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The Clarion \ Dec. 10,2010
Ski Resorts in Western North Carolina
These Hills...
By John M. Climer
Editor in Chief
As the weather continues to get colder and the
possibility for snowfall increases, the thoughts
of adventurers and outdoor enthusiasts of all
ranges inevitably begin wander to the classic
winter sport - skiing. If you feel the need to
hit the slopes, you’re in luck; Western North
Carolina offers a handful of locations where
you can get your fix.
The two largest skiing locations in our area
are the Wolf Ridge Ski Resort in Mars Hill and
the Sugar Mountain Ski Resort, in, you guessed
it Sugar Mountain. Both parks offer skiers and
snowboarders 20 slopes, varying in difficulty
and length. Additionally, both locations offer
equipment rental, lodging and food.
Blowing Rock’s Appalachian Ski Mountain,
one of the regions more popular skiing locations,
boasts 11 slopes and recently became North
Carolina’s only ski resort to be an official
Burton “Learn to Ride” Center. If you’re
wondering what that means: the Burton
Snowboard Company, the worlds largest
snowboard manufacturer, selected Appalachian
Ski Mountain to offer its Leam to Ride (LTR)
method of teaching snowboarding.
According to the Appalachian Ski Mountain
website, the LTR method “is specifically
designed to accelerate learning by utilizing
beginner specific equipment. The goal of the
LTR program is to give beginner snowboarders
the best initial snowboarding experience possible
so they return to the mountain and continue
to snowboard. By using proven instruction
methods and equipment created specifically for
beginners, LTR helps riders enjoy their first day
on a snowboard.”
If you’re looking to glide across some snow,
but don’t want to drive far to do it - you’re also
in luck. The Cataloochee Ski Area in nearby
Maggie Valley offers visitors 16 slopes of
varying length and difficulty, along with access
to its Lodge and rental cabins are available.
All students are encouraged to take advantage
of this short lived season and get out to one
of these ski resorts sometime soon. Resort
and slope openings are subjective to weather
conditions, so be sure to check the conditions
before you make the trip. For additional
information about skiing in North Carolina,
visit: www.skinorthcarolina.com
Western North Carolina hosts several great
resorts which offer amenities to skiers and
snowboarders alike.
Editor says farewell to Brevard College
By John M. Climer
Editor in Chief
Well, the time has finally come for me to
say farewell to Brevard College. In the time
I’ve been a student here, Brevard has become
much more than just a college - the school and
the town have become my home, and like all
things in life you come to love, there are things
you regret, things you won’t miss and things
you will miss.
If I had more time, there are a few things
I would’ve have done differently. I wish I’d
gone abroad for at least one semester; I wish
I’d done the immersion semester as part of my
WLEE minor, and most of all I wish I’d taken
advantage of more extracurricular opportunities
offered by BC.
Now for the things I won’t miss. I won’t miss
the headache of pre-registration, finalizing
student loans or the stress of exams and I won’t
miss the circus known as the super-lab. Most of
all, I won’t miss listening to groups of certain
other students bitch and moan endlessly about
the administration, while never doing anything
to improve the situation or the campus.
What I will miss far outweighs what I won’t.
I’ll miss conversations with the professors that
have become close friends during my time
at BC; I’ll miss the occasional house party
with friends; I’ll miss walking out of MG and
laughing to myself when I see tourists geeking
out over the white squirrels.
Most of all. I’ll miss working on The Clarion.
This newspaper has come to mean a lot to me
during my time at BC and is something I’ve
taken great pride in; writing the horoscopes,
“These Hills,” and other articles, along with my
editorial duties has been a great pleasure and I
hope that my work on The Clarion has helped,
in some way, to enrich the Brevard College
community.
So farewell Brevard College; leaving is truly
bittersweet. My time here has been interesting,
a little painful at times, but overall, it’s been a
wonderful experience and I thank-you for that.
History Come to Life:
Joan of Arc (as portrayed by Melissa
Sullebarger) debates the finer points
of war with President George W.
Bush (played by Chris Novak) Dec.
2 in Myers Dining Hall. The event,
sponsored by Pastimes History Club,
brought together figures from history
to converse with students ... and each
other Others on hand were Abraham
Lincoln, Amelia Earhardt, Marilyn
Monroe, Albert Einstein and Julius
Caesar