I'm saying you don't have to be a nerd to go to mines and to don't need to be a nerd to fit in at Mines. Maybe you have to be smart and maybe you can't be lazy, but you don't need to play World of warcraft, star craft, league of legends, enjoy redit, online comics or other stereotypical nerd activities to enjoy mines.
Maybe our definitions of nerd differ, but I imagine a nerd as some one socially and/or physically awkward, bad at sports, and into some of the previously mentioned activities. I wouldn't say that pursuing an engineering/science degree automatically makes some one a nerd.
Yes, mines has a large percentage of people who fit my description of a nerd, but we also have large climbing, skiing, biking, slacklining, and kayaking communities. If you can't take the atmosphere then you probably never fell into one of those groups, or you just don't want to work hard enough at school.
And yes a friendly competition to show that one can attend a decent school with a nerdy reputation and still be good a sports (or at least skiing) does not sound unreasonable to me. you're description of mines made it sound like a shitty place for people who aren't nerds. A competition gives the person in the argument some credibility. If you say don't go to mines because its full of nerds and my friends hated it so much they had to transfer and you completely destroy me in competition newschoolers could make the assumption: "ShastownSoldier must be another one of those nerdy mines kids who sucks at skiing and spends all this time studying because that is what nerds and mines do, I can't trust his opinion". But if I were to beat you after defending the outdoor enthusiasts at mines then one could draw the conclusion that non-nerdy people can enjoy a college experience at mines.
So i guess what i wanted to say was: yes, whiles mines isn't for everyone, it is not only for nerds either.
By the way if you don't want to do the competition that's chill. You probably live a busy adult life (hell you might have kids), but this kid definitely has time. I'll be making laps tomorrow, friday and Saturday and maybe Sunday with some mines kids at keystone's area 51 wearing black pants and a blue sessions jacket. If you wanna play a game of trick or just ski with us you're more than welcome to.
