The Way Back: Hitting the Slopes

Nothing says college life quite like spring break. And for many students, the sacred mid-semester respite means escaping Austin for new adventures on sunny beaches or lazy lakeshores. In the 1980s, however, a group of UT students had a different vision of the perfect getaway: snow-covered slopes. Founded in 1986, UTSki was a student-run organization that organized ski trips for Longhorns during Thanksgiving, winter break, and spring break. Students on UTSki trips would spend their days gliding down the snowy slopes and the evenings sipping on hot drinks while wearing the bold sweaters and big hairdos that could only belong to the ’80s. The fraternity students who started the UTSki group would go on to launch UBSki in 1988, a travel agency that specializes in booking ski adventures for college students and groups. What started out as a desire for a snowcapped spring break experience with friends, turned into a business venture that still operates to this day.  

CREDIT: Cactus Yeabrook/UTSki Club