Senior Dean LaPonzina carves down the mountains of Vail, Colo., hitting every big jump or boulder he can to reach the level of adrenaline that comes with skiing.

“It’s a really fun way for me to let out some energy, and it’s also a really big thrill to hit big jumps and do rails,” LaPonzina said.

LaPonzina is an experienced skier, who has been riding down the mountains since the age of 3. Last year, LaPonzina made it up to a mountain almost every weekend, and he has gone as much as possible this year if the weather permits it.

Skiing and snowboarding have always been classic winter sports that many people enjoy doing while the weather is cold, and you don’t need to be an expert to have fun.

JC takes an annual ski trip to a local mountain, and is open to people of all grades and abilities. This year students went to Camelback Mountain Resort in Pennsylvania.

Freshman Madelyn Cumpston went on the trip, which was Feb. 5-7, and she felt it was an amazing experience. “I enjoyed being with all my friends skiing and going to the water park. The trip was a lot of fun,” Cumpston said.

Cumpston, like LaPonzina, skis for the thrill. “I like to ski because I love the feeling of speeding down the mountain as fast as possible. I feel unstoppable and little reckless, and I like that,” Cumpston said.

These winter sports are popular ways to spend time in the winter for many students. According to student responses from a survey, around 57 percent of the student body either skis, snowboards, or does both.

“[My favorite part of snowboarding] is just going down the mountain, cruising. It’s just fun,” junior Alex Wroe said.

Other students do it because it enables them to challenge themselves and to try something new. “I like it [snowboarding] because it is an extreme sport that involves adrenaline,” junior Lauren Christensen said.

Aside from the annual JC trip, students will often go for a day trip with friends to local resorts. According to survey results, the most popular ski resorts amongst students are: Roundtop, Liberty, and Whitetail resorts, Wisp Resort, Seven Springs, and Big Boulder Mountain.

“My favorite ski resort is Wisp Resort because it has a lot of great options for slopes to go down,” freshman Shannon King said.

For beginners, it can be hard at first. “The first time I snowboarded, I found it hard to pick up but by the end of the day I eventually got it,” junior Brooke Hare said.

If you find skiing hard, maybe snowboarding is right for you, or vice versa. Sometimes, it takes practice to figure out if one, or both, sports suits you best. “I tried snowboarding for a year in elementary school, but it didn’t stick with me the way skiing did,” LaPonzina said.

For advanced skiers like LaPonzina, just carving the mountains can become monotonous, so tricks have become an integrated part of LaPonzia’s routine. According to survey responses, terrain parks are an important aspect of a good ski resort.  “It’s more of a mental thing, throwing tricks, for most people because they are afraid of getting hurt, and luckily for me, I kind of crossed that border and haven’t been afraid since,” LaPonzina said.

Winter can seem to go on forever, especially if the groundhog sees its shadow, but there are plenty of activities to keep you occupied, including skiing and snowboarding.

“You should try snowboarding or skiing because even though learning it can be a little hard, it’s really fun once you get the hang of it. It gives you a reason to like being outside in the winter and you can also go on cool trips,” junior Claire Amato said.

Adriana Guidi is an Entertainment Editor for the Patriot and jcpatriot.com.