BY COOPER HAYES (2012)
Of the thousands who visit Perfect North Slopes weekly, a select breed goes no matter the weather and still manages to love every second. They are the few, the proud, the weekend warriors.
UrbanDictonary.com defines a “weekend warrior” as, “a person with a boring job who compensates by being irresponsible during the weekend,” often associated with the extreme sports of skiing and snowboarding. Being a weekend warrior is sometime coupled with antics and misfortune.
Perfect North Slopes is located in Lawrenceburg, Indiana roughly an hour from Mariemont, Ohio. It boasts 23 slopes of man-made snow, including two terrain parks. The most known slope at the park is Center Stage, the most visible black diamond rated run. These factors make Perfect North a weekend destination for Mariemont students.
“I go frequently with the bros so we can shred,” said sophomore skier Bobby “Gerbo” Gerberick who enjoys bombing down Center Stage. According to fellow skier Connor Bortz, Gerbo is a Mariemont legend that is dedicated to skiing and he makes a pilgrimage out west at least once a season.
“When I was younger I would go every weekend, usually Friday nights, but I can’t anymore; it’s hard to manage time between school and swimming,” said sophomore skier Addie Shelly.
Mac Nelson, a freshman who recently bought his own snowboard, is able to give an inside scoop into some of the mountain’s antics. Nelson’s best tale is when he was trying to teach freshman Mikey Barrett how to snowboard.
“This little kid sprayed Mikey as he was trying to learn, so we did the rational thing and chased down the little kid and pegged him with snowballs,” Nelson recalled.
Not all mountain antics are just fun and games; Nick Weston and the Warpath’s own Parker Sullivan are examples of the need for safety.
“I was shredding down a run being tailed by Parker and we shot off a jump,” said Weston. “We landed but his board got tangled in my skis so we both went down, he then tried to get up by flicking over his board and just smashed in my lip, it looks like I got in a bare-knuckle boxing match.” Weston recalled vividly.
The legend of Gerbo was also established on the slopes of a mountain. After finishing a long run his competitive spirit caused a collision as well.
“I was headed to the next lift when I saw Jonathan White cruise past me, he heckled me so I decided to teach him a lesson,” retold Gerbo. “I bellowed ‘desire’ with all the passion I could muster and attempted to catch the lad, but in my focused state I ran over Emmett Saulnier which was very awkward.”
According to Perfect North’s website season passes are for sale between $437-$515. The price is steep, but the pass has many benefits including a possible discount on additional day passes. The primary benefit remains unlimited skiing, boarding, and tubing.
