When 250 people turn out to a general club meeting, and it’s not THON, that club must be doing something right. With the acrid smell of free Red Bull (a sponsor) hanging in the air, hundreds of students interested in going skiing and snowboarding packed into an undersized Willard classroom. The President of the Penn State Ski club sheepishly admitted that “we didn’t know this many people would come.”

Opening with a dramatic video of past trips, set to “Sweet Emotion,” the mass appeal of the club was clear. With both beginners and advanced skiers and snowboarders, the ski club represents the quintessential Penn State amalgam of working hard (at what you love) and having a good time afterward.

The club is offering trips to distant places like Tremblant, Canada (where the après-ski festivities can be enjoyed by all) for a reasonable price of $625 for 5 days, or the more recherché Jackson Hole, Wyoming for the right sum of $1,205 (airfare, hotel and lift passes included) for a week. For beginners, there will be an educational component of the weekend trip to Killington, VT in early December.

President Lyndsie Smyser told of the encouragement that more senior members gave her years ago, which helped her overcome her fears as a beginner.