Story co-written/produced with Jake Burks
Cataloochee snowboard instructor Nick Provost teaches proper landing technique. Photo courtesy of WCU Parks and Recreation Management Department.
One does not typically associate snow sports with college credit, however at Western Carolina University, students have had the opportunity to do just that for 43 years.
The commitment that WCU has to its reputation as a top adventure college is no joke. Every spring semester, since 1975, 100 lucky WCU students, abilities ranging from experts to first-timers, arrive at the Cataloochee Ski Resort to develop their skills as snowboarders and skiers.
Prior to this class, the only connection that WCU had to snow sports was a ski club. Due to the class rapidly growing in size and popularity, all 100 of the class’ “seats” on the ski lift are typically filled within 24 hours.
This coming spring semester will mark the 44th year that the class has been offered, and it is shaping up to be a good one. While the majority of the prep work is done before a single snowflake hits the ground, the execution of these plans comes with its own set of challenges.
The class meets once a week for five weeks with Monday, Jan. 14, 2019 being the first day on the snow. Tickets vary for students depending on what that particular student needs. If rental equipment is needed, the cost is $175 and if no rental equipment is needed, a student will pay $125. Finally, if the student is a Cataloochee employee or has a season pass, they pay a total of $75. All the funds go toward paying for the use of the area and the on snow instructors.
“The first night is always about sorting through the craziness and getting the students out on the hill,” said Brenda Mulcahy, the Director of Ski School at Cataloochee. In addition to this, students will receive their multi night passes for the course. Despite the first day being typically hectic, many instructors at Cataloochee say that the WCU class is one of their favorites.
Judi Bruns, an instructor at Cataloochee, has been teaching the advanced ski portion of the WCU program for 10 years and says that “the eagerness of the students and their ability to be ready to go all the time” is her inspiration to continue teaching the class.
The program is designed to build the students into capable skiers and snowboards along with developing a passion for snow sports. Former students often can be seen out skiing and riding the slopes, but for a small handful of students like Morgan Clawson, it has become so much more. At this time last year, she barely even knew how to put on or take off a snowboard, but after taking WCU’s snowboard class she decided to continue in developing her newfound passion by becoming an instructor at Cataloochee.
“I wanted to be able to continue working on my skills as a snowboarder and share my excitement for the sport,” Clawson added.
The current program director at WCU, Bob Beaudet, described the class as a “well-oiled machine.
“At this point, we have a good thing going lately,” Beaudet said.
Former program director Debby Singleton has stated that the only major push for the class that is currently being lobbied for is to bump the class from one credit hour up to two credit hours. With that in mind, it seems that WCU’s ski and snowboard class is here to stay every spring semester with continued popularity.
