What is the best college ski town?

**concretejungle** · 09-20-2020, 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by BFD

Bozeman is Boulder 45 years ago. It maybe has 5 more years of livability than it's over get it now.

No and yes.

**stealurface831** · 09-20-2020, 08:34 AM

Honestly, I haven't gotten that far yet. Writing is my one passion aside from skiing and climbing so probably either journalism or creative writing.

**stealurface831** · 09-20-2020, 08:37 AM

I went to boarding school for a few years pretty close to dartmouth and have a bunch of friends there but idk if I could do the ivy culture, much less get in. The GPA is not looking like it. Middlebury is an interesting one. I need to read up on it more. Thanks for the words of advice.

**stealurface831** · 09-20-2020, 08:42 AM

Originally Posted by XavierD

Your undergrad, IMO should be more about getting a good baseline (cause ya gonna go to grad school eventually) in something you care about. Enjoying the unique social setting, making lifelong friends and appreciate the amount of hot young women you’re constantly surround by. If you can do all that and still go skiing, sweet.

This is some of the best advice I have gotten. Thank you, sir.

**ill-advised strategy** · 09-20-2020, 08:42 AM

Also...wildcard! you can ski every day at both Northern Mich and Michigan Tech.
NMU is a clown college for dumb richkids who want to get away from their downstate families to “study” outdoor rec and graduate in 5 years with a C average, herpes, and a drinking problem.
Michigan Tech is a real education for STEM nerds.

Both have skiing within 5 minutes. Skiing is better at tech, with better snow, and a more freeskiing-oriented vibe at the local hill, and the somewhat real skiing of Mt Bohemia an hour or less away.
At NMU you will have a small hill of icy flat corduroy covered in race courses, and a janky terrain park, with several marginal pow days a year, and a few weeks of marginal treeskiing and a couple slivers of moguls/off piste at peak snow coverage. 3to 4hr drive to Bohemia. NMU has the beach and very good mtb trails.

NMU: schooling 2 Ogdens, Town -4 Ogdens, skiing 7 Ogdens
MTU: schooling -7 Ogdens, Town 0 Ogdens, skiing 2 Ogdens

**TBS** · 09-20-2020, 08:43 AM

Originally Posted by Meadow Skipper

https://westminstercollege.edu/

Heh, my daughter (Not a skier) was accepted to Westminster, but ended up going to Arizona State. Why? Because Westminster has dorm rooms the parents can rent!
She overheard me with one of my ski buddies scheming. “Dude, it’s only $175 to fly to SLC. With no hotel cost, we can get season passes at Alta!”
“Daddy the dorms are only for parents”
“well, just tell them you have two dads. Easy”

That was not the right response...

**blackalps** · 09-20-2020, 08:46 AM

Originally Posted by skaredshtles

33 minutes.

that's not true. It's an hour and 15. on a snow day it's probably more like 2 hours. On a weekend snow day it's like 4.

**blackalps** · 09-20-2020, 08:49 AM

Originally Posted by XavierD

Your undergrad, IMO should be more about getting a good baseline (cause ya gonna go to grad school eventually) in something you care about. Enjoying the unique social setting, making lifelong friends and appreciate the amount of hot young women you’re constantly surround by. If you can do all that and still go skiing, sweet.

I was on a university campus yesterday and it made me wish I was still in my early 20s and in college. so. many. hot. babes. Maybe I'll go back to being a professor and be the creepy teacher that bones students.

**skaredshtles** · 09-20-2020, 08:53 AM

Originally Posted by blackalps

that's not true. It's an hour and 15. on a snow day it's probably more like 2 hours. On a weekend snow day it's like 4.

This is horseshit. In decent weather with no traffic it's 18 minutes.

**hafjell** · 09-20-2020, 09:15 AM

Anybody go to Nevada-Reno? That seemed like a great way to get to Tahoe and get a degree.

**AlexC** · 09-20-2020, 09:18 AM

You have your whole life to ski so don't sacrifice the quality of your education to ski more now. Instead, study something that will enable a career that will let you live in a ski town AND have flexible hours.

**utagonian** · 09-20-2020, 09:19 AM

Dartmouth, Middlebury & Colby have their own ski hills
Colorado School of Mines, Colorado College, Colorado Mesa, Western Colorado College- all close to resorts
Plymouth State, UNH, UVT are all close to good skiing
Sierra Nevada College- 5 minutes to Diamond Peak
Utah, Westminster, Utah State - 7 good ski resorts close by

**Wookiee** · 09-20-2020, 09:23 AM

Some good things said on this thread; put in the effort and workhard for the 4 years build up your resume with internships and get out with a great career. You’ll have the freedom down the line to be where you want. It does sound great to be skiing on the days you have off but this is the time to prioritize your education. Went to HS with a couple pompous dicks who were all about getting into top non-Ivey league schools (BC, ND, etc) and they are all doing real well financially. It also depends on what you want to do, if you want to be cop, fireman, plumber don’t waste your time on an expensive 4 year education and depending on where you are located those guys can be pulling in $150K+ a year.

**MagnificentUnicorn** · 09-20-2020, 09:26 AM

Originally Posted by AlexC

You have your whole life to ski so don't sacrifice the quality of your education to ski more now. Instead, study something that will enable a career that will let you live in a ski town AND have flexible hours.

Terrible advice. Skiing is only going to get more marginal and expensive. Go find a nice CC in a western state close to a decent ski hill and great backcountry. Make connections and get established. Life is too short, enjoy being young. Live your life, not someone else’s dream for your life.

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**jackattack** · 09-20-2020, 09:38 AM

I took a year to ski after I graduated HS. Worked at a mid-mountain restaurant. I wouldn’t trade that for anything, ever.

Second to trust funders, and dentists, the nurses I know ski the most.

**yeahman** · 09-20-2020, 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by concretejungle

Carroll College. Helena, MT. The best ski town in MT according to yeahman.

Heh, well of course it's common knowledge that Helena is the best ski town in Montana if a central location and access to multiple areas is what you are seeking. And Carroll is a fine school--ranked number one regional college in the West for 10 years in a row by U.S. News and World Report.

But I went to UM in Missoula, which is a great choice if you are a student who wants to sneak away for a couple hours of skiing a day. Snowbowl is very close and it's a lot of fun.

**Leshphilling77** · 09-20-2020, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by stealurface831

Honestly, I haven't gotten that far yet. Writing is my one passion aside from skiing and climbing so probably either journalism or creative writing.

Missoula

I had a great time there. I tried to stack classes on t/Th spring semesters to get up to snowbowl during the week then took a lot of little trips to the surrounding ski areas on weekends. It is a fun place to party too. Snowbowl may not be considered One of the best mountains but when it is good that place is awesome and when it’s not well you ski it anyways and you will be better for it.

**thebear** · 09-20-2020, 09:48 AM

Taking time to live in the mountains now would be totally excusable from a resume perspective. No one is going to be asking why you took a year off when classes were remote and college wasn’t college.

That said, if you’re smart enough to be getting into UNC out of state, skipping your degree is a stupid long term decision.

Just take a year off. I did, my junior year — and like Magnificent Unicorn, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

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**yeahman** · 09-20-2020, 09:52 AM

Originally Posted by Leshphilling77

but when it is good that place is awesome and when it’s not well you ski it anyways and you will be better for it.

Truth. Those boilerplate days at Snowbowl are fun in their own way and great for improving skills. And when conditions are good it's an awesome mountain.

And OP, if climbing is your thing, Missoula has the best nearby climbing in Montana. Also, the journalism school at UM is excellent, which I know because that's what I got my degree in.

**steadieflow** · 09-20-2020, 09:55 AM

Originally Posted by MagnificentUnicorn

Terrible advice. Skiing is only going to get more marginal and expensive. Go find a nice CC in a western state close to a decent ski hill and great backcountry. Make connections and get established. Life is too short, enjoy being young. Live your life, not someone else’s dream for your life.

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Agree skiing hard in your 20s not the same in your 40s. Through my 20s in Utah I skied at least 1,300 days. Wouldn’t trade that for anything.

Didn’t ski nearly as much in my 30s....now in my 40s more financially stable and have a place in Steamboat can work remotely now more than ever getting more days in. Last year was my most in over a decade even with COVID cutting the season short.

I can still get after it but nothing like what I was doing in my 20s. Reality is work and the corporate machine will be there your youth won’t.

**ASmileyFace** · 09-20-2020, 10:06 AM

I'm surprised about how few people are saying UofU. Other than the politics of the region, SLC seems like a pretty good spot to take your undergrad. I met so many students who were getting inbetween class laps during my last two years working up in LCC. The school is pretty good too. It's no CU Boulder socially, but the skiing around SLC is soooo much better than in the front range of colorado.

Those suggesting a gap year are also on the right track. I ended up at Fort Lewis in Durango because I was told I had to go straight through school and I'd figure things out on the way. Had a wonderful time, fell in love with SW Colorado and wouldn't trade the experience for anything, but I have a basically worthless degree because I didn't know what the fuck I was doing with my life and just took classes that didn't challenge me.

If there was ever a year to skip going straight to college, this is it. Go get a job somewhere that lets you live on the mountain and ski every single day. Convincing you parents might be hard, but trust us, it's better than forcing yourself straight into school when you're not ready.

**Danno** · 09-20-2020, 10:14 AM

I went to CU in Boulder for grad school and skied 40-50 days a year. But I was in my 30s and had my shit together. Had I gone there for undergrad, I don't know that I would ever have graduated.

**Mofro261** · 09-20-2020, 10:23 AM

I sent one to Bozeman and one to SLC. Both grew up getting 100+ ski days/year thru their teens so ski access for them was a priority. My girl was getting up 5 days/week SLC and was on pace to get 100 in again before things shut down in March.

I skied just about every day from the UW in the 90s, but then I also deferred winter quarter twice and was on the 6 year plan in Undergrad. This ski thing can sort of take over your life if you give in to it.

**BFD** · 09-20-2020, 10:25 AM

college ski town. Large cities near skiing are not college ski towns. When my younger son was looking at schools we did the trip. Colorado School of Mines just looking at Vail, Loveland zone was enough for him to say no. Fort Lewis skied the San Juans. Hit the Tetons , Bee Hive Basin, Mount Blackmore. Went over to Missoula checked out Snowbowl. He chose Bozeman. I recommend Bozeman to any one interested in the outdoors as the place for college. The college town is fading fast. It surely is not Boulder.

**tahoe420** · 09-20-2020, 10:45 AM

Originally Posted by buttahflake

Plymouth State, number 8, party school in the country when I was there in the 80’s.

Ha ha I'm from Plymouth, my folks were professors since the 70's. I ended up in Tahoe at SNC in 88, still haven't found better skiing and access in the lower 48. PSC/U was an epic party school. Tenney, WV, Loon plus all the small local hills was a skiers dream, but to cold and short seasons. PSC security, why they always chasing me? US Skunks!