As the winter season progresses, winter activities go into full effect as resorts finally have the consistent cold weather they need to make enough snow to cover the mountains. RHS students have access to multiple resorts in the area that offer skiing, snowboarding and tubing. Resorts such as Liberty Mountain Resort, Whitetail Mountain Resort, Roundtop Mountain Resort and Wisp Resort are some of the nearby favorites in which students can engage in popular winter mountain activities.

All four resorts are less than a three hour drive away; Liberty is the closest of the four being just over 60 miles away; Whitetail is the second closest being just over 70 miles away; Roundtop is slightly over 100 miles away and Wisp is the farthest being roughly 160 miles away.

Peak Resorts Inc. recently purchased Liberty, Whitetail and Roundtop Resorts from Snow Time Inc., announced Sept. 24, 2018 in a press release on Peak Resorts’ website. With the purchase, season pass holders will be able to ski at any of the three resorts and have the option to upgrade to the Peak Pass which allows them to ski at Peak Resorts in Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New York and other northeastern resorts.

Senior Ryan Kelly looks forward to hitting the slopes every year, and has even taken ski trips to places up north with much more terrain.

“I love snowboarding, it’s a really fun way to have a good time while staying active. I try to go as many times as I can a year because it’s just such a blast and I recommend it to any one that hasn’t been before,” Kelly said.

RHS has their own Ski and Snowboard Club that makes five trips during the winter season to Liberty, Whitetail and Roundtop. Special education teacher Thomas Rea has been the sponsor of the RHS Ski and Snowboard Club since it first started 25 years ago. He grew up skiing at Liberty which was his favorite location to ski for a long time, but recently started enjoying Whitetail more, he said.

“Whitetail is now my favorite, it seems to have a bigger mountain, longer runs, and more diversity of trails,” Rea said.

Each resort has its own unique feel to it. Some have more trails available for its riders, and others have faster ski lifts.

Ski liberty is located in Fairfield, Pa. and consists of 17 slopes, four terrain park runs and one tubing area. The slopes range in difficulty with green being the easiest, blue being intermediate and black being the hardest. Whitetail’s slopes consist of one green slope, seven blue slopes and four black slopes.

Whitetail resort is a little further into Pennsylvania located in Mercersburg. The mountain is fully operational, meaning all of the lifts and trails are open to the public. Compared to Liberty, Whitetail has a steeper mountain which is better for people who want to challenge themselves.

Roundtop Resort is the farthest of the three owned by Peak Resorts Inc., located in Lewisberry, Pa. There are eight total black slopes there, six of them being downhill and the other two being terrain park runs. There are six blues and six green slopes as well. All slopes are currently open.

Wisp Resort is a bit farther, but another good place to take a snow day and go ski. It is about three and a half hours away so it might be more of an overnight trip instead of a day trip. There are eight black slopes, 13 blue slopes and nine green slopes open as of now.

Senior Drew Latos has been skiing the majority of his life and has been going to Wisp for 14 years. He has a lake house in the area that allows him to spend some of his weekends there.

“Wisp is my home away from home, a very peaceful and nice place to just relax and have a good time skiing whether it’s with my family or friends,” Latos said.