While ASU is surrounded by a desert with year-round warm weather, students interested in snow sports came together to form one of the largest clubs on campus: Snow Devils.
Snow Devils is home to a lively community of 1,187 students interested in skiing and snowboarding as a hobby, sport and way to enhance their college experience.
The club plans around five trips every winter season to various ski resorts on the West Coast. Some of the previous trips have been to resorts like Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in California, Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico, Wolf Creek Ski Area in Colorado and Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah.
Members with various skill levels join, ranging from beginner to advanced.
Drew Engard, a junior studying interdisciplinary studies and the Snow Devils brand manager, said as someone who has skied for many years, he's seen a wide range of abilities.
"I've been skiing for about 17 (years) and the Snow Devils to me is really just a community I get to go hang out with on the slopes," Engard said. "We're all different in our own ways, but we kind of mesh together, meet up at the mountain and just have a ton of fun."
Beginner skiers and snowboarders are welcome in the club and on trips. Club president Aidan Ruiz, a senior studying finance, started snowboarding when he joined Snow Devils his freshman year.
"My first ever experience snowboarding was in Wolf Creek," said Ruiz. "It was literally the first trip that I've ever done with Snow Devils. I picked up a rental board and I learned on the baby green at Wolf Creek Resort."
The club's final trip of the season was on March 2 when 46 people, divided among 13 cars, drove up to Salt Lake City, Utah for three full days of winter fun at Snowbird Ski Resort.
For many members, it was their first trip, including for Jakobe Stevens, a junior studying biological sciences.
"I grew up snowboarding in Arizona," Stevens said. "Coming to Utah is literally a dream come true because the snow here is fantastic and the mountain is four times the size of Snowbowl, so it's pretty exciting."
Through Snow Devils trips, students have opportunities to ski and snowboard at some of the nation's best resorts with high-quality runs and snow. ASU students aren't limited to Arizona skiing, which can be very different from skiing in states like Utah.
"It's been very interesting," new member Ashton Goss, a junior studying film and media production, said. "The mountain is very different than anything I've skied on before, so a lot of wipeouts, but I wouldn’t let that discourage anybody. It's not like it's painful because it's nice and powdery."
READ MORE: THE SNOW DEVILS SERIES: GALLERY
Opportunities to ski and snowboard are not the only reasons students join the club. A strong sense of unity and friendship is also formed at club meetings and on trips.
Two-year returning member Annika Hibner, a sophomore studying biological sciences, met her best friend on a Snow Devils trip and made many other unexpected friends along the way.
"I think my favorite part is that I'm friends with all of these people, but I probably would have never interacted with them," Hibner said. "We all have the common interest that we like to ski, but it's fun because we're all very different in a way and I have all these cool new friends. I love them all very much."
The friendships formed in the Snow Devils extend beyond sanctioned club events. Members plan their own ski trips together, independent from Snow Devils trips. Connor Cagno, a junior studying materials science and engineering and a member of Snow Devils, recalled a favorite memory when 12 to 18 members got together for their own excursion.
"We planned our own trip to Snowbowl and got an Airbnb there and it was so fun because it was something we just got up and decided to do and it was with all these new people," Cagno said.
Friendships, skiing and snowboarding, and lifelong memories are just a few of the ways Snow Devils enhance college experiences for members. Though ASU is surrounded by a desert, Sun Devils still love the snow.
Edited by Katrina Michalak, Alysa Horton and Caera Learmonth.
Reach the reporter at amwilt@asu.edu and @AbigailMWilt on X.
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Abigail is a junior studying journalism and mass communication with a minor in english literature. This is her third semester with The State Press. She has also worked at the ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre.
