Ski and Snowboard Club builds strong community on, off the slope

David Parry, ‘25, began skiing at just 2 years old, hitting the slopes in Vermont and the small Connecticut ski town he grew up in. While his passion for the sport came early, it has stuck with him for years. 

No matter where he went to college, Parry said, he wanted to be able to continue skiing as a student. The Lehigh Ski and Snowboard Club, which Parry is now vice president and treasurer of, has made that possible.  

The club was originally founded in the early 2010s but became inactive during the pandemic, club president Robert Hansen, ‘25, said. It was then revived in 2021 by two seniors during Parry and Hansen’s first year. 

Upon joining the club as first-years, Parry and Hansen said they both quickly rose to executive board positions, as they were eager to bring change. One of their particular goals was to make the club more organized and build a larger community.

Today, the club aims to offer students an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors during the winter months and connect with a community of students, regardless of skill level. 

The group takes weekly trips on Saturday evenings to Blue Mountain Resort, about a 35-minute drive from Lehigh’s campus, during the early months of the spring semester. The club’s first trip of this semester was on Jan. 25. 

Parry said there are several ski destinations near Bethlehem, but since Blue Mountain is the closest, it serves as the club’s homebase. 

Aaron Besnoff, ‘27, assistant vice president of the club, said Blue Mountain is the best ski resort in the state. As a Pennsylvania native, he said he’s well-acquainted with the state’s skiing scene, having skied exclusively in the area throughout high school and college.  

Hansen also has a connection to Blue Mountain, as he said he practiced there when learning to ski at 11 years old. 

Hansen said Blue Mountain is great for beginners, which allows the club to welcome skiers of all levels. He said the mountain has bunny hills and beginner lifts, meaning club members who aren’t comfortable with more difficult trails can still participate. 

The club also offers beginners the option to ski with the pack for a few runs until they feel comfortable, as they stay at Blue Mountain for about four hours each visit. Hansen also said he has personally taught a number of members how to ski.

Parry said the diversity in the club of skill and background among members is of the best parts of the club today. 

“One of the great things is that people are from all over the place, with people from Utah and Colorado, people from Maine,” Parry said. “There’s lots of people who have also been skiing since 2 and then some people who started just this year.”

In 2021, when the club was only recently revived, its members relied on carpooling to get to and from the mountain. That was until Parry, Hansen and other executive members integrated a bus system, which has been in use for the past two years.

This year, however, the club didn’t receive as much funding, Hansen said. 

“We had to go back to carpooling, which has made it a little challenging to accommodate more individuals,” Hansen said. “But we are doing our best as we can this year.”

To address these transportation challenges, the executive board created a waitlist and shifted their trips to Saturdays to accommodate students with busy schedules during the week. 

Besnoff said the club plans to continue expanding their vibrant community of skiers, as his favorite part of being involved is meeting people and making friends that he wouldn’t have in other places.  

“I really just love being able to go skiing with some of the same people and some new people every single Saturday and actually have something that I love to do with other people,” Besnoff said. 

The executive board members said they are working to expand the club’s presence beyond their weekly trips by planning a longer trip to a ski resort up north this semester.