Sublime Slopes: Students Cherish Ski Club Trips

As one of winter's most exhilarating sports, skiing combines speed, skill, and the thrill of navigating snow-covered slopes. On Feb. 27, a group of School Without Walls students embarked on a day trip to Liberty Mountain Resort. Many students cherished this activity, as they got to enjoy a day off of school with free reign on the slopes.

The trips were led by chemistry teacher Mr. Arthur Klawender, who hosted a few meetings before each trip to explain the logistics, hand out the necessary forms, and account for who was going. There was a 50-person limit, and spots were first-come, first-serve. The timeline for each trip was pretty similar—you arrived at school by 7 a.m., reached Liberty by 9 a.m., and left the resort around 3 p.m. “You show up, you give them money, and you go skiing,” said Leo Sampson (‘26).

While the main purpose of the ski trip was skiing, it also helped build a strong sense of community. “I loved getting to bond with my teachers over the ski trips,” Sampson explained.

Giraffe echoed the sentiment, adding that she was “in a big group, which I really enjoyed.”

The trips were open to anyone, no matter their experience level. There was an optional lesson available for beginners, which Catherine Smith (‘28) decided to take. The lesson lasted for around an hour before the students were free to ski alone. By the end, Smith was able to go down the hills on her own—something she hadn’t been able to do at the start.

Though it wasn’t the biggest mountain, there was still a lot to enjoy about Liberty. Sampson explained, “Liberty is a fun resort. The terrain park is fun, and all of the slopes are good.” There were a variety of hills based on difficulty, ranging from the bunny slope to the double black diamond.

Liberty Mountain Resort is the closest mountain to D.C. and an ideal destination for a 50-person group. But as Josh Black (‘25) hypothesized, “I think that if they make the trips a bigger event, we’d be able to go further north to a better mountain.”

“Overall, the ski trips were really fun,” Smith concluded. “I liked being able to go with my friends and teachers, and I hope to go next year.”