On February 23rd, while faculty engaged in their annual Quo Vadis workshops, the Montrose Ski Club marked their third annual day trip to Waterville Valley. About 30 Montrose students attended the trip, accompanied by three parent chaperones. Before teachers shuffled into their workshops, skiers bounded a 6:15 AM Coach bus from the Montrose parking lot for a three and a half hour drive to the mountains.
Some girls came toting their own personal equipment while others opted to rent snowboards and skis for the day. With a weekend of fresh snowfall, the girls skied and snowboarded in ideal conditions. Students also enjoyed the near-empty slopes while public school students returned to school from February vacation. The day also proved perfect as not one Montrosian suffered an injury.
Although similar to Wachusett where the girls go every Friday night, Waterville Valley offers slightly larger and more advanced terrain to challenge skiers and snowboarders, with 50 available trails , five terrain parks and nine chair lifts to take skiers to countless vistas.
Although it was a bit chilly at the peak of the mountain, with temperature averages dropping to -8 degrees with a windchill of -20 degrees, no Montrosians complained of the cold. The girls stopped halfway through the day for lunch and made other frequent stops to avoid frostbite. Liz O’Neill ‘16, who made the trip for the first time, shared her experience: “Despite the freezing weather and the harsh wind chill, I think everyone managed to make the best of the amazing opportunity and have a great time.”
The girls all packed back onto the bus at 4:30 PM, arriving at the Montrose parking lot by 8:00 PM. The entire club agreed that, even with the cold winds, the trip was perfection for snow-lovers.