Snowboarding Class at UCC
Get credits for playing in the snow

By KC Crouse · The Mainstream
Published January 25, 2011

Q: How many snowboarders does it take to change a light bulb?

A: Three. One to change the light bulb. One to hold the video camera. And one to say, “Hey! Watch this!”

If you don’t already know, snowboarders are a breed of their own.

The 11th season of UCC’s snowboarding class in underway. Yup, that’s right, a snowboarding class at UCC. For credit. Awesome, huh?

The class is led by Cheryl Yoder, athletics director and assisted by LaVera Noland, admissions officer. These two take a bus of 40 students up to Willamette Pass each Thursday for seven weeks during winter term for a course which starts with an on-campus orientation and ends on the slopes. “It’s a great class – an extremely fun way to meet fellow classmates while learning a new sport or perfecting existing skills. Being outside and playing in the snow is a great way to spend your Thursdays during the winter term,” says Yoder.

Arriving at school around 6:00 a.m., the students wait in the dark by the flagpole to catch the Willamette charter bus which leaves UCC at 6:30 a.m. for a two hour plush bus ride complete with movies that riders watch sometimes. Most, however, sleep. “Getting up at 5:30 in the morning really sucks, but it is definitely worth it when you have a good day snowboarding,” explained student Peter Benton, who is currently enrolled in the class and has been snowboarding for seven years.

The snowboarding/skiing class offered each winter term is part of UCC’s Outdoor Recreation program and was one of two classes that formed the foundation for the program, according to Yoder. Along with the rock climbing class, it proved that an Outdoor Recreation program would be a good addition to UCC. The degree started two years later in 2002. 

Other outdoor recreation classes include mountain biking and rock climbing, whitewater rafting/kayaking and wilderness survival. These classes are credit courses which also count as electives for an AAOT degree.

Yoder began skiing seriously in high school and is familiar with long ski bus rides. “I was on a ski club in high school in Southern California (believe it or not) and we took a very long bus ride every other weekend to Mammoth.” They would leave at 3 a.m. for the six to eight hour one way trip.

The snowboarding class requires a $400 fee on top of the tuition for two credit hours. This fee covers the weekly two hour charter bus ride to and from the college plus a two-hour group lesson each week. Although boot or board rentals are not included, the rental fee is a discounted group rate. Warm and  waterproof snow gear like jackets, pants and gloves are necessary for the class and can add to the cost of the class for students without equipment.

Ten seats are still available to ride the bus even for people not enrolled in the class. The cost to ride one day is $30, and some students have had friends join them on the bus.

For more information, contact activities director Cheryl Yoder at Cheryl.Yoder@umpqua.edu.