With all the cold and snow, many students are looking forward to it all being gone and for the warm weather to return.

But one group of ISU students can’t get enough of the colossal amount of snow that has been dumped on Ames and every other part of Iowa. The ISU Ski and Snowboarding Club is definitely taking advantage of Mother Nature.

“With all this snow, it makes riding at the parks here in Ames way more fun,” said Kevin Kresch, sophomore in geology.

The club includes men and women who either ski or snowboard, and involves competitions, trips and other events.

“Occasionally we have days where we’ll go to Seven Oaks [in Boone],” said club President and junior in mechanical engineering Paul Zunkel.

Zunkel has been a part of the club since his first semester at Iowa State, and has seen a transition in the group.

“When I first got [to Iowa State], the group was probably 70 percent skiers,” Zunkel said. “But Shawn White has promoted the sport some much, and more and more snowboarders are joining. It’s about half and half now.”

With the X Games and his endorsements, it’s hard not to notice White. Club members watch him, along with other professionals, with fascination.

“We more or less watch the pros in awe,” Zunkel said. “There’s no way anyone can do anything that’s on TV. We really aren’t in the same league as half those guys. We have some great skiers, but nothing like what you see on TV.”

The professionals practice every day to pull off those amazing tricks, so it gives the appearance that what those in the club can do is far easier.

“People might get the wrong impression and think it’s easier than it is,” Zunkel said. “People don’t realize how insane those guys are. Guys now can land a 1440 and even a 1620, and guys here couldn’t dream of that. We have some good skiers, but no one that could come close to that.”

That doesn’t mean those in the club are slouches, it just means they don’t have the access to places to practice.

Part of being in the club that attracts most people to it is the trips the club takes during fall, winter and spring breaks.

“We do trips every major break,” Zunkel said. “We go to Breckenridge [Colorado] every winter break, and this spring break we’re going to Crested Butte [Colorado].”

They only downside to the trips, as it allows members to ski or snowboard on mountains and on terrain they wouldn’t get in Iowa, is the cost.

The club charges $35 to join, which you can do by either going to the club’s office at the East Student Office Space across from Panda Express in the Memorial Union or by simply going to an event the club hosts.

But, that fee doesn’t cover trips. Each member is responsible for things like lodging fees and ski-lift fees, which can add up.

“The $35 covers t-shirts, advertising, events and stuff around here. They have to pay for stuff on the trips,” Zunkel said.

The events, like the Rail Jam the club hosted earlier this year, are things the club puts on itself.

“Rail jam was really fun,” said Chris Brubaker, a senior in finance and treasurer of the club. “The [club executives] pretty much ran it, so we didn’t get to compete, but it was cool to watch some of the stuff guys pulled off.”

The best trick Brubaker said he saw was seeing a guy who pulled off a front flip.

“At the rail jam we had a guy throw a front flip off a really small kicker and landed it,” Brubaker said. “It was pretty awesome.”

With the Winter Olympics in full swing, the club members get to see the professionals on the grand stage, and love to watch it.

More than anything, the guys and girls in the club love to watch the progression of the sport.

“Shawn White has progressed the sport so much,” Kresch said.

White and sponsor Red Bull recently built a halfpipe out of avalanche snow, which is denser than regular snow. They put a foam pit at the bottom, and White was able to work on new tricks, Kresch said.

“Everything about the ramp was perfect. He was able to advance the sport two years in one day,” Kresch said.

But just because White is the best doesn’t mean everyone in the club wants him to win.

“We want to see other guys win, sure,” Zunkel said. “You want other guys to get recognized, but he’s just too good. And you can’t fault him for being better than everyone else.”

Aside from just the snowboarding and skiing events, club members enjoy watching every winter sport the Olympics has to offer.

“Curling is really fun to watch,” Brubaker said. “It’s a really cool competitive sport if you know what to watch for.”

The hockey, luge and bobsled events were also popular responses from club members as favorite events to watch. But when the Olympics are over, they’ll get back to doing what they love by riding while the snow is still here.

“It’s some of the most fun I’ve ever had,” Kresch said. “I just love doing it.”