Ski Shuttle

Yesterday, my friends and I were able to enjoy an evening of skiing at Cataloochee, the ski resort that I visited over break.  Thanks to the school's awesome campus recreation program, we were able to take part in the ski shuttle service, and ride with other UNC Asheville students to the ski lodge and enjoy a discounted evening of skiing to the tune of about $30.  Considering that rentals and lift ticket cost me about $60 when I went independent of the school, and that the ski shuttle "package" also offered the option of free ski or snowboard lessons, I'd say this was a pretty excellent deal--well worth the money!  Campus Recreation offers UNC Asheville students a wide number of group trips around Western North Carolina and even beyond, but until this semester, I've been too busy with work and school to participate, so it was an adventure.  My group devoured the along snacks and dinner (sandwiches and homemade pasta) that we'd brought with us before hitting the slopes.  I hadn't before seen any of my friends' ski skills, and felt comforted that most of us, with a few exceptions, are on roughly the same level.

  
We were told that Cataloochee had received a light snowfall on Friday morning, and found that by nightfall, all of the runs were open, and the conditions were still great.  Although the weather was biting cold, once we started moving, all we felt was the exhilaration of racing down the slightly icy slopes.  While there, I was surprised to run into my brother and his roommate, who apparently make a habit of taking advantage of the ski shuttle to snowboard most winter weekends.  We rode the chairlift together to the intermediate slope, which I, as a novice, navigated with some difficulty before wiping out completely (we're talking skis, poles, hat and goggles flying through the air and me landing face-first in the snow).  This little hiccup aside, the evening proved to be an awesome way to take advantage of the wintry weather and spend time with other members of the UNC Asheville community.  If you end up coming to UNC Asheville or are already a student here, you should definitely give this, or any other of the programs offered by Campus Recreation a try.  You might be surprised by how much fun you'll end up having!   

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Transylvania County's 150th Anniversary

Over Labor Day, one of my roommates, a Brevard, NC native, invited us to her hometown to attend the festivities surrounding the 150th anniversary of Transylvania County, which is located to the south of Buncombe County (home to Asheville).  What a day!  The amount of preparation that went into this celebration was impressive.  We munched on free popcorn and sipped refreshing lemonade as we wandered the picturesque streets of downtown Brevard, where booths were set up displaying local crafts and foods, and where citizens reenacted some typical professions of citizens at the founding of the county over a century ago.  The festivities would not have been complete without the petting zoo, square dancing, and giant cake, from which a white squirrel (for which Brevard is known) unexpectedly emerged, much to the delight of the crowd.  It was so much fun to just take in the atmosphere, enjoy the entertainment, and spend the beautiful summer afternoon with friends whom I hadn't seen in months.

If you're interested in travelling around Western North Carolina, I strongly suggest a day trip to Brevard.  You can explore the town and Brevard College campus, or you can head into Pisgah Forest for some wonderful hiking and scenery (more posts on this to come!).

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This is the Way We Go to School

When I arrived last spring, one of the first things I noticed about this school is that it seems like almost everyone has a bicycle.  Residents have bikes in addition to cars so they can zoom around campus or ride downtown without having to worry about where to park or exceeding the speed limit.  Students living off campus often ride their bikes to classes as well. And, once spring settles in, I can guarantee that the number of bikes we see on campus will increase, as students prefer the warm air to a stuffy car ride.     

Because UNC Asheville is tucked away in the mountains of Western North Carolina, we have the opportunity that many other schools do not: mountain biking.  Many students here enjoy taking their bikes "off-roading" and enjoying the thrill of essentially riding their bikes down mountains and taking their adventure off the beaten path.  As I have already mentioned, students also love to ride their bikes downtown.  Downtown Asheville is very close to campus, so taking one's bike downtown makes for a fun trip, and beats taking the bus any day.  It is equally enjoyable to explore the neighborhoods of Montford and North Asheville via bicycle, especially when the weather is nice.  

Given UNC Asheville's obvious love affair with bicycles, it is worth mentioning that we have an awesome bike shop on campus.  This shop provides free repairs and maintenance to students' bikes (given that they are not in too terrible a condition) and even offers very reasonable rental prices for students who could not bring a bike to campus.  The bike shop is located at the bottom level of Highsmith Union, our student union building, accessible only from the outside (see picture below).

I took some pictures of several popular docking spots for bikes to show you what it looks like on the weekends alone.  Given that today is Sunday and most non-residents are not on campus, there are not as many bikes as usual.  However, given the amount of bikes in the pictures, you can imagine how great that volume is when off campus students come for classes on weekdays! 

 

Fun link!
Bike Shop Homepage

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