Student body president Rowan Hillhouse believes caring for the environment starts with spending time in it. Her new course, On the Snow! (GEOG 4002), gets first-time skiers out to Eldora

For students at the University of Colorado Boulder, some of the country’s best-known ski slopes are in their own backyard. But living near the mountains isn’t the same as being able to get to them. Lift tickets, rental gear, transportation and the challenge of learning a sport from scratch keep many students off the snow entirely.

Rowan Hillhouse, a College of Arts and Sciences honors student majoring in international affairs and economics alongside serving as the CU Student Government president, sees that gap as more than a missed chance at recreation. “I think it’s hard to care about the environment when you don’t have a connection to the environment, and you don’t have that experience,” Hillhouse says.

Rowan Hillhouse is a College of Arts and Sciences honors student majoring in international affairs and economics alongside serving as the CU Student Government president.

That idea led to a new for-credit geography course, the first of its kind at CU Boulder: On the Snow! Experiential Learning of the Ski Industry (GEOG 4002). Learning to ski is only part of it, though. The course uses that first time on the mountain as a starting point for understanding the ski industry and the landscapes it depends on.

Running Jan. 20 through Feb. 24 in the Spring 2027 semester, the three-credit course is open to 42 students who have never skied or snowboarded. Holly Barnard, a professor in the Department of Geography, is teaching the course in partnership with the Eldora Mountain Resort Ski School. Lift tickets, equipment rentals, lessons, transportation and course instruction fees are all covered, removing the costs that can keep beginners off the mountain.

Students will learn to ski or snowboard while studying the industry built around the sport. Topics include Colorado’s ski history, resort operations, guest experience, industry careers, business practices, safety, technology and sustainability.

The course, Hillhouse says, asks students to hold two perspectives at once. On the slopes, they are first-time participants, finding out what it takes to get geared up, take a lesson and make it down the mountain. In the classroom, they look at the same experience as future professionals might, asking how a resort runs, whom it serves and what it costs the landscape around it.

Geography ties those perspectives together, Hillhouse explains. As a discipline, it looks at how people, places and environments affect one another. That gives students a way to see how recreation, business and environmental responsibility overlap at a ski resort, and why a place like Eldora matters beyond a day on the snow.

A program takes shape

Students participate in a “Learn to Ski Day” with CU Student Government, hosted by Rowan Hillhouse. (Photo: Rowan Hillhouse) 

Hillhouse, a Denver native, grew up with little exposure to the outdoors. Without that early foundation, sports like skiing and snowboarding always felt just out of reach. The gap grew wider when she got to CU Boulder, where many students arrive already confident on the slopes and starting from scratch can seem nearly impossible. Each time she sat out a spring break trip with her roommates or her program’s “Ski Bonding Days,” the divide got harder to ignore. Those moments made her want to make the outdoors easier for others to step into.

Today, Hillhouse is a senior in the Honors College of Arts & Sciences, with minors in leadership studies and Spanish. She is also one of the three tri-executives who serve as the student body presidency. She was elected alongside fellow undergraduates Karla Castillo and Jake Siemsen on the Summit for CU Boulder ticket, a campaign built on equity, autonomy and transparency. One of her central goals was expanding students’ access to outdoor education.

She took a first step as a junior, when she hosted a “Learn to Ski Day” with CU Student Government. The event taught her an important lesson about outdoor recreation: “Simply one lesson or one experience in the outdoors isn’t enough to have the confidence and connection to sustainability and the environment,” she says.

That first day on the slopes gave her the idea for a longer, structured course, one she hopes will give students lasting confidence and a deeper connection to the outdoors. Working with CU Boulder’s Department of Geography, Eldora Mountain Resort and CU Student Government, she turned the idea into a semester-long course built on practical skills students can use long after the class ends.

Access, belonging and outdoor education

Skiing and snowboarding can be expensive, Hillhouse says, especially for students who don’t have any equipment or have never been on the slopes. Transportation, lessons and unfamiliarity with mountain recreation add further barriers. Living near the mountains doesn’t automatically give students the means or the confidence to take part and thrive.

The course tackles these barriers. It covers the major costs of skiing and riding, provides formal instruction for beginners, offers transportation to Eldora and creates a structured setting specifically for students with no prior experience. By offering university credit, it also brings outdoor recreation into academic life.

“It does reduce that barrier of being outdoors and engaging,” Hillhouse says.

“If we can get students outside to see what a beautiful backyard we have, then they’ll care about protecting it, as well as becoming more sustainable leaders in the future," says Rowan Hillhouse (here on Grays and Torreys peaks).

Cost isn’t the only obstacle, she adds. Learning a sport that many people around you already know can be intimidating, and the course introduces students to an activity they might not have the confidence to try on their own. Its success will depend not only on who signs up but on whether students feel confident enough to keep going independently. For Hillhouse, access is both a practical goal and a foundation for longer-term engagement. Helping students feel comfortable outdoors also serves a larger purpose: building a relationship with the environment itself.

Connection before stewardship

CU Boulder lists sustainability as one of its core values. But Hillhouse says it’s hard to build a commitment to sustainability in students who have little direct experience with the environment. Spending time outdoors can help students see why the places around them matter.

Time in nature often makes Hillhouse reflective, giving her a sense of being part of something bigger than herself. She hopes the ski course can give students that same connection.

“If we can get students outside to see what a beautiful backyard we have, then they’ll care about protecting it, as well as becoming more sustainable leaders in the future,” she says.

Because the course is housed in the Department of Geography, it does more than get students outside. Students also examine sustainability and the ski industry’s environmental footprint, studying how the resorts around them operate and what that means for the land. The course gives them a chance to explore how enjoying outdoor spaces connects to the responsibility that comes with using them.

What success looks like in Spring 2027

Hillhouse hopes 42 students will sign up for the Spring 2027 course, and that each will have a positive first experience with outdoor recreation and the ski industry to build their confidence in the outdoors.

Looking further ahead, Hillhouse hopes students keep spending time outside after the course ends and feel comfortable enough to explore outdoor spaces on their own. She hopes the course helps them form a lasting connection with the surrounding environment, one they carry into their academic, professional and personal lives.

“I think what would be the biggest success is if a student can come out of it and do it on their own,” Hillhouse says, “and independently feel empowered to do it.”

Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe to our newsletter. Passionate about geography? Show your support.