Outside Women

The winter air bites at your cheeks as you pull your goggles down from your helmet over your eyes.

You see the world in a neon glow: the snow-capped mountains, the endless pine trees, and the glittering white slope below you.

You shuffle your feet in your skis, feeling the slick snow underneath, and watch other winter sports enthusiasts careen down the track. You close your eyes, take a breath of icy air, and push yourself off the incline, heading into the powder.

In the early 20th century, skiing transitioned from a means of transportation to a recreational activity. Snowboarding gained traction in the 1960s in the United States. Today, skiing and snowboarding dominate the winter sports passions of Americans. What is it about skiing and snowboarding that gets us hooked?

“It’s something that’s indescribable until you’re on the mountain, taking in the view and enjoying the wind in your face,” Bridget Johnson, marketing coordinator at Bogus Basin, said.

Johnson grew up in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. “My parents put me on skis when I was two,” Johnson said. “I would say skiing is very cathartic, and just throwing yourself down a mountain is a blast, sliding on snow.”

Sport psychology studies show that exercise releases endorphins—the “happy” hormones that boost mood and mental health. Winter sports counteract seasonal mood disorders, keep people active during colder months, and help build community, not just muscles.

The state of Idaho possesses 19 ski areas, with Sun Valley, Tamarack Resort, and Bogus Basin the top choices for ski bums, tourists, and enthusiasts alike. Bogus Basin is a nonprofit recreational mountain in Boise, the capital city of Idaho. If you’re looking for a tight-knit skiing and snowboarding community, you can find it here.

“Here at Bogus, we really do have that core community,” Johnson said. During the 2023-2024 winter season, Bogus Basin saw 431,991 visitors to the slopes. The mountain also hosted 34 community events, partnering with local organizations in the Treasure Valley area of Idaho.

As you fly down the slopes, you feel your legs pull and tug as the track shifts to the left. Your heart pounds in your chest as you descend, picking up speed. The wind whistles in your ears, and you remind yourself to breathe.

To your left, more skiers and snowboarders approach, cheering you on as you turn a tight corner. You smile to yourself—you’re halfway down the mountain.

Located about 20 miles from Boise State University, more than 8,205 students drove up the mountain and visited Bogus Basin in the 2023-2024 ski season, including Boise State University student Kathleen Krough. “Skiing and snowboarding have always been something that really deepens my relationships with people and friendships,” Krough said.

Krough is an avid skier, ski instructor, volunteer, and a trip leader of the Boise State Outdoor Program. She first worked at the Little Ski Hill, an after-school program for kids in McCall, Idaho, where she grew up. Her experience as a ski instructor inspired her to pursue a degree in elementary education.

Krough is invested in her community and loves sharing her passion for skiing. She volunteers as a ski instructor for Boise Adaptive SnowSport Education, teaching people with disabilities. Krough also teaches ski lessons to peers through the Outdoor Program at Boise State.

“I think about people I meet in my classes or at the climbing gym,” Krough said. “It’s a really good way to deepen those relationships—like, ‘Hey, do you want to go skiing?’ You know, we’ve got an hour’s drive up to the ski hill where you get to talk and chat, and then you get time on the chairlift to chat.”

“You’re just very connected with nature, others, and yourself,” Krough said. “And I think that’s my favorite part of skiing and snowboarding—the community and the experience.”

Swish! You catch air for a moment as you ski off the slope onto a cat track, curving around the belly of the beast. You hear your friends ahead of you laughing as they go faster, but nerves crawl under your ski bib. You ski in a zigzag pattern, slowing down but wanting to keep up with your friends. On the horizon, you see a snowstorm brewing in the dark clouds.

“I grew up on ski racing, so whenever we get into a course, it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re going fast, and we’re going around gates.’ That’s where the adrenaline really kicks in for me,” Johnson said.

Adrenaline is one of the reasons skiing and snowboarding are so addictive. Adrenaline releases dopamine into the brain as a skier or boarder experiences the downhill thrills. The euphoria of finishing a ski run is a shared sensation among avid skiers and snowboarders: heart pounding
fast breathing, and a clarity of mind.

This feeling is what makes winter sports like skiing and snowboarding so addictive. The thrill of pushing boundaries on the slopes and learning how to glide down a mountain combines the mental and physical exertion that some athletes call the “flow state.”

“I feel like whenever I’m snowboarding, I really get into the flow of things,” Krough said.

“Typically, I have some kind of reggae music playing in my headphones or just on repeat in my brain. I’m just singing it. So, oddly enough, when I’m snowboarding, I feel like I’m just floating.”

Kaie O’Shea, media manager of the Ski and Board Club at Boise State, describes his flow state as, “The best feeling ever.”

“I love being on the mountain,” O’Shea said. “It’s my favorite place to be. Having all my favorite people around me, being able to ski fast, ski hard, and doing it all with a smile on my face.”

O’Shea, a junior and mechanical engineering major at Boise State, joined the Ski and Board Club his freshman year to step out of his comfort zone and make friends.

“I’ve been skiing since I was two or three, so about nineteen years now,” O’Shea said. “My dad taught me until I joined BBSEF, a ski racing team at Bogus, and learned from there. Skiing’s been a part of my life since I can remember… last year, I got up to 78 mph when I was racing, and 85 mph.”

(The average speed for a downhill skier is around 40-60 mph, with Olympic skiers reaching speeds of 75-95 mph!)

Bogus Basin has a young Olympic skier in its midst.

“I love Bogus,” O’Shea said. “It’s my home.”

It starts to snow—softly at first, then in torrents of flakes that swirl in the air around you as catch a corner and ski down the last curve of the mountain. The bottom is waiting for you, and your legs ache, your arms sore from pumping your poles in the powder to catch speed.

You glide into the line for the chairlift, smiling as your friends wave you over to join them.

“I started skiing at the ripe age of 3,” said Avery Hann, a senior biology student at Boise State. “I grew up on Stevens Pass, and my dad taught me how to ski on a ski leash.”

Hann, who grew up in Washington, is a lifelong skier. When asked about how she feels about skiing, she laughed.

“It’s a great opportunity to be in my head alone and just observe nature. I don’t know, it’s just quiet. There’s no one else’s thoughts, and I don’t have any thoughts either. It’s peaceful. Often, I’ll be singing a random song down the mountain,” Hann said.

Typically, green-level slopes are for beginner skiers or snowboarders, blue for intermediate, red for advanced, and black for expert. Hann pushes the limit, preferring to ski the most difficult black and double-black runs.

During the interview, Hann reminisced about some of her favorite memories on the slopes.

“I was skiing with Kayla, and we both decided we were going to be brave and go over this small little jump. She went first, and then I went after her, but she stopped right at the edge of the jump and we crashed. I crashed right into her because she was just standing there. Yeah, there are so many good memories.”

She smiled and looked out the window of the coffee shop where we were sitting for our interview.

“I can’t wait to get back on the mountain.”

You look up at the sky, now bright with winter sunlight. You see the lines of skiers and snowboarders above you as they glide downhill. The sharp scent of pine and ski wax fills the air.

You take a deep, fresh breath of mountain air and know you’re exactly where you’re meant to be.