Though an increasing trend of warmer temperatures and less snow has only recently been punctuated by a cold snap, nearby Tussey Mountain's seasonal struggle is far from over.

But for some Penn State students, the eight-trail ski resort is still a nice break from the normal repertoire of Happy Valley activities especially given its nearby location.

Art McNulty, president of Penn State's snowboard club, said Tussey does the best it can.

"Obviously, it isn't the greatest mountain in the world," he said. "They don't put as much money into snowmaking as other mountains do ... They have outdated equipment, and they don't have the resources that other mountains do."

Dave Fahrenbach, general manager of Tussey Mountain, said setbacks like this year's warm temperatures have not been uncommon throughout his 25-year career.

"It seems like we always have some periods throughout the winter where we go through an extreme warm period," he said. "As long as I've been here, we've had a lot of winters with some pretty dramatic temperature swings."

To combat the warm spells, which is the biggest challenge for Tussey, Fahrenbach said the mountain continuously makes snow to try to keep an ideal base of around 2 to 3 feet.

"Every year it seems like we purchase more snowmaking equipment," he said. "I think every year we do look at investing more money into more snow guns."

If a recent study is any indication, Tussey may have to rely even more heavily on snowmaking equipment in the future.

At the University of New Hampshire, researchers examined weather station data in the Northeast from 1965 through 2005 and found that December-through-March average temperatures increased by 2.5 degrees. Over the same period, snowfall decreased by an average of 8.8 inches in the region, the study concluded.

With 60 percent of the Tussey's profit coming from its winter ski and snowboard business, Fahrenbach said warm spells worry him.

"What we rely on now is more and better snowmaking techniques to allow us to recover quicker," he said.

On Friday, the first day Tussey was open since the spring semester began, three Penn State students hit the slopes for a few hours, taking in the expansive views of the valley from atop the mountain's trails.

Becca Mendenhall (sophomore-animal bioscience) and her friends were out for about three hours taking advantage of the $10 lift ticket special from 7 to 10 p.m.

"It's pretty good," Mendenhall said. "It's smaller than some other ones I've been on, but it's nice to have something around."

A skiing veteran for 16 years, Cam Corday (freshman-engineering) said he is still impressed by Tussey despite the small size of the resort.

"It's a little bit smaller, and the conditions were a little bit icy, but you're going to find that anywhere around here because they have to make their own snow," he said.

It was the first visit to Tussey Mountain for Sarah Lebro (sophomore-animal bioscience) and her first time snowboarding.

"It wasn't too bad because I know it's supposed to be a lot harder than skiing is, and I was prepared to fall a lot," she said. "I just stayed on the bunny hill."

Jen Pappas, president of the ski club, said last year she was able to take one of the skiing classes offered through Penn State.

"I already know how to ski so I took the highest level one, but it really teaches you a lot about little details you don't think about when you're skiing -- like balance," she said.

The ski club takes trips to mountains as far away as Colorado, Pappas said, but Tussey has its benefits, including location and price.

"I know Tussey's small, and it may not have the most perfect snow, but it's fun to get out with your friends and get outdoors," she said.

While Pappas would like to see more snow on the slopes, she said she knows there isn't much Tussey can do.

"I think they do pretty good for State College because it's not very cold here," she said, "so whenever it does get cold, you can see they're trying to get some snow up there."

While there isn't any 70-degree weather in the forecast, Tussey is always prepared to combat extreme temperatures and get the slopes up and running again, Fahrenbach said.

"We now make every effort to get conditions back up to 'very good' as quickly as possible," he said.

No matter the forecast or limitations, Lebro and her friends are planning another trip to the slopes to work on their skills.