LWMA Sugar Mountain Ski Trip

Every year around Valentine’s weekend in February Lyman Ward cadets depart for Sugar Mountain, NC. Twenty-six 7^th-12^th grade cadets are chosen for the trip. The cadets stay at the Pineola Inn where they have stayed ever since the trip was first organized. After a busy—and long—day of traveling, renting equipment, and settling in at the Inn, the cadets can finally relax. On the second day we’re awakened by Captain Guerra’s obnoxious wake up calls. Dinner is at a local Mexican buffet right around the corner from the Inn. From there we hit the slopes. It’s a 20 minute drive from the Pineola Inn to Sugar Mountain and every second of it is full of a sense of restlessness. “Dude I’m ready to hit the slopes,” was probably the most frequently heard phrase during the trip. When we finally arrive at the resort the cadets just can’t take it anymore and burst out of the vans in a sprint towards the lifts.

There are five lifts at the resort: two beginners, two intermediates, and one expert. There is also a miniature terrain park with two ramps and a box and rainbow rail. The terrain park is where most of the laughs occurred. Cadet Webb unintentionally pulled off a back flip while just trying to survive the second jump. The sight was hilarious as we watched him flail around like he was on fire. Cadets Dingle, McKechnie and myself bombed down the Black Diamond course. Most of the cadets stuck with Big Red though. Big Red is a long slope that is just right. You can easily reach 60-70 mph while skiing down Big Red. After a long and hard day of skiing, we go back to the Inn to shower and rest up. Dinner the first night is Italian that also is just right around the corner. The next morning we arise to the same old obnoxious wake up call by Captain G. Breakfast is still at the same Mexican restaurant. This is our last day of skiing so everyone is anxious to hit the slopes before the crowds arrive. The goal of everyone is to get that one perfect run on a perfectly groomed trail. The local Nastar team arrives at noon on the top of Big Red for an open race. Luckily no one in our group went through the course, because it’s a long trip to the hospital from there. After a full and rather crowded day of skiing we rest at the Inn and head out to the Western Sizzlin for dinner. It’s about a twenty minute drive and is rather scenic. The Western Sizzlin steakhouse is a great way to cap off an action filled weekend at Sugar Mountain. The next morning we reluctantly filled the vans for the long nine hour drive back to Lyman Ward. This marked the end of one of the best trips offered at Lyman Ward. The final cherry on the icing was about five hours into the trip. We stopped at the famous Steak-n-Shake out side of Atlanta. Then we plowed through the remaining trip trying to fight off boredom. We finally arrived at the campus ready to hit the hay after a superb trip to Sugar Mountain, North Carolina.