Colorado Mountain college offers a little something for everyone

STEAMBOAT PILOT & TODAY

Sitting at the top of "Woodchuck Hill," with views of skiing on Mount Werner and Howelsen Hill, as well as views of Steamboat's downtown area, is Colorado Mountain College's Alpine Campus.

The campus is only a few blocks from a range of restaurants and shops, the Yampa River, and the bus stops that take students to the Steamboat Ski Area.

The college's associate's degree program includes the Colorado Core Curriculum with each degree, which is guaranteed to transfer to Colorado's four-year colleges and universities. Students can also spend their time at the college learning a skill that they can put into action as soon as they graduate.

But CMC is not just for full-time students. It offers a variety of courses - from gourmet cooking and plant identification to ski tuning and photography - that allow residents and visitors who can only invest in one or two short classes to improve on a skill or learn something new.

The college's main building is Bristol Hall, which holds classrooms, faculty offices, a library with Internet access, a gymnasium, and computer and science labs. In Willet Hall, there is a bookstore, dining hall, the Learning Resource Center and the student union. A residence hall is a new addition to the campus and was completed in 1997.

With an array of lodges, restaurants and businesses in Steamboat, students can combine classroom learning with work experience, and can also find opportunities for part-time work. But students should be careful not to fill up too much of their time with work and classes, as there are multiple ways to enjoy the outdoors through snowboarding and skiing, backpacking, hiking, biking, rock climbing, canoeing, fishing and hunting.

Students also have a range of campus clubs and activities to choose from, including the Colorado Mountain College ski team, which competes in Nordic and alpine events against other colleges and universities.