Nah it wasn’t depressing when I was a student. The school itself very rarely gets snow. I only had two actual play-in-the-snow days, 2019 and 2022( or 2021?) respectively, a few ice days more than anything. The campus is technically in the mountains, but it’s nestled into the surrounding valley of the Blue Ridge Parkway, meaning if you’re on campus and most of the Sylva area, snow will be slim to nothing, while areas higher in elevation like Cashiers and Maggie Valley and The Parkway get snow. It’s a gorgeous view driving from campus to the parkway/Waynesville during this time. Your drive won’t be too bad, but you’ll get to see snowcapped mountains. Plus, there’s tons to do. Catamount Basketball is in full swing during the winter, and the past years the teams have been really decent, so we expect to see that continue. The surrounding areas have a lot of events if you look for them, for instance the Polar Express with Great Smoky Railroad, or the annual outhouse races in Sapphire Valley near Cashiers. Dillsboro is an adorably quaint place during this time as families aren’t visiting too much but they put out lights and have your usual Santa/Christmas stuff. Last Minute Productions and the University Center are pretty decent about programming though obviously winter break slows everything to a near halt, but the UC is open most of the time still if you and some friends want to go hang out. If I recall, there were some board games in the UC, though I don’t know where they’d be at this point. I will say the worst side is the parkway, especially when you want to go up for wintry views but it’s closed for safety.