Imagine swiftly gliding down slopes covered in a sheet of fluffy, white snow. Imagine creating perfect presets to playfully throw at your friends in a snowball fight. Imagine laying down in the snow to craft out a beautiful snow angel. Now imagine attempting all of these activities without actually having any snow?

This winter season has had its ups and downs in term of weather: it varies from ice laden streets, fierce snow storms, and subzero temperatures to rainy days, deep fog, and moderate temperatures. Michigan weather has always been known to be rather erratic and greatly unappreciated by its inhabitants, but what about the sports that rely on the a substantial amount of snow that Michigan currently lacks?

Here at Mercy, the ski team is greatly affected by the unexpected warm temperatures, and as a result, they have been unable to practice and complete multiple races.

“Michigan winters are always a little crazy,” said senior Julie Lilley, who has been on the team for four years. “Each year, we have to cancel one or two races because of unexpected warmth, [but] I’ve never been on the team with such high temperatures and rain. It’s a bummer that we’ve only been able to have one race so far, especially since I couldn’t race last year [due to knee injuries] and this is my last year [on the team].”

Unable to fully participate in the season, the ski team does anything it can to get a great workout in, have fun, and make the most out of the season. Although weather in Michigan is practically unpredictable, Lilley remains hopeful that a drop in temperature will soon give the ski team some time on the slopes. In the meantime, the team is using an alternative method to reach their goals and unite as a team.

“Hopefully the temperatures will get cold enough that Mount Brighton can make enough snow for us to race and practice on,” said Lilley. “If not, we will likely just continue to cancel things and occasionally have team bonding/conditioning events. For example, Mount Brighton has been closed all week, so as a team we went to Total Sports and played soccer as a way to bond and condition.”