The warm weather has not given the Sacramento State Ski and Snowboard club too much snow to play in, but that has not stopped the members from having a good time.

Regardless of the snow conditions, the club is active during both fall and spring semesters and membership is at an all-time high with around 100 sign-ups.

“I think a big part of this is how successful our annual trip was,” said Ski and Snowboard Club President Jordan Clegg. “We went to Steamboat, Colo., in January as a club and had an amazing time. I think people were excited to get back on campus and keep having a great time with the fun and outgoing group of people that we have.”

Although membership is doing well, the warm weather has been preventing snowfall and making it harder to ski and snowboard.

“Most of us in the club are riding much less than we normally do at this point in the season,” Clegg said.

Clegg said he has only spent eight days riding so far compared to the 40 days he went last year.

“Snow gets people here, but that’s publicity we’ve been lacking,” said Squaw Valley Public Relations Manager Amelia Richmond. “January is usually slower, but it depends on the time of year.”

The amount of snowfall this year is significantly less than what was on the slopes last year. Kirkwood Mountain Resort had 192 inches of snow by the end of February 2011 and has only received 100 inches so far this season.

“I doubt we’ll have anything comparable to last year, but that won’t stop us from going up there,” said David Carlson, the club’s activities officer.

Clegg said patience is important because sometimes the best storms come late in the season. Tahoe had more snow during spring break than it had all winter in 2011.

Last year, Kirkwood Mountain Resort had 200 inches of snowfall during March alone. By the end of April, Kirkwood had totaled 748 inches, which made it the resort’s second highest snowfall record, according to a San Francisco Examiner article.

“We haven’t had a ton of snow this year,” said Russ Pecoraro, director of communications at Heavenly Mountain Resort. “We’ve been lucky because we have a snow machine so we are able to make snow. Our conditions are really, really good compared to other resorts that might be having some trouble.”

Many of the club members purchase season passes from resorts such as Kirkwood Mountain Resort, Homewood Mountain Resort, Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley. Season passes are a way to save money, but with minimal snowfall and less riding days, club members may not be saving as much as they would hope.

“The weather has even made some people regret buying season passes,” Clegg said. “Instead of an immediate ‘yes’ to the question ‘Do you want to go riding?’ We find ourselves asking if it’s even worth it?”

The members have jokily resorted to unorthodox methods to bring more snow to save their season.

“Plain and simple, it sucks,” Clegg said. “We joke a lot about praying to the snow gods and doing our snow dances at night before we go to sleep, but as the season goes on and the snow continues to be lacking, we almost feel like we really need to start trying these things.”

Though the members hope their rituals eventually work, there are more convenient ways for the club to practice without snow.

Balance boards and trampolines are useful tools, but many of the club members participate in other sports like skateboarding, longboarding, rollerblading and wakeboarding, which have similarities to skiing and snowboarding.

“Wakeboarding definitely has similarities to snowboarding and is a great way to keep some of your skills up in the offseason,” Clegg said. “There are a lot of us in the club that wakeboard in the summertime.”

These activities may help the club members maintain their skill level, but Carlson said, “nothing compares to the real thing.”

The lack of snow so far this season is taking a toll on the club members’ hobbies, but Clegg and Carlson want people to realize the club is more than skiing and snowboarding.

“If the weather doesn’t get better, the only real effect will be an extremely disappointed group of people,” Clegg said. “Other than that we will still host events and have fun on a weekly basis. That’s really the most important aspect of the club.”

The club holds team bonding events every Thursday to keep the members entertained without the snow. So far, the club has gone bowling, laser tagging and to a hypnotist show.

“One of our mottos is, ‘We’re a social club that skis and snowboards on the side,’” Clegg said.

Carlson said the club plans to go to Sky High, a trampoline warehouse where the members can practice flips, jump in foam pits and play dodge ball.

For the club, it unfortunately cannot snow year-round, so Carlson said the club is planning activities for summer such as camping, paintballing and going to a water park.

“Honestly, the warm weather is a bummer, but like I said it doesn’t mean the end of snow club,“ Carlson said. “No matter where, what, when; the Ski and Snowboard Club will always be active and having a great time.”

Jillian Kweller can be reached at [email protected].