come to the events.

“You actually have to come out and make an effort,” McHugh said.

Many of the members said skiing and snowboarding is a large part of their lives. Even with his injury, Trimaco looks forward to his future with the club.

“You’re in a whole other world when you’re out West,” Trimarco said. “It’s a way of life. It’s really inspirational in a way.”