Ski Season? So soon?

So it's been a while since I posted. I got a bit overworked in the last few weeks studying for midterms and doing projects. However, I have great news! Bridger Bowl, Big Sky Resort and Moonlight Basin will all be open within the week! How? you might ask: We got over 3' of snow in the mountains!!!! there has been quite a bit in town too, making the MSU Campus quite seasonable looking! I've really enjoyed this year's snowfall, already I have gone sledding, skiing and hunting/hiking in it and I love snow! The ski bus to Moonlight and Big Sky is running again and I can't wait for some free rides up to the mountain! My favorite part of this past week was when the temps dropped to -20sF and it was still snowing... crazy weather, glad the temps came back up to a reasonable 15-20F though cause negatives make walking to school less than appealing... Bozeman seems to be loving the snow too, I've seen numerous snowmen around town, a good sign that the kids are enjoying themselves... Ironically, there were a few on campus too, if you know where to look (Hannon north yard, Roskie Fields, Art Complex and the Quads) you're bound to find some snowmen, if not plenty of snowman making material! Spirit was quite covered the last time I saw him, but looking as good as ever! haha

Oh, I almost forgot to mention: Brawl of the Wild was quite successful this year, for those of you who are thinking "why would people have a brawl in the middle of nowhere?" it is a highly contested football game between the Montana State Bobcats and that other team... WE WON THIS YEAR!!!! First time since 2005!!!! We get to go to the playoffs!!! which are Here this year!!! Can't wait, it will be so much fun and with our team I bet we make it to at least the second game of the playoffs. The fans of that other team were quite sad to see their loss, I had to console no less than one friend who was a fan of those guys... GO BOBCATS!!!!

While I do not hunt yet, I have been following the progress of a few friends who do hunt... Each has gotten their deer, some have gotten two already and I am looking forward to some amazing Montanan Venison sometime in the future!

Ski Fever...

Wow, so last week was busy to say the least. I had a test in one class, a project in another and I also had a Charter Banquet for SigEp! I still got to do some fun things though, I went for a short hike up the College "M" and got a view of Bozeman that may be the last snow-free view of the year! Last night we had a "Winter Storm Advisory" for Gallatin Canyon (includes Bozeman) and we were supposed to get up to 3" of snow! Unfortunately, we got a grand total of 0" and just some cloudy skies... I can't wait for ski season, it is by far my favorite season in Bozeman. I just love having so many opportunities to ski throughout the year, having three very different mountains within an hour of your doorstep is pretty much the sickest thing ever!

Working on campus has been fun and I enjoy the extras spending money it allows me, but ski season might mean I change my mind on working 10 hrs a week... I might want a free day to "do my homework"... Haha, but in all reality my sophomore year I had Thursdays off and I would ski up at Bridger Bowl all day then come home, do some homework and fall asleep just so I could wake up and go to school for one day, then ski all weekend! It was very fun I must say! MSU also has a skiing class (I'm going to let you guys find out the course number because it is kinda a well kept secret that everyone knows...) where I got to go up to Bridger and have a guided tour around the mountain every Thursday of my spring semester of my freshman year! The "instructor" (we were all expert skiers so we got pointers instead of "lessons") took us to locals only spots and showed us some of the best lines in bounds that Bridger had to offer.

This year I'm going to be skiing Lone Peak (Big Sky and Moonlight Basin resorts) because I wanted to ski with a few of my friends who converted from Bridger a while back. Moonlight Basin offers better Groomers and has a Terrain Park that rivals my home mountain of Sunday River's one medium size park. Big Sky has it's descriptor right in it's name... It is HUGE, you can't ski all the trails in one day, no-way no-how. Combine it with Moonlight Basin with the "Biggest Skiing in America" Pass and you have yourself the most ski-able acreage of any pass available in the United States. I went cheap this year and got a frequent skier card at Big Sky and a season pass at Moonlight, that way I can ski Big Sky when needed and Moonlight whenever I want. All of the resorts offer discounts to students, and they definitely make skiing cheaper for us broke college kids.

Up to Speed

So this is my first post and I'm hoping to be able to give a fun, informative blog about my life here at MSU!

I have been quite busy with school work lately. I'm taking two classes that require a great deal of out-of-class writing and project-making and I'm also taking Organic Chemistry which takes studying in a good chunk of what time is left. I'm also working for Career, Internship and Student Employment as a Career Peer. This would generally mean very little in my workload, however, one of MSU's 5 Career Fairs is coming up THIS WEEK!!! Add to that my Fraternity's Charter Banquet is this Saturday and my parents are flying in on Friday and you have one very tired college student! I found time this weekend to enjoy myself, had about 5 hours free and decided to grab one of my bro's and hike Triple Tree (it's a short hike just south of campus). It was a great alternative to homework and studying all weekend, I got some fresh air and some beautiful views! Wish I had brought my camera so I could share some pictures; this blog is a learning experience for going hiking prepared, how funny is that? haha

I'm planning on going on a nice long night-hike up the College M Monday with a different brother and it should be fun! I've done the M night hike a ton recently because during the week I don't have the time to jet off campus. It works out great, mostly because I love seeing the stars out here, with the clean air and few clouds stargazing is a hobby I probably won't ever give up!

Since I want you all to see the wonderful Bozeman area from a student's perspective I will include some of my photographs from my Freshman year. I will continue to include photographs with my posts, whether recent or in the past, I hope they convey my love of this area! I do have to warn you though, I got my camera during the winter and I'm really itching to go skiing again so these pictures have lots of snow in them...

That is the footbridge over Roskie's Creek.

This is the Cliff south of Mundy's Bowl in the backcountry of Bridger Bowl.

That is my friend Kevin, he enjoys skiing, but I don't actually see his skis touch the snow often...