Elizabeth Smith
Editor-In-Chief

Many students will be sticking to their winter time traditions over break next week by heading up to the mountains for a full week of skiing. With a little over a month of winter remaining, skiing can be an effective way to take in the few remaining weeks of ski season on the slopes.

The time off from school not only gives senior Mary Katherine Michiels-Kibler a job opportunity as a ski instructor but a chance to participate in one of her favorite hobbies.

“I get to play with kids while doing what I love,” Michiels- Kibler said. “It’s fun to see the same joy in them I remember having when I was their age and teaching them what I remember being taught.”

Michiels-Kibler typically spends the majority of winter break skiing from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“I love how exhilarating and exciting speeding down slopes is as well as the challenge of find- ing the best route down a more difficult slope,” Michiels-Kibler said. “It is easy to forget that you are exercising, being surround- ed by beautiful nature.”

Stuart Hall freshman Philip Toulinov uses skiing as a continuation of the skateboard- ing he does around the city.

“I love how free you feel in the snow,” Toulinov said. “You don’t have any distractions — you’re one-on-one with nature.”

Skiing also has a more competitive side, according to junior Francesca Dana, who has been skiing competitively for nine years for the Sugar Bowl Ski Team.

“I love the feeling you get when you make that perfect turn, and you can feel your edges in the snow, and your ski bend- ing and going fast,” Dana said.

While skiing is a hobby, it also has its secondary rewards such as staying in shape, according to Dana.

“I’m the kind of person who thinks I will be happy sitting inside all day and ‘resting’ and watching television, but when I’m actually doing it I’m bored out of my mind,” Dana said. “I just think that if you’re given an entire week off, be product and don’t let it pass you by.”