Almost every house at Caltech runs their own ski trip. The members of social teams choose a weekend to reserve a cabin at resorts like Big Bear or Mammoth Mountain, and offer this accomodation for their members for the weekend for people to go skiing and snowboarding at these resorts. As I’m a part of two houses, Avery and Blacker, I get the chance to go on both – which I am happy I got to do this year! Usually I have fencing tournaments scheduled over the same weekends, and so I can’t go to ski. It was extraordinarily lucky this year that I got two trips. Freshman year, I could only go to one, and last year I could go to neither.

The level of organization depends on the house. Many houses to a yearly trip, and so know the wherebys and wherefores of organizing a trip of this size. This is the case in Avery, and especially so because the house is so large. However Blacker has a different situation, as the trip has so far happened every other year. Not as much budget is put aside for the trip, and there is not as much help from previous planners each year. It’s something that the people involved in planning are trying to change, so that in the future things will be better for everyone!
It can be quite expensive to go skiing, especially if the house doesn’t have the funds to subsidize. Even so, I really love doing it, and it’s always great to ski with friends. I have skied for a long time now, and I can honestly say that part of the fun of it is being able to do more difficult runs. But whatever level you’re at, it’s always such a rewarding feeling to accomplish something you at one point found difficult or were too scared to try.

I love the house ski trips; I think they’re a great part of the house experience. Being able to spend a weekend away from Tech to relax is a great way to both procrastinate and spend your time. I really hope I get to do more skiing next season as well!