A fundraiser has been created in hopes of rebuilding Mount Aggie

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – A staple landmark on Texas A&M University’s campus is out of commission after being destroyed by a wind storm last year.

Mount Aggie is a man-made, turf-covered slope that lets students ski any time of the year in College Station. The ski hill is located on West Campus next to the Mitchell Tennis Center and is about 130 feet long and 35 feet high.

Because of the damage, the slope can no longer be used for A&M ski classes. A fundraiser has been created in hopes of rebuilding the ski slope.

Frank Thomas, the Physical Education Activity Program Chair, says skiing in the Texas heat on Mount Aggie began back in the 1970s and has been a staple for both students and professors.

“It started as a piece of Kyle Field on a down slope over in Spence Park, or now Aggie Park, and that evolved into an actual ski slope with a different type of surface in Spence Park that was about 18 feet high with a 60 to 70 foot run out. When they decided that they needed to spruce up Spence Park, they decided they needed to move Mount Aggie to what were the old teaching tennis courts, which is now where the football outdoor facility is. We were there for several years and when they decided to make it a football facility, that’s when we moved out to the current location where the class of ‘98 helped pay for it,” said Thomas.

Thomas describes skiing down the hill as exhilarating.

“It’s just so much fun, you’re adrenaline is pumping and you’re so excited when you get to the bottom and you’re able to ski,” said Thomas.

Returning Aggies to the slope does come with a big price tag. Thomas says in order for the class to be possible again, the hill must be completely restored.

“In order to repair it, it has to be completely redone and we got the estimate for that and the estimate came back at $800,000, obviously we don’t have the $800,000 needed to repair it, so we started a fundraising through the Foundation,” said Thomas. “Our hope is to bring in enough money that we can get Mount Aggie repaired and improve on it. Each time we’ve built it, we’ve improved on it, so we want to continue to do that so our students can get the best experience they possibly can,” said Thomas.

Instructional Associate Professor, Mike Hanik, has taught the ski course for over 20 years. Hanik says the thought of the damage is upsetting.

“It’s kind of like the punch to the gut. You’ve spent 20 years teaching people how to ski and you see the excitement of the students who want to learn how to ski as well and it has become part of the tradition that you can learn to ski here [at Texas A&M University.] So when I learned about the damage, it was upsetting,” said Hanik.

KBTX spoke with Clay Hoover, a student at Texas A&M who took the Kinesiology 199 Snow Skiing course as a Freshman at Texas A&M.

“I had it at 9:10 on Monday mornings my first semester here,” said Hoover “I took it with Professor Hanik and it was definitely an interesting way to start my Monday mornings, especially to start my college career, but I mean it was an awesome time so I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Hoover says it wasn’t a bad way to spend a Monday morning.

“For the most part you’re just skiing, I wouldn’t have wanted to spend it any other way,” said Hoover.

Hoover said this class is one that helped make his experience during his time in college. He hopes it’s an experience that will return to campus.

“It’s a little sad, especially knowing that both me and my sister did it. It’s been here a while, even my dad took the skiing class when he was here in the 80′s,” said Hoover.

Thomas says there is no set timeline to fix the $800,000 project. He says anybody who is looking for a naming opportunity and wants to fund the structure could get their name on Mount Aggie in some way.