Whether you’ve just begun your career at UNM or you’re in the final stretch, you’ve probably gotten the idea that college is an institution of torture. Someone must have been listening to your griping, because UNM Recreation Services planned some getaways for students.
You could just ditch class to loiter at a café, but if you want more than the illusion of escape, you may want to go where UNM is out of sight.
ICE
There isn’t much time left to enjoy winter sports, given that we reside in a semi-arid climate. If you can take the time to get out of the city, there are a few options. If you’re ashamed to say you’ve never touched a pair of skis, Rec Services offers the opportunity to take cross-country skiing lessons, once at the end of January and once in mid-February. Both sessions are in the Sandias.
If you’re interested in taking up a less-popular sport to avoid being deemed a slave to the mainstream, Rec Services offers two snowshoe hikes. The first is a daytime trek at the beginning of February, the second by the light of the full moon a week later.
If limitations aren’t your thing, the “Enchanted Forest Adventure” in Red River has a menu of options. You can choose between cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, downhill skiing or just hanging around town.
Beginning cross-country skiing lessons
$26 per session, includes tram fee
Jan. 29, Feb. 12
Snowshoe hike
$35 includes transportation, guide, snowshoe use and one day of snowshoeing, $30 if you bring your own snowshoes. $5 discount for UNM students.
Feb. 4
Full-moon snowshoe hike
$30, $25 if you bring your own snowshoes, $5 discount for UNM students.
Space is limited
Feb. 7
Red River and Enchanted Forest Adventure
$45 ($40 for UNM students), includes transportation, lunch, one cross-country ski or snowshoe trail pass and equipment as needed for cross-country skiing or snowshoeing.
Feb. 18
WATER
If you’re feeling like a fish out of water, Rec Services offers three beginner scuba sessions and three advanced sessions. After the class, you’ll be PADI (Professional Association Diving Instructors) certified for life. The beginner session includes three classroom sessions, two pool sessions and one weekend open-water dive.
The advanced session is 15 hours of study, one class in the evening and five dives. If you want distance in water rather than depth, you can try the whitewater kayaking introduction course, which includes a weekend trip in addition to an introductory class. For something more laid back, Rec Services offers “Fly Fishing the Juan River,” a one-day getaway.
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Beginning scuba diving lessons
$295 for the sessions and use of scuba equipment.
Session I: Feb. 9, 11, 12; open-water dive
Feb. 18 and 19
Session II: March 8, 10, 11; open-water dive March 17 and 18
Session III: April 12, 14, 15; open-water dive
April 21 and 22
Advanced PADI open-water scuba certification course
$195. Prerequisite certification; open water diver or qualifying rating.
Session I: Feb. 16, 18, 19
Session II: March 15, 17, 18
Session III: April 19, 21, 22
Whitewater Kayaking: an introductory course and weekend adventure
$250 ($235 for UNM students), three classroom and pool sessions at Johnson Center and a two-day weekend trip
Pool and classroom sessions: April 12, 19, 26, 7-10 p.m.
Weekend adventure: April 28 and 29
Fly Fishing the San Juan River
$88, includes in-class clinic, equipment rental and weekend river lesson. $77 if you have your own equipment.
Clinic: May 2 River trip: May 5 and 6
LAND
For green hikers, there is “Shelter and Survival 101” in March. For more of a challenge, you might try “Enchanted Circle Spring Getaway”, a two-day trip in March. The circuit runs through Taos, Angel Fire, Eagle Nest Lake, Red River and the Rio Grande Gorge. For a happy medium, you can take advantage of a couple day-trip options. In April you can hike along the Turquoise trail to see the Tinkertown Museum, Madrid and Casa Grande in Cerillos, or in the Magdalena Mountains.
Shelter and Survival 101
$30, ($25 for UNM students) includes transportation, instruction and equipment use
March 3
The Enchanted Circle Spring Getaway
$90 ($80 for UNM students), includes transportation, five meals, two nights accommodations in a Taos cabin and guides
March 16 and 17
Turquoise Trail Adventure
$36 ($31 for UNM students), includes transportation, entrance fees to museums and guide
April 14
Magdalena Mountains Hike
$33, ($28 for UNM students) includes transportation and guide
April 29
ROCK
If you want something more challenging than walking, you have a couple of options. Rock conquerors can try “Bouldering in the Sandia Foothills” on two different evenings in April. For rock-wall climbing — not the fake walls some gyms install — you can try the “Outdoor Rock Climbing Getaway” in March.
For elevation of the mental variety, you can get your nerd on while “Tracking the Tijeras” on April 1. The trek focuses on the contorted and unique rock formations of the Tijeras fault in the Sandias. If a plain rock is not enough to pique your interest, you might try the “El Morro and Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary Trip” later in April to see more than 1,000 rock inscriptions left by Spanish soldiers, priests and governors. Stick close to your guide on that one; it’s home to more than 50 wolves and wolf-dogs.
Outdoor Rock Climbing Getaway
$47 ($42 for UNM students), includes transportation, one day of instruction and use of all climbing equipment. All skill levels welcome.
March 24
Tracking the Tijeras
$28 ($23 for UNM students), includes transportation and guide
April 1
Wednesday Eve/Bouldering in the Sandia Foothills
$26 ($21 for UNM students), includes two evenings of bouldering, transportation, guide and use of equipment
You must pre-register and space is limited
April 4 and 18 starting at 5:30 p.m.
El Morro and Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary Trip
$38 ($33 for UNM students), includes entrance fees, transportation and guide
April 22
Visit recsvcs.unm.edu/getaway for more information and registration forms
