: February 2014

Although the snow may have melted away from campus, that did not stop some students and I from finding some more snow elsewhere to continue our snow-time adventures.

As you can tell from some of my other blog posts, I am a huge fan of our campus recreation resources on-campus. They have great facilities, group exercise classes, intramural sport teams, club sport teams, weekend trips, day trips, and information lessons.

This past weekend my friend and I took advantage of a morning snow tubing trip with campus recreation. The trip was only $25, it covered transportation, instruction, and equipment.

We drove out to Mars Hill and were astounded by the amount of snow still on the ground! The sun hadn't touched parts of it, and there was way more than 7 inches. But it was no longer freezing cold. In fact, it was nice in the sun, and you didn't need to bundle up like an eskimo. Perfect snow tubing weather.

The location was a local business where it seemed everyone knew everyone. The employees were super friendly, and that added to the experience because they showed my friends and I tricks on the tubes, how to go faster, the best way to ride over a ramp to get air, and other fun things.

I think my friends and I did every possible move there was to do on a snow tube... we tucked our feet in, laid on our belly, shared a tube by both sitting in it, and we even went off ramps!

College students are just little kids that try looking cooler... sometimes. We will never turn down ice cream, the chance to sing, or the opportunity to run around snow tubing for 2 hours.
UNC Asheville gives us the chance to let our inner kid run wild while our adult mind grows in intelligence.

Perfect Form

Wild Jump

By the time we drove back to campus early that afternoon, we were worn out. Despite finally going back to class the next day, after days of cancelled classes, the smiles and laughs from snow tubing still remained.

It seems all traces of snow have finally melted away.

3 inches, 4 inches, 6 inches, 8 inches... some even said 12 inches.
The estimates of how much snow we would have on-campus last week was the talk of the school, and the area. We had almost 7 inches in some areas!

It began Tuesday night.
What seemed like little harmless snow flurries began to drift down out of the sky...
Then before you knew it, you looked up and those flurries became globbed masses of snow.
Working the Highsmith information desk, people think you know something that everyone else doesn't. People would whisper like it was a secret of the highest security clearance, "...so... are classes for tomorrow cancelled yet?" Whether this question was asked on the phone or in person, I answered it all in the same half-laugh way, "I wish I knew. But I'll find out when you do through the website or email. You can call the snow-line though." Then I would read them the number and direct them to that portion of the site.
Here is the snow-line information in case you're curious:
http://publicsafety.unca.edu/em/adverse-weather-procedures

Luckily the snow did not disappoint, and the beautiful white flakes covered everything in reach.
Although classes were cancelled and campus was gorgeous in the snow, people were still moving around just as much as always.
With this said, campus was not shut down completely. Students in residence halls, such as me, were still able to get hot food in the cafeteria and other places on campus.
The workers on campus did a phenomenal job of keeping all the pathways clear and ice-free to prevent slipping and falling. It seemed like the workers were outside around the clock, plowing, spreading sand, melting ice; I applaud and thank them, just as all of campus does.

Everything looks more beautiful in the snow, even though the spring will be fast approaching.