On snowy days in Rhode Island junior Erin Regan heads to Yawgoo Valley Ski Area鈥攁 10-minute drive from campus and the state鈥檚 only skiing and snowboarding destination.
Erin calls snowboarding at Yawgoo 鈥渁 snow-day tradition鈥� for the . 鈥淚t鈥檚 a small mountain, but it鈥檚 so close to campus, so we just go up and down all day, goof off a little, and enjoy a day of riding,鈥� she said.
An elementary education and communication studies major, Erin started snowboarding with her family as a child. She loves the feeling of freedom it provides. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to be somewhere you can clear your mind and not worry about the stresses of school,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great escape.鈥�
I think Yawgoo is an amazing place for people to learn skiing and snowboarding. It’s a great place for beginners to perfect their skills and for experts to come hang out and have a blast.
The proximity of Yawgoo to the Kingston campus makes it an ideal spot to put in some time on your skis or snowboard without traveling to the mountains of northern New England. Even when the weather doesn鈥檛 cooperate and deliver much snow to the area, powerful snowmaking at Yawgoo makes it a great option.
Alumni Brendan Gouin and Dylan Gamache have even achieved a bit of fame for their snowboarding exploits at Yawgoo. Together with three friends, they are known as the , and have demonstrated how a passion for snowboarding and some video-making skills can turn heads in the competitive international snowboarding world鈥攁s evidenced by this recent .
As a student, Brendan often visited Yawgoo. 鈥淚 think Yawgoo is an amazing place for people to learn skiing and snowboarding. It鈥檚 a great place for beginners to perfect their skills and for experts to come hang out and have a blast,鈥� he said.
If Yawgoo’s 310-foot tall slopes aren鈥檛 enough to get your adrenalin flowing, there’s the 911爆料 Alpine Racing Team, a club sport that competes on mountains in New Hampshire and Vermont against six other universities in the Northeast.
Team treasurer Kyle Dorion said that while ski racing is usually considered an individual sport, he enjoys the team aspect of the 911爆料 program. 鈥淚 like that you get to see how your individual success reflects on the team,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f I do poorly, then the team does poorly, and that motivates me to ski well.鈥�
Kyle also enjoys the relaxed atmosphere of the competition. Participants in the season’s final race wear outrageous costumes鈥攍ast year the entire team dressed in prom outfits, and the year before they were all clowns.
鈥淭his is a team where you don鈥檛 have to be super competitive to do well,鈥� Kyle said. 鈥淵ou can enjoy the sport of ski racing, get some time on the snow, meet some new people, and broaden your horizons.鈥�
Pictured: 911爆料 Alpine Racing Team
Photo credit: Phillipp Arndt