The Wilderness Program

Another thing that really made me interested in St Mike's is the Wilderness Program. The offer a huge variety of programs, the most exciting being a $30 season pass to Smuggler's Notch! They even sponsor a bus that takes you there for free most weekends during the ski season. If you are just starting to ski or snowboard you can take a lesson for $15. Smuggs has plenty of trails and is only about 45 minutes away from campus. There are tons of great glades there and some great backcountry. You can even ski down the actual notch which I did for the first time this year. The terrain was a little more difficult than I am used to but it was an awesome experience!
My idea of a perfect run at Smuggs
The Wilderness Program also offers ice climbing, snowshoeing, telemark skiing, and backcountry skiing trips during the winter. These trip only cost $15 and include transportation, leaders and all the equipment you need! I went snowshoeing last year and had a blast. We climbed up the backside of Sugarbush and pretty much went sledding on our butts the entire way down. I want to try the ice climbing and telemark skiing before I graduate.
My friends and I snowshoeing
During the fall semester the Wilderness Program sponsors hiking, camping, rock climbing, sea kayaking and white water kayaking. These range from $5-$15. So far the only thing that I haven't done is the rock climbing but I'm sure I'll get around to it. I have not had a bad experience on any of these trips. The leaders are always knowledgable and friendly and the activities are exciting and fun. They even offer extended trips over the breaks. Over October break I went on a four day sea kayaking trip in Maine which was incredible! They also had a rock climbing trip available for that break. There is a dog sledding trip over winter break and a backcountry ski trip over spring break. There's also a rock climbing and hiking trip in Utah over spring break. The opportunities are endless. There is a full list of activities here.
Whitewater kayaking
My friend Carrie and I at the top of Mt. Mansfield
Sea kayaking in Maine

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