I go to school at Montana State University, the heart of college students that do more skiing than school. I am also on the freeride ski team so I feel like I have some good insight into the structure of these trips.
Picture this:
You receive a text in a thirty person group chat floating the idea of a trip to Canada. Wow, how fun! That’s usually your first thought, before the chaos ensues. Messages are flying in left and right. All of sudden you have everyone’s work and school schedules on your phone, dates are being tossed out and immediately shut down, while rental houses are already being linked.
You don’t even know what to think, but truly the best option is not to. Allow the planners of the group to surface and take charge. Ideally you are only loosely employed and school isn’t a huge issue; this way you can go on any of the chosen dates. As the planners narrow down the location, housing, and ride situation you can start to feel stoked.
If you’re lucky you won’t have to drive your car and you might even get to sleep in a bed. But the chances are you’ll be on the floor, miraculously all the rooms will be full of couples; interesting. Jokes may start flying about finding a partner to bring on ski trips for the sole purpose of securing a bed. The car is packed to the brim, you might even have to sit with your boots in your lap.
When you get there you might realize that the house you rented is actually half the size and there is only one bathroom for all ten people that actually made it on the trip. It’s almost funny. You all drive to the grocery store together and buy the cheapest food. The trip is full of oatmeal breakfasts, watery coffee, and cooking dinner together.
You share laughs over your questionable meals and each time you inevitably yard sale. The snow is hopefully deep and you get to ski a new mountain before heading back to your small scale rental with hopes of having another good day tomorrow.
As the trip comes to close you reminisce on the ratchet lodgings and good skiing while you scheme where you’ll go next. The drive back home is full of heavy napping and whining about the responsibilities we all have to return too.