During the second week of Spring Break (yes, we get two weeks off, which is another thing I LOVE about this school!), 40 first-year and second-year students travelled to Park City, Utah, for an annual ski trip. The best thing about the trip was that you were completely in control of how much or, like me, how little you skied. Now, I enjoy whizzing down a mountain (almost) as much as the next person, but what I REALLY enjoy is the après-ski atmosphere, which was plentiful over the 6-day trip.

Organized by Carl Hardie, president of the MBA Outdoors Club, we were able to buy 5- or 3-day passes for Park City and Canyons Resort, and both mountains were less than a 10-minute drive from our condos. Skiers and snowboarders of all talent levels were welcome and encouraged to attend. It was impressive to watch my friends from India, Pakistan, and America who had never been to a ski resort, take lessons and conquer some of the blue (intermediate) runs with me. Equally remarkable were my more advanced colleagues who decided that runs off the ski lifts were not daring enough for them, and decided to hike to untouched powder runs at the summit — personally, that’s a little too much for me … I can’t even conquer double blues!

Beyond Skiing

Not only were our days filled with skiing, snowboarding, and even snowmobiling, but our evenings were occupied with group dinners and outings to downtown Park City. As a first-year, it was nice to take advantage of a smaller group to get to know more of the second years who will be leaving us for the real world in 6 short weeks. My fellow first years and I were able to make new connections with second years over free pizza (thanks Outdoors Club!) on the first night and during an Italian buffet on the third evening, along with all of our get-togethers at the bottom of the mountain after a grueling day on the slopes (for me that means approximately 2 hours of skiing).

The highlight of the trip was the annual ‘80s Party at the summit on Thursday, the last full day of skiing for most of us. We all dressed in ‘80s gear, and as you can see from the picture, some took it a bit more seriously than others! Then, we met at the summit restaurant at Park City Resort for lunch, took some action shots, and continued skiing for a few hours until it was time to relax at the Corner Store Bar and Restaurant near the base of the mountain. It was a lot of fun to be a part of a group that takes themes so seriously — we received several comments from other skiers about how jealous they were of our ‘80s apparel and countless envious (or maybe confused?) stares. It was a great way to end a busy yet rewarding Spring Break, even if the snow was beginning to melt.

After going on this trip, I would recommend it to anyone who attends Fuqua. While some might not consider Park City as exotic as a GATE trip to South Africa or South America, it was an awesome way to spend a week of break. I was able to meet more of my classmates and improve my skiing (even if only a little). I can’t wait to see where next year’s club presidents will choose to take us skiing, but in the meantime, I’m going to work on accumulating more ‘80s workout gear so I can win the prize for best costume in 2014!