Snow covers the mountain in piles. The racer overlooks a sea of white. He inhales, exhales and begins. As he skis down the slope weaving between the slalom gates, he feels the skis glide smoothly over the snow. The wind pushes back against him and he digs his pole into the white ground as he makes a tight turn. After a quick 80 seconds, it’s over. He’s at the bottom of the hill in firm command of first place.

This is the ideal racing experience for any member of the UW ski team.

Last year, the men’s team was able to achieve that experience often on its way to finishing second in its conference, and it was very close to earning a trip to nationals.

The men’s ski team is even more ambitious this year, hoping to earn a trip to nationals for the first time in a long time, and they are likely to pull it off.

The team boasts many returning veterans, including two of its three all-conference individual performers.

The UW ski team has a volunteer staff — led by coach Kent Johnson — of seven highly qualified and experienced ski coaches.

“We should be paying these guys a lot more than we actually are because they are certified way more than they need to be to do their job,” club treasurer Zach Charat said. “That really helps us because they know the ins and outs of everything we’d ever need.”

Even with that help, these men still have to deliver in their races if they hope to make it to nationals. The ski team competes in two events: the slalom and the giant slalom.

Last year, the UW women’s skiers had an excellent season as well, qualifying for regional competition. This year, all of the racers from the ‘07-’08 season will return looking to build on the success of last year.

The men’s and women’s ski teams are also looking for skiers of intermediate to advanced levels.

“Anywhere from intermediate on up, we can make your skiing better,” skiing director and coach Bill Vlases said. “[Our goal is to] make good racers better racers and make everyone a better skier.”

The ski team experience is meant to combine fun, work and a lot of skiing. In the winter, the team skis up to four times per week in races.

On the mountain, the intensity of the practice is really up to the individual skier. While coaches and skiers are there to help a skier improve their racing technique, some choose to simply ski for fun.

In the fall, the team keeps in shape with dry land practices. These practices alternate between high-intensity workouts and low-intensity team builders.

The team will do anything from running stairs and plyometrics to playing ultimate Frisbee and soccer.

While they seem like a focused team, the group has a fun side too. Last year, skiers on different teams would ski down the mountain in all manners of costumes.

One individual chose an elephant costume, and another chose only a Speedo. Another member of the team descended the mountain in a pair of tye-dyed long-johns.

That same year, in a deep fog, one of the Husky skiers missed his race because he couldn’t see the start of the course.

Unfortunately, all that fun isn’t free. Skiing as a Husky ski team member is fairly expensive. While it only costs $90 to officially become part of the team, travel, lodging, registration, racing and ski pass costs brings the total closer to $1,000.

Regardless of the cost, all members agree the ski team is a great experience.

“Ski team is my favorite part of college,” club president Todd Duncombe said. “It’s a bunch of guys and girls who get to know each other real well, travel together and ski together. It’s a ton of fun.”

Reach reporter Zach Ruby at sports@dailyuw.com.