With the cold comes opportunity

Winter is upon us and the slopes, with fresh powder and steep descents, are calling out to potential snowboarders and skiers. Those who consider themselves experts have probably had this time of year circled and marked on their calendars for quite some time, but for those who don’t know anything about the sports, now may be a good time to get to learn.

PSU’s own snowboard club is a good place to find out about this newly popular sport. The group is set up to provide affordable access to the mountains for students making regular trips to the slopes during the winter season.

Not many trips have been planned over winter break due to many students heading home for the month-long sojourn away from school. However, once school is back in session, the club plans to hit the mountains regularly.

The group has already orgainized a trip for the first week of winter term to Whistler in Canada. After that, shorter day trips and a few weekend trips will be made to closer mountains such as Mt. Hood and Mt. Bachelor.

The reason for the numerous trips is to accommodate a wide range of schedules. The coordinators at the snowboard club realize how hard it is for people to find time in their busy schedules to go snowboarding and they try to ease that pressure.

For those who prefer skiing, there isn’t a specific club set up, but the snowboard club does accept skiers.

“Everyone needs to go to the mountain,” co-coordinator for the snowboard club Stacy Ebert said.

Those who are interested in joining the snowboard club should head down to the student development center. The group keeps a box with applications and all you have to do is fill out the form and drop it in the box along with a small fee.

Benefits to joining the club include discounts at local area snowboard dealers, reduced price lift tickets and transportation to and from the mountains. For anyone who hasn’t had the money or the means, this is a great opportunity to experience snowboarding and skiing.

If hurdling down the face of a mountain at insane speeds isn’t your idea of fun, but you still love the outdoors, you should check out Portland State’s very own outdoor club. The club offers a number of varied activities, such as whitewater rafting, backpacking, kayaking and even snowshoeing.

The outdoor club also has a stock of tents, sleeping bags and other outdoor accessories for rent to those who are thinking about going camping, but just don’t have the gear. This provides a wonderful resource to those who have limited storage space for items such as headlamps, cook sets and ice axes.

The best way to find out more about the outdoor program at PSU is to log onto its Web site at www.odp.pdx.edu. Here visitors can find information about trip schedules, club members and even northwest weather, snow and avalanche information.

So before lack of time, money, or equipment makes you give up on that winter trip you were planning, money or other means, just remember that the snowboarding and outdoor clubs are active and want to make it easier for you to enjoy the weather. Get out there and have some fun in the snow.