The cold air bites as students zip up their jackets, strap on their helmets and secure their ski boots. The bus rumbles to life, packed with excitement and anticipation, as the Ski Club embarks on another trip to Perfect North Slopes in Indiana.
Despite some scheduling setbacks due to snow days, the club remains a favorite winter activity, bringing students together for evenings of skiing, snowboarding and camaraderie.
“I’ve been skiing since I was seven,” Greta Ashcraft, ‘29, a member of the club, said. “I originally learned on a big trip with my whole extended family to Colorado, and I’ve loved it ever since.”
Perfect North, located just across the state border, provides an accessible and enjoyable ski experience for beginners and seasoned skiers alike. The club meets regularly during the winter season and provides the chance for students to improve their skills, have fun with friends and enjoy the winter landscape.
Ski Club provides members with the opportunity to explore different trails, challenge themselves, and create lasting memories on the slopes. “Trying a bunch of new hills and slopes with my friends for a long time is my favorite part of Ski Club,” Greta Ashcraft, ‘29, said.
(Greta Ashcraft)“It’s really fun, even though I’m not the best,” Ashcraft said. “I still meet a lot of people, and we just hang out and ski. After a while, we take a break, eat dinner together and then go back out to ski for another hour or so.”
Not only do meets at Perfect North consist of skiing, but club members also take advantage of the several food and beverage options Perfect North provides to get dinner.
“I [meet] with a lot of people, and we just hang out and ski,” Ashcraft said. “After a while, we take a break, eat dinner together, and then go back out to ski for another hour or so. There’s a cafe there, so normally around three or four people go inside to eat.”
The structure of the club is simple but requires organization. After school, students are expected to board a bus that takes them to Perfect North. However, the bus is first-come, first-served.
“You have to be on the bus by 3:10 p.m., and you have to pay for Ski Club beforehand,” Ashcraft said. “The faster you get your forms in, the better, because after a certain amount, you’re not guaranteed a spot. If you don’t get there fast enough, someone else might take your place.”
While the club provides a welcoming and supportive environment, skiing itself presents its own challenges. After a three-year break from the sport due to living abroad in Australia, Ashcraft faced some struggles when she returned to the slopes.
“I moved to Australia for three years for my dad’s company, where I didn’t ski at all due to the extremely hot weather,” Ashcraft said.
However, when Ashcraft returned to the United States, she was able to regain her skiing skills and work toward improving her expertise.
“I hadn’t skied in a while, so I wasn’t very good, and I fell a lot,” Ashcraft said. “But I just practiced more. Even though I wasn’t as good as everyone else, people were still nice about it.”
Despite occasional struggles, Ski Club members create lasting memories on the slopes. For Ashcraft, one of her most unforgettable moments happened just last week.
“My phone fell out of my pocket on the hill, and the bus was about to leave in 20 minutes,” Ashcraft said. “My friend had a friend who wasn’t skiing, so he skied down and grabbed it for me. Everyone was really helpful and nice about it, but it was so stressful.”
The tight-knit community of Ski Club members supports each other through both fun and frustrating moments. Its members form strong bonds over their shared love of skiing.
“Everyone’s super nice,” Ashcraft said. “It’s not really a beginner-friendly club, so I wouldn’t recommend joining if you’re not willing to try hard. But if you’re willing to learn, people are helpful.”
As the season progresses, the Ski Club will continue to embrace the thrill of the slopes, the laughter of shared experiences and the friendships forged in the cold. Whether it’s a smooth ride down a well-groomed trail or a frantic search for a lost phone, every trip to Perfect North becomes another chapter in the club’s adventure.
“The community of ski club is friendly; everyone’s super nice and if you’re willing to push yourself, the club is so much fun,” Ashcraft said.