One of Colorado’s most unusual commencement day traditions almost couldn’t happen this year because of a lack of snow.
But the students in the ski area operations program at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville — helped by a last-minute assist from Mother Nature — were able to save their cap-and-gown ski-down ceremony, which will take place Friday.
The ski slope on Dutch Henry Hill on CMC’s campus, at 10,200 feet above sea level, had melted away earlier this spring after a historically bad snow season. But the weather turned colder last week, allowing the students, most of whom are preparing for jobs in the ski industry, to crank up the snowmaking guns last weekend.
“Traditionally, graduates ski down the Dutch Henry ski hill … at 10:30 a.m. the morning of commencement,” explained Brian Barker, the school’s director of marketing and public relations.
“Itap a chance to celebrate their hard work and blow off some steam on skis or a snowboard with faculty members before the official commencement ceremony that afternoon. This usually involves a couple of dozen students, many of whom have been involved with our ski area operations program, along with students from other programs and some faculty and staff,” he continued.
CMC describes itself as the “only college in the Rocky Mountains offering a Ski Area Operations degree.” The college has 11 campuses across the high country. The ski area operations program allows students to gain experience in snowmaking, grooming and lift operations.
