The history of the school ski trip

Since the 1990’s Urbana High School students have participated in what was informally known as the “school ski trip” to Breckenridge, Colorado. Earning the opportunity to ski at one of the best ski resorts in the United States, this trip wasn’t only about skiing, but about learning leadership skills while having fun.

The history of the ski trip is not as simple as it seems. It first started out as an outing for the Explorer Post 104, an affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America. This group originally had no ties with the school and primarily focused on winter mountaineering, cross country skiing and canoeing. This group was led by former USD 116 school board member.

These trips did not fund themselves, which led to financial issues for Explorer Post 104. This did not stop Dimit and fellow members from enjoying the outdoors. Seeking a partnership to help fund the trip, members of Explorer Post 104 extended an invitation to Urbana High School students. With enough people going on the trip, they could split the costs and make the trip affordable for more people.

And so the ski trip committee began to take form. This committee was made up of Urbana High School students who would be responsible for finding people to go on the ski trip, organizing the concessions fundraisers with the University of Illinois, and in some cases running them.

“You weren’t just preparing to have fun but you were also learning the responsibility of what it took to make a trip like this go… they had to work all year long to make the trip happen… There was a lot of leadership training involved and many youth members would start as freshmen and by the time they are seniors they have actually developed leadership skills without realizing it,” Dimit said.

Unfortunately, Dimit has stepped down from leading this trip and for now no one has stepped up to replace him. This was not an easy decision for him, as he knew that the possibility of the ski trip disappearing was the most likely scenario.

“I’m 72 years old and in the last two years I had a stroke. Everyone thought that was the end of the ski trip. I recovered back from the stroke to go on the ski trip, couldn’t ski very much, but [at least] I was able to go on the trip,” he laughed.

After last year’s trip cancellation because of COVID and more recent heart issues for Dimit, he decided “it was time” to step down. This has left a big question mark hanging over the status of the ski trip. For now, no one has filled the huge shoes John Dimit left, when the next ski trip will be and who will be leading it is unknown and sad to say its likely to stay like this for awhile.

The ski trip was more than only skiing, it gave kids their first job, exposed themselves to a new sport, and not to mention the leadership skills that are developed. Hopefully someone picks up where Dimit left off, not only so students can learn these essential leadership skills, but have fun while doing it.