Ski Trip (aka Skiing with bison)


Sunday, January 24
We are going skiing this year! This is a lot of fun, a chance to win points for your team, and a great way to learn/practice a skill crucial to any researcher--sliding down a mountain on one or two pieces of wood. Family and friends are welcome. The guests can also contribute points to the team of their hosts.

Logistics

We will go to Loon Mountain, New Hampshire. The bus will leave from the Tech Square parking lot on Sunday morning (I will know the exact time on Thursday) and will bring us back after the lifts stop running (expect to be back by 8pm or so). You missed the deadline for a group sign up, so now you need to call Boston Ski and Sports Club and sign up with them. The person in charge of this trip is Ken Olsen, his phone number is 789-4070, ext. 231. Tell him you are with the MIT group and would like to be picked up at Technology Square with the rest of the group. Also, send me an e-mail, so I know you are coming. If you are taking a beginner's package, sign up with Ken for a bus ride only ($26), and bring the rest of the cash with you to the trip. If you are taking a beginner lesson or renting, it is especially important that you send me an e-mail, as I need to know how many people will be doing that.

Here are the prices:

Children under the age of 14 must be accompanied by a parent. For children between the ages of 14-17 who will be skiing without their parents, the parents must sign a consent form. I have the forms in my office (NE43-737).

Beginners

This is your perfect opportunity to try it out. And you will be doing it with your friends. We are getting lessons for beginners. You can choose to try skiing or snowboarding. Take a look at the scoring system. You can bring many points to your team by having a good time.

Accessories

You can get more points for your team by wearing a costume, or an unusual accessory. There are two themes for the accessories (or five, depending on how you count): the Olympics theme for this year (or four of them) and the bison theme. We will do the scoring of this item on the bus, twice: on the way there and back. You get more points if your costume survives a day of riding.

Scoring system

You can get points in several ways. First, participation gives you points. Second, any beginner who tries a sport for the first (or second, or third) time can bring points to their team. Then you get points for the costumes. And, of course, you get points for performance. Similarly to the road race, you will get points for every run you make. I still have to figure out the implementation for this, but I will have one when we get on the bus. Ok, this is complicated enough. The winning strategy is to go on a trip, wear funny costumes and, most importantly, have a good time!


Polina Golland