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Maybe you had some trouble convincing your parents that if you went to school in the mountains you’d actually study, and now you’re on your way to academic greatness in the flatlands. If you still crave the excitement and adventure of the mountains, Westminster College’s Winter at Westminster program is the perfect excuse to run for the hills this spring semester.

Located in the lively Sugar House district of Salt Lake City, Westminster is an accredited four-year college and the only private, comprehensive, liberal arts college in Utah. The college offers 25 undergraduate majors and six graduate degrees. While at Westminster, you can choose from 525 classes to earn up to 16 credits for the semester, in addition to a possible internship. Pair those credentials with the fact that many people consider Utah a foreign country, and successfully convince the ’rents that Winter at Westminster is as good for your academic career as any study abroad program.

College girls gone wild—in the Wasatch.

Winter at Westminster is gaining momentum after a successful first semester in 2005. The October issue of Powder magazine featured the program, and thanks to the possibility of internships with organizations like the US Ski and Snowboard Association and Ski Utah, college-bound powderhounds across the country are taking notice.

While you’re enrolled full-time at Westminster, you’ll be, uh, required to attend activities such as yurt trips, backcountry tours, avalanche training, Olympic sports clinics, and mandatory ski or riding days at seven of Utah’s premier resorts, including Park City, The Canyons, Brighton, and Solitude. In addition, you’ll possess your own AltaBird season pass. Life is rough for students at Westminster—the biggest problem you’ll encounter is finding time to wash your stanky base layers between breakfast with Olympic gold medalist Nikki Stone, class, and dinner with Peter Metcalf, founder and CEO of Black Diamond.

You have to bomb this class to pass.

Sound like heaven on earth? It gets better. Because this program is truly academic, your financial aid will likely transfer as well—consider yourself a sponsored rider. Tramdock.com also plans to help students enrolled in this year’s Winter at Westminster program by offering a 10% discount throughout the entire semester, so you can forget about laundry day and stock up on base layers instead.

For more details and student testimonials, click on Winter at Westminster’s website. The deadline for enrollment to the 2007 spring semester, which spans January 8 to May 4, is November 1, 2006.