As Michigan starts to cool down, the ski team is heating it up and hitting the slopes as they take on the competition. Both the boys and girls varsity ski teams have had four races so far this season along with plenty of indoor and outdoor practices. As a first year skier, senior Danny Harris had his first races on Jan. 8 and 9.

“I was very nervous for my first run,” Harris said. “After that, I was very confident for my next few and I improved my time with every run. The race was slalom which is an alpine skiing and snowboarding discipline, involving skiing between poles or gates. The team is awesome, it’s such a fun environment being surrounded by great people everyday at practice.”

The ski season is now in full force after a warm winter. Junior Lara Kemp enjoys the actual skiing, but the team chemistry is what maintains her love for the sport.

“One thing I really love about the ski team is how close we all are,” Kemp said. “We are all very laid back people and have a lot of inside jokes. We also have a groupchat with everyone on the team in it and text throughout the day.”

As the rest of the season starts to pan out, Kemp is hopeful for a successful end to the season. In previous years, the ski team was very successful, so the team and players hope to repeat that. 

“I feel like we’re going to do really well,” Kemp said. “We have a lot of strong skiers and I’m eager to see if we will qualify for states.”

Freshman on the ski team must try out for the varsity team because there isn’t a freshman or JV team. Freshman Brooks Funke is on the boys team and is projected to do very well this season.

“My first race went really well,” Funke said. “We raced slalom the first day and I got first in the division.”

The team has had four meets since then and will continue to hope for snow and cold weather for the rest of the season.