By Bryan Simo, Staff Writer
It’s officially ski and snowboard season in Maryland, and River Hill students have already started hitting the slopes. Maryland is home to only one ski resort, Wisp, a small resort deep in the western part of the state. Besides Wisp, local skiers and snowboarders enjoy going to resorts such as Liberty and Roundtop up in Pennsylvania. With the upcoming long weekends before and after midterms, this time of year provides the perfect opportunity for students to head up to the mountains.
Senior Daniel Murakami got a head start and went snowboarding with his friends the first weekend back from break. Daniel’s resort of choice was Seven Springs, located in western Pennsylvania. “It was the closest resort that has a lot of snow,” he explains, adding that, “other resorts like Whitetail, Liberty, and Wisp had only just opened,” while Seven Springs opened earlier. Daniel also enjoyed the fact that “it was snowing there.”
Seven Springs seems to be a popular destination this year with others like senior Jett Born, who visited the resort during winter break to go snowboarding. Jett says he does it “every year,” but this was, “[his] first time at Seven Springs and it was nice.”
Despite only hearing from snowboarders so far, River Hill also has its fair share of Skiers. Senior Tegan Alewine says she “can do both” but is “better at skiing,” though she admits that “snowboarding is more fun.” Junior Max Delulliis is on the opposite end of the spectrum and is a lifelong skier, claiming that he “basically grew up on the slopes.” Max has big plans for this season as he hopes to “land [his] first backflip,” but to hopefully avoid any injury, he plans to do so in “six feet of powder.”
With skiing and snowboarding being a popular activity among students this winter, it’s important to remember to always thoroughly plan your trips and prepare for all accommodations. Tegan warns that “it’s… expensive,” explaining why she “doesn’t go often.” It’s also important to take proper safety precautions and only work within your skill level and not follow the advice of Max Delulliis to “just send it.”