On January 18, senior Drew Slater stood on top of the mountain enjoying the beautiful nature scene that surrounded him.  With the cold air blowing in his face and an exciting ski run ahead of him, he appreciated all Earth has to offer. 

For that reason, he wants to make sure he can do his part when it comes to preserving it.

So how does he help? He’s a member of the Green Club.

Green Club,  a club funded by the Hammonton Green Committee,  allows students to take part in many activities that involves nature. These activities include snowboarding/skiing, rock climbing, kayaking, and hiking in addition to environmentally conscious activitys such as town clean-ups and the local Green Festival.

For many members, the ski trips are a highlight that offer the chance to enjoy nature while having fun.

“Yeah, the ski trip is always the best,” said senior and four year member, Mark Kundrotas. “Some of my favorite high school memories were on the ski trips.”

“I love going on the ski trips because I like to watch the inexperienced people fall.” said senior Drew Slater, a three year member of the club.

Safety is definately a concern that Entress is mindful of when the group goes on the trip. In good weather, the sport of skiing or snowboarding poses risks, let alone when there is bad weather.

“Safety is my number one priority for any trip so we always make sure students know what they are in for,” he said.

In good weather, the sport of skiing or snowboarding poses risks, let alone when it is bad.

“Weather is a huge factor from a safety standpoint.  When I plan a ski trip I try to avoid rainy/icy conditions.  Conditions like those are not safe on the mountain or during the drive up,” Entress explained. “We will avoid any situation where the forecast is calling for rain.  Snow can be ok, but I carefully monitor the weather reports to determine the volume.  Kayaking in a light rain is fine, but we avoid excess amounts.  Currents will pickup with an increase in water volume so I try to avoid going right after a large storm.”

Some students say that the only downfall to the ski trip is the long bus ride, but some students think otherwise.

“The ride up is defiantly worth it,” Kundrotas explained. “Half of the fun happens of the bus rides!”

“I sleep most of the way, so it doesn’t bother me that much,” said Slater.

According to Entress, there has been one notable bus ride that was not good.

“We were on our way to Blue Mountain for our first ski trip of the year.  I failed to check the weather beforehand, and it ended up being a huge mistake on my part.”

After spending an hour and a half on the Northeast extension in freezing rain after a crash kept them from moving ahead, the mountain had a power outage on the beginning slopes, which would force many of the new skiers to go on more challenging ones.

“I made the call to turn the bus around and head home.  We stopped at the rest stop in Allentown to stretch out, but went right home afterwards,”Entress said. ” In total we spent seven hours on the bus and never made it to the slope.  I always check the weather now, and my organization overall is much better as a result of the torture of that bus ride.  I will never forget it.”

Thankfully, this year’s trip was without any major problems.