As the peak of winter approaches, winter activities at the Rock in Franklin have now opened up. Students at GHS are ecstatic to get back to their favorite hobbies.
Senior Mason Riege has been skiing for four years. “I like skiing because it’s something fun to do with my friends when it’s cold outside,” he said.
The Rock offers plenty of opportunities for new people to test out their skills by renting out snowboards and skis, and for those non interested in either they also have tubing. The Rock snow park offers 9 different runs, from easy to hard to even park for those who want to try tricks.
However some people think it’s a bit small so they go to other hills like Little Switzerland, which has 18 runs ranging from easy to hard as well as 4 chair lifts while the rock only has 1.
“I’ve been to Little Switzerland snowpark and I liked it more than the Rock because it’s a little bigger and had more runs, but it’s just now as convenient as the Rock,” Riege said.
The debate between snowboarding and skiing has been around for many years, however it is known that snowboarding is harder than skiing for most people .“I would say skiing is better than snowboarding but only because I am terrible at snowboarding,” Riege said.
Senior Alin Ademi goes snowboarding at the Rock about once a week. “I think snowboarding is better than skiing because it’s something that I’ve always enjoyed and done since I was a kid,” he said.
The Rock offers a freestyle park option for people who like to do tricks and hit jumps, in which this is where Ademi spends most of his time. “I like snowboarding because of the different tricks you can do, and how fast you are able to go,” Ademi said.
Nationally in 2022 nearly 200,000 people were reported hospitalized after a winter sport activity. The Rock snow park offers helmets to those who rent from them, therefore it is a way for them to sustain recurring head injuries
Senior Nikola Hajdarevic has never been skiing or snowboarding before but he would like to try it some time. “To be fair at least I’m not out here breaking bones.If I had to choose between snowboarding and skiing I would choose snowboarding just because you look cooler,” he said.
