Annual Report 2000

Contents

  1. President
  2. General Manager
  3. Trainer
  4. DOC Trips
  5. Dartmouth Ski Team
  6. Cabin and Trail (C&T)
  7. Cycling Club
  8. Environmental Studies Division (ESD)
  9. Mountaineering Club (DMC)
  10. Ski Patrol
  11. Snowboarding Club
  12. Winter Sports Club
  13. Women in the Wilderness

President

The past year granted us several opportunities to voice our opinions about the place of the DOC at Dartmouth. In the spring, Pat Leslie '01, vice-president, and I, working with input from members of the DOC, wrote our proposal to the Trustees regarding the Outing Club at Dartmouth and how the Five Principles outlined in the Trustees' Initiative could be beneficial to the club. We felt that the DOC was a model organization for the campus, exemplifying many of the traits that the Trustees felt were necessary in Dartmouth's social life. We also were very busy through the spring and fall working on reactions to the plans for Collis, Robinson, and Thayer drawn up by Centerbrook architects. We articulated our traditional bond to Robinson Hall as the home for the DOC, but also acknowledged how the DOC could become stronger with enhanced facilities. The DOC had a strong turn-out for the campus-wide discussions regarding both the Trustees' Initiative and the Centerbrook plans.

Programs that began during the presidency of Ben Berk '00 (1998-1999) also grew. Basic Leader Training (BLT) has expanded to two sections of 12-14 people per term. This program teaches interested participants the ins and outs of being a leader in the DOC. It was especially popular with freshmen, excited about Dartmouth after returning from their DOC Trips and wanting to become more involved with the Outing Club. Leaders for the past year included myself and Matt B. Nelson '00 spring 1999, myself and Alric Lam '01 in summer 1999, Matt Larkin '00, Ricky Joshi '01, Alex Kern '02, and Matt Nelson '00 again Fall 1999, and finally Matt Larkin '00 and Beth Huston '02 winter 2000

The DOCTours program expanded to four hours a day, five days a week, directed by Liz French '99 Spring and Summer 1999, Renee Gambell '00 and Matt Hood '00 Fall 1999, and Kenny Gillingham '02 Winter 1999. The DOCTours duties included responding to the DOC Blitzmail account, answering questions from alumni, prospectives, visitors, or fellow students who happened to wander into the DOC office, organizing sign-ups for big weekends, and generally making sure our office in 13 Robinson stayed relatively orderly. They have become a vital information resource for the DOC.

Go-OUT!, or Group Organized Outings, has also been becoming more popular through the past year. Directors Molly Feltner '01 (Spring and Summer 1999), and Kenny Gillingham '02 (Fall 1999) organized such events as trail-working trips for fraternity groups, paddling trips for the Dartmouth Asian Society, an intro-climbing trip for the '02 Class Council, and various hiking trips for other groups on campus. This program is a great way for others to check out the immense outdoor opportunities around Hanover and learn how to take advantage of them!

Club activities abound as well. The DMC went to Red Rocks, Nevada (VEGAS, baby, VEGAS!) over Spring Break 2000 for some great bouldering, sport, and trad routes. The Snowboarding Club went to Whistler, British Columbia Spring Break 1999 and returned to Jackson Hole, WY Spring Break 2000, which had been the destination of Spring Break 1997 as well. The DOC and DMC sponsored a trekking expedition to Nepal for four '01s, Ben Miller, Nick Koshnick, Chris Reidy, and Chris Leander, Fall 1999. These four active DOC'ers brought back great stories and amazing photos to share with those of us in Hanover.

Pat Leslie '01 served as an amazing vice-president Spring and Summer 1999, and stood in as acting president this past winter. Antje Herlyn '00 gave the club continuity through the Fall and Winter as vice-president, while Pat was off in Wyoming in the Fall and I was in Utah for the winter. These two have amazing reservoirs of energy and devotion to the club, and their great ideas and organizational skills saved the day more than once. The DOC pulled off at least one large event each term due to enthusiasm and willingness to volunteer on the part of its members. Last Spring saw the First Annual DOC Day on Mass Row, with Ian Laing '01 and Antje spearheading the project. We had a huge free barbeque while each club had some sort of representation or activity happening all afternoon. The Cycling Club hosted its annual bike trials exhibition while Cabin and Trailers had a wood-chopping contest as Ledyardites paddled in mud puddles in front of Mid-Mass. The highlight was the Women in the Wilderness sponsored pie-throwing contest in which various on lookers had the opportunity to throw Jello Chocolate Pudding pies at the esteemed president and vice-president of the Club. It was messy. The event garnered a lot of publicity for the club and encouraged passers-by to get involved and check out the DOC. A few weeks later we organized the annual Spring Weekend at Moosilauke, providing free transportation to the Lodge and entertainment all weekend. The popular campus blue-grass band Riverbed played Friday night and Everett called square dancing on Saturday. All in all, the spring was a successful active term for the club. With the advent of Summer and a significant drop in the campus population, we still had a good number of folks getting involved. Our main focus was encouraging people to take advantage of Moosilauke, our retreat in the White Mountains. DOC vans ran up to the Lodge every Wednesday night for the weekly entertainment – the band Groovemerchant played one Wednesday on the leach field, David Hooke '84 talked about the history of the Lodge another Wednesday, among other activities. The Fourth of July was also hugely successful, with many '01s making the trip to the Lodge to check out the fireworks from surrounding towns from a birds-eye view – the summit of Moosilauke. As fall came upon us, plans for the 50-Miler began to take shape, organized by Jonny Waldman '00. The response was overwhelming – we actually had to turn away volunteers to help with the hike. Fall Weekend was another success for the DOC, with a packed Lodge Saturday night for dinner and dancing. Over Halloween Weekend Antje, Nils Erickson '00, and Emily Lewis '02, among others, organized a Haunted Forest in Pine Park in conjunction with Haunted Houses on Frat Row and a showing of the Blair Witch Project in Collis Commonground. We made a conscious effort to involve other campus organizations in this project as a means of trying to bridge the gap between the DOC and rest of campus. Over 200 people walked through the Haunted Forest (myself included – it was VERY scary!) which was staffed by DOC volunteers. All in all, another huge success for the Outing Club.

The Outing Club owes a lot of thanks to the Outdoor Programs Office, without whose guidance and support we would not be able to do many of the things we do. Earl Jette '55A, David Hooke '84, Brian Kunz, Ashley "ASE" Thomas '91, Larry Hathorn, Scott Stokoe, and new addition Kathryn Kelley. While Hooke was gone in India for six months, we had the help of Chris Carbone '97 and Wayne Hare to give us a hand as well. Without these folks, we would probably be lost!

It was a great year for the DOC, with only bigger and better opportunities ahead. The Club has two enthusiastic capable folks in charge for the next year, Eli Diament '02, President, and Flora Krivak-Tetley '02 Vice-President, so look forward to another exciting fun-packed year.

Lydia A. Dixon '01
DOC President

All-DOC Day

Friday, April 30, 1999, 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Purpose of event: To unite all the DOC clubs by having each club contribute an activity and/or demonstration while also promoting the DOC's visibility and membership on campus.

Description of event: The day consisted of three main parts (all held on Mass Row on the south side): 1) club tables, demonstrations, and activities 2) a bike trials 3) a BBQ, for which donations were taken for the Kosovo Relief Fund ($39 were raised). Each of the clubs had the following activities:

DOC Directorate: sold memberships, T-shirts, patches

Snowboard Club: waxed skis and snowboards, showed videos

Ledyard: showed boating videos, had kayaks and hoses for some pavement water entertainment

Women in the Wilderness: Pudding/cream pie throwing contest--messy but so fun

Cabin and Trail: Their enormous wooden mascot oversaw wood chopping and sawing demonstrations

Empty Bowls: Publicized their campaign against hunger as well as had clay for making bowls for their fundraiser

Mountaineering Club: chain balancing and other tricky sorts of tricks

Ski Patrol and Winter sports: Helped with ski and snowboard waxing

Cycling Club: organized the Bike Trials and its participants. The bike trials were a key part of the day in that they provided a fun attraction to the event as bikers hopped onto picnic tables, flew over logs, and jumped from one obstacle to the next. Waivers were signed by all riders so that everyone could watch them fall without worrying too much. No grave injuries occurred although some riders left with bruises, bent rims, and flat tires.

Tips for organizing and supplies needed: (1) apply for a permit with Events in order to use Mass Row; (2) secure extension cords, tables, and chairs in advance; (3) make sure each club is participating and has necessary equipment; (4) have one person organizing the BBQ: food and grill in advance; (5) know of a dorm room where cords can feed out; (6) secure a stereo with good speakers (speakers can be rented from Hanover Strings for $30-$50 depending on how far in advance they are reserved--we used a student's set up)--have copy of salty dog!; and (7) gather logs, saw horses, picnic tables, toilets, spools, couches, anything that could be used in a bike trials event--get them by trucks at least the day before the event and have them removed and returned to the dump after the event (picnic tables were borrowed from the Nursery School by Oak Hill and other items were obtained at Oak Hill and the dump).

Reflections on the Event

The GOOD STUFF: Everyone who came by seemed to have had a fun time eating, watching the trials, and hanging out. The weather was beautiful and people came by throughout the afternoon to check out what all the commotion was about. All the clubs came through and made sure to participate in the event. This brought the leaders in contact with other DOC leaders which otherwise may not have been possible.

The BAD STUFF: Was it intimidating for the observers to see everyone doing their respective hard-core activities (bike jumping, tree cutting, etc.) who simply wanted an introduction to the clubs? The event was not interactive with the non-club members.

Things to think about for the future:

The DOC directorate has suggested possibly extending the event to other affinity houses so that a joint day could be planned by various organizations along with the DOC. This would require quite a lot of planning but could bring many groups together to make an interesting, more interactive event. Because this involves various student organizations we might be candidates for the $1000 Student Assembly grant...something to think about.

General Manager

The following report was prepared by David just before he left for Ladakh. Last minute changes were made by Earl.

Moosilauke

Many exciting things happened. The biggest news on the facilities front was a top-to-bottom makeover of the old part of the Kitchen. Through the generosity of Pat and Tim Dreisbach '71 and exceptional help from Dartmouth's department of Facilities Operation and Management, we were able to replace the floor, all of the cabinetry, and the ancient and late-lamented Blodgett Oven. We added a modern vent hood and fire suppression system, a nice new sink, a water sink and new cabinet in the dining room, and several stainless steel shelves and tables. All in all it looks not too different, but it is a MUCH better kitchen. The Class of '71 also provided class project funds to divide the big room in the Benton Bunkhouse into two and provide a nice deck on the south end of the building.

The Lodge celebrated its 60th birthday in fine style. Nearly 120 people took part in a weekend of celebrations on the weekend of October 1-3. We inaugurated the Will Brown '37 Historical Quest – a guided tour of the Ravine Lodge grounds that leads to a secret treasurer and provides enlightenment on the way. We also officially dedicated the Class of '71 Benton Bunkhouse, which the Class of '71 has adopted. This included the unveiling of the official Matriculation Certificate for Doc Benton, Class of 1971 with the Dreisbachs in attendance. Hats off to Tim for personally seeing to such excellent improvements on the Lodge property.

The highlight for me personally was the premiere of "An Unlikely Cathedral: Moosilauke, Dartmouth and the Ravine Camp 1909-1939" which tells the story of how the Lodge came to be. I worked on this 30 minute video with Michael Murray of Instructional Services and Michael Sacca, a local documentary film-maker and got wonderful help from J. Willcox Brown '37. The film involved hundreds of excellent photos that Earl and others had squirreled away, including a remarkable album that Ross McKenney made; we also combed through the College's film archive and found some further treasures. We showed it to great effect at the Friday night Anniversary Weekend dinner in Collis and then several more times over the weekend. Since then we spruced it up considerably with the help of Prof. Jere Daniell '55, added a bunch more pictures and then made copies. We have sold or distributed over 250 so far and Nelson Armstrong in Alumni Relations has taken up the torch to get it an even wider audience among alumni/ae. It has been an exciting and eye-opening foray into the world of video and I look forward to doing more.

[Editor's Note: In April we learned that An Unlikely Cathedral had won a Gold Medal in the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Circle of Excellence Awards Program]

Silver Fox

The highlight this year had to be the acquisition of a nearly-new $100,000 Kassbohrer Pisten-Bully 160D grooming machine. We got an unexpected pledge of $10,000 from Howie Mallory, father of Mirte '01, and Howie then took up the task of raising more money. With a combination of these gifts, our reserves and an internal loan, Earl was able to persuade the College to take it on; we were able to make it all work and took delivery in mid-December. We had to wait on pins and needles for over a month for some decent snow but it finally came, and the machine was wonderful – it did everything we expected and more. We were able to open up the Dam loop for the first time in many years, and groomed Garipay Field regularly for the first time in about ten years. The powered tiller and increased track speed gave us efficiency and versatility we have never had before. We were able to run the Carnival relay with a start in our new (1998) stadium above the parking lot, which was spectacular. We have high hopes for future years.

Appalachian Trail

Cabin and Trail, working right into the winter, all but finished their new Ore Hill Shelter, about a mile north of Atwell Hill Road. With the exception of two battery drills for putting on the roof, no power tools were used in the entire process. The building will be a fitting memorial to the late-lamented Atwell Hilton. The Hilton was acquired by the Park Service in the process of protecting the A.T. and the DOC fixed it up in 1986-87 as a hostel for hikers and home for the trail crew. However, in 1991 the Park Service transferred this section of the AT to the Forest Service and one of the conditions was that all existing problems would be resolved. Alas for the Hilton it had, shall we say, a number of striking irregularities of construction which meant that making it meet federal code for inhabited buildings would have cost several times more than the building was worth. With that sorry prognosis it was decided to abandon it in 1992 and finally this winter, after eight years of bureaucracy, the match was finally put to it on February 13th. On a more positive note, the efforts of adopter coordinator Hunter Reiseberg, Hartford Town Manager, have led to a nearly complete subscription of our trail sections, and the promise of a trail that is as good as it has ever been. We were able to provide some encouragement by having all the Adopters at the DOC's Spring Banquet.

Support

There are a lot of other people who give generously of their time and energy to make things happen. Here are a few:

DOC Advisory Council
Kevin Peterson '82
Willem M. Lange '57A
Dean Dan Nelson '75
Professor Andrew Garrod
Susan Folger
Professor David Kotz '86
Jeanie McIntyre
Professor Terry Osborne
Randy Spydell '73
Karl Furstenberg

LCC Board and Overseers
Creigh Moffat
Tom Hietzman
Dean Dan Nelson '75
Alan Brooks
Daniel Johnson
Jay Evans '49
Walker Weed '40
Vail Haak '49
Chris Wilson
Marc Lessard
Bernard Haskell

Safety Review Board
Jim Mason, Chair
Dr. Alex Reeves
Marcia Colligan
Dr. Michael Mayor
Earl R. Jette '55A
Sean Gorman

Club Advisors
Sally Boillotat, Boots and Saddles
Dr. Alex Mamourian, Biathlon
Professor Andy Friedland, ESD
Professor Leslie Sonders, DMC
Richard "Pokey" Low, Ski Patrol

Thank you, one and all, for your dedication to this organization. It really wouldn't be the same club without your support – moral, physical, and otherwise.

Other Notes

Through all this I planned for my leave of absence — my wife Kathy and I leave on March 8 to teach in a Tibetan refugee school in Ladakh, and then go trekking in the area afterwards. Truly it will be the experience of a lifetime.

As it has been since Fred Harris's day, the thing that makes it all work is the dedication of the central core of leaders, and the Outing Club is the measure of their devotion. It has truly been a privilege to work with these women and men, and to watch them mature into their leading roles. To avoid leaving out some worthy names I will simply express my gratitude to you all. You have truly given more than was asked. On behalf of the College and the DOC past, present and future, I will extend my many, many heartfelt thanks.

The entire staff of the Outdoor Programs Office continues to support the Outing Club in many ways and deserves recognition for that. I extend my personal thanks to them. I also want to welcome Kathryn Kelley. Kathryn joins the Outdoor Programs Office staff as administrative assistant, working with Kathy Decato in the business and finance activity of the Office.

Throughout the year there are many who serve Dartmouth out-of-doors. Countless hours are volunteered by members of the faculty, Dartmouth administration and alums in the interest of the Outing Club. Some serve as advisors to special programs and clubs, while others serve as officials and otherwise provide expertise, and still others serve on one or more of the many committees and boards. All take their role seriously and are to be commended for their valuable input to the DOC.

It is this bonding together of students, friends, and alums that make the DOC such a special organization. All are working together toward the fulfillment of the club's purpose. Always striving to do just a bit more…and just a bit better.

David Hooke
General Manager

Trainer

Diversity

The DOC accepted the challenge of increasing diversity in both First Year Trips and in the Outing Club. The club has expressed this interest because the members are genuinely interested in a pluralistic exchange. I believe we all acknowledge that outdoor environments are places of intrinsic value where lessons, values and enjoyment come without regard to ethnicity, gender, race, religion or sexual preference. We have a new staff member to help with our diversity efforts. Wayne Hare has joined the OPO staff during David Hooke's absence, and he has particular gifts in relating the value of the wilderness and the value of diversity to our society; Wayne is an accomplished outdoors-person who is originally from New Hampshire. We are working on a proposal with the Director of the National Park Service to develop and deliver educational programs and initiatives that use the outdoors as a tool to diversify our campuses, our communities and our National Parks. This project has the support of OPO, the Student Life Office, and the Dean of the College, and it holds out exciting possibilities for all involved.

Basic Leader Training

The BLT program continues to grow with over 20 students enrolled this term. The program has expanded to include an overnight and expanded the curriculum. It has attracted students from all over campus and is improving the quality of club leaders. Many thanks to Matt Larkin, Matt Nelson, Walker Holmes, Ben Berk, and others who volunteered their time to make this program a success.

Daniels Climbing Gym

The climbing gym has received funding from Student Life to increase the number of free days we can offer to students. David Cohen, DMC co-chair, worked with Holly Sateia to secure this funding.

The gym hosted another successful inter-collegiate climbing competition in February, and the Dartmouth climbers traveled and competed at a number of competitions throughout the winter term.

The new Drake climbing room addition has been delayed because of the additional costs of a new fire escape and ventilation system that will be required when we convert the second racquetball court to the Charles W. (Chuck) Drake, '90 and Josh Hane '89 Leadership and Training Room. We hope to overcome these obstacles and begin construction this summer.

Leadership and Training Fund

This fund allows us to bring in experts and resources to teach outdoor skills, including leadership training, for the DOC and it's affiliate clubs. This April we brought climbing guides from North Conway to run a top rope certification program for the DMC. This certification is instrumental in allowing DMC student instructors to head up student-run PE climbing classes. Last spring we also held a stance management workshop for climbers and chain-saw seminars were provided to C&T members.

Rock Climbing Programs

The typical outdoor class meets once a week for four hours and travel to Rose Ledges in Western Massachusetts for a full day of climbing at least once a session. Students master the skills of belaying, anchoring, tying-in, and climbing. In the advanced class the group is smaller by design and meets four hours every week and the highlight of the course is the weekend "Gunks" trip. The advanced students focus on climbing technique and fitness training. Classes continue to be popular, and we have added an intermediate class, which focuses on the indoor climber who wished to learn how to climb outdoors. The instructors for these classes include Anne Margolis, Matt Larkin, Matt Holmes, Morgan Heater, John Joline, and Jed Eliades.

Rental Program

Robinson Outdoor Rentals continues to grow, this year we added four more sets of Telemark skis, boots and poles. and new mohair skins. Rentals offers ski tuning in the winter and bike maintenance during the spring, summer, and fall. We offer bike repair/tune up sessions every week. Our main purpose is outfitting club trips, Outdoor Programs PE classes and catering to the recreational needs of Dartmouth students. Rentals is open Monday through Friday from 12 noon to 6:30 p.m.

Groulx Mountain Spring Break Trip

This year we had so much demand we organized two groups to the Groulx; each group traveled independently, once we arrived at the trailhead. Dan Nelson and Michel Denis led one group and Justin May and Brian Kunz led the other. We had sunshine and little wind throughout the trip, but it was cold – forty below zero the first two nights and forty above by the end of the trip. The groups were great, and on our return to campus we enjoyed Bruce Kennedy's Louisiana Creole cooking when we held our reunion at Dean Dan's house.

Winter Mountaineering

During December break students who signed up for the annual winter mountaineering course traveled to Billings Cabin for four days of winter mountaineering and ice climbing in the White Mountains. The weather was warm and there was not much ice, but we did a lot of climbing and training, and in January we regrouped and ice climbed for a day in Kinsman Notch.

Ropes Course, New Games, Rafting, and Climbing

Adventure Programs continue to be popular, and thanks to a grant from the Student Life Office the costs were reduced for student groups. La Alianza, fraternities, sports teams, UGA groups, and clubs enjoyed the team building they experienced on these courses. The Tuck School continues to use our Adventure Programs for their Bridge Program, LEAD, and Tuck Executive programs. The Medical School also sends the First Years for a half day experience during their orientation.

Dartmouth Out of Doors class offered through Collis Miniversity attracted a great group of sophomores during summer term. We whitewater rafted, rock climbed, and did the ropes course. We will be offering this course again this summer.

Northern Forest

This new addition to our PE class offerings exposed students to the wonderful flora and fauna of New England. Alcott Smith, local naturalist, took us on some wild adventures during the summer and winter terms. We saw bear sign, coyote, and moose and discovered many interesting plants and habitats. Participants developed a new appreciation for Dartmouth's wonderful location in northern New England. In addition to our PE class, Alcott joined C&T for a couple of follow-up sessions for their members.

Brian Kunz
DOC Trainer

DOC Trips

DOC Trips is one of the most broad-reaching traditions at Dartmouth. In a short period of time, it seems to shape almost everyone's first impression of the college, with a full-spirited student body welcome to the first year students by means of the outdoors. The '99 Trips program was a remarkable success thanks to all of the hard work and enthusiasm of the student and faculty volunteers. The format of the program has remained relatively the same over the past few years, with a few alterations in trip types introduced both last year and this year. The final statistics are as follows:

Sections A, G, H, and I were the most popular trip sections this year, and kayaking was far and away the most popular specialty trip choice. In 1998, two new trip types were added to the existing list of trips, road biking and trailwork. This year, these choices were listed on the initial application, and received excellent support. Since they were both new trips last year, we kept only one section of each to make sure things ran smoothly. The road biking trip was co-led by Chris Root '00 (who led the trip in its newborn stages last year) and Molly Redmond '02 (who was a trippee on the '98 trip), which worked out very well because both were familiar with the route, campsites, etc. Since the gear shuttling puts a mild strain on Hanover Crew, this is a great trip to limit to one section. In addition, it helps to keep the trip small. The trailwork trip cleared two trails in the Second College Grant. Both leaders (Lorissa Foster '00 and Erin Mackanin '00) were active C&T members and were comfortable using (and teaching how to use) the trailwork tools and equipment. They spoke extensively with David Hooke and Earl Jette so they knew exactly what to do and where to do their work. This communication definitely facilitated the service done, and I recommend that the trip leaders be a significant part of the planning for the trailwork trip in the future as well. In past years, there has been much talk about incorporating community service into DOC Trips. We all know there will always be a surplus of trail work to be done, and the trailwork trip is a great way to give back to our New Hampshire outdoor community.

There were two trip changes made this year: the elimination of the white-water canoeing trip and the numerical switch of hiking trip 45-46 to trip 47. Last year, Ledyard Canoe Club was concerned because the white-water canoeing trips were damaging many of the canoes. This year, we eliminated this trip and made all canoeing trips flatwater canoeing. Therefore, there was a canoeing trip on every section (as in the past), but this year all of these trips were the same: campsites and trip routes were standardized so there was only one "canoeing" trip rather than different ones depending on the trip section. The numerical switch of trip 45-46 to trip 47 seemed to be extremely successful. Although nothing was changed about the actual trip, the acknowledgement of the difficulty of the trip (from a 5-6 rating to a 7 rating) was very important when assigning trippees to trips. Last year, this particular trip had numerous safety problems, mostly due to inexperienced hikers on a difficult trail. Furthermore, it was changed from a co-led trip size to a single-led trip size (but most of the trips were kept co-led, just with a smaller number of trippees.) Again, this helped reduce injuries and kept the pace of the hikers fast enough to reach their campsites during daylight hours. This year, in part due to a large number of very qualified leaders, I chose to have many traditionally single-led trips be co-led. In my opinion, two leaders can only benefit a trip, both in terms of hard and soft skills. I think this was one of the reasons there were so few safety emergencies this year.

Leader training continued to remind leaders of the importance of good risk assessment/management and group dynamics skills. The mandatory two-evening seminar training and weekend during the spring and the summer taught upperclassmen how to be approachable and safe leaders. Especially in all of the excitement surrounding trips, I think it is easy to forget what an enormous responsibility it is to be in charge of twelve first-year students, some of whom have never been in the outdoors before. In leader training, hard skills (safety, outdoor survival skills), soft skills (group dynamics), and the privilege of this responsibility were stressed. This year we had a large number of leaders that had never led trips before, and our training processes were extensive and proved successful. During both spring and summer terms, there were two full weekends of two-and-a-half-day trip leader training hiking/water trips that got great reviews: the practicality of being out in the woods while learning how to be a leader and what to do in case of an emergency instilled confidence in the leaders-to-be. In addition, all leaders arrived the night before their trip section and canoed to Gilman Island to review the material learned in the spring or summer. Although this additional training at Titcomb has only been happening for four years, I think it is a vital part of preparing to lead a trip, and it is important for leaders to meet and become acquainted with their co-leaders and the other leaders on their section before they meet their trippees.

Another significant change this year was to implement a composting program throughout DOC Trips. Last year we started composting at the Ravine Lodge, and this year we extended that to in Hanover and most importantly on-the-trail. The quantity of garbage this year was reduced tremendously. In addition to being ecologically sound, we also saved money by not having to pay to pile more garbage on the Warren dumpsite. During leader training, trip leaders were instructed to collect all of the compostable waste material from their trips (such as orange peels and leftover cous-cous) in one plastic bag, and non-compostable waste in a separate bag. Once they got to the Lodge, their compostable material could easily join the rest of the Lodge compost, and the only thing thrown away was the plastic bag. Many thanks to Jocelyn Leavitt '01 for her ECO ideas and help, to Emily Lewis '02, composter extraordinaire, and to both the Lodge and Hanover Crews for making this work.

Every year changes are made to the Trips program, and I am convinced that everything about DOC Trips continues to improve. Both before and during Trips this year, we talked often about improving minority student representation throughout the Trips program, both as upperclassmen volunteers as well as trippees involved. I hope this issue, which has also become a wider concern within the Outing Club, is further discussed and acted upon in order to challenge this problem. While DOC Trips is certainly based in the outdoors, it is everyone's introduction to Dartmouth, and I feel we should keep that in mind. It is the oldest, and (I feel qualified to say) best student-run orientation program in the country. Trips are magical – they somehow embody the spirit to capture those involved with community, energy, and excitement. Without the help of all of the willing and dedicated volunteers, it could not have achieved such success. I would like to thank everyone that participated in DOC Trips 1999, with special medals out to David Hooke for his guidance and Benton Miller '01 for being my right-hand man.

Dana Loebman
DOC Trips Director 1999

Dartmouth Ski Team

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Team Results
1Denver University720
2University of Colorado621
3University of Vermont592
4University of Utah555
5University of New Mexico551
6Middlebury College500
7Dartmouth College439
Dartmouth Medalists
2Gusty Swift '01Women's SL
Dartmouth All-Americans
First Team
2Gusty Swift '01Women's SL
Second Team
6Stephen Donahue '99Men's FR
EISA Championships
1University of Vermont956
2Middlebury College874
3Dartmouth College785
EISA All-East & Rankings
First Team
2Gusty Swift '01Women's Alpine
5Scott McArt '01Men's XC
Second Team
8Jeremy Joseph '00Men's Alpine
9Stephen Donahue '99Men's XC
Ranked Skiers
11Nils Arvold '00Men's XC
12G.W. Watts '02Men's Alpine
14Maciek Zwiejski '00Men's Alpine
14Hans Hanson '00Men's XC
15Dawson Brown '02Men's Alpine
16Alison Keller '02Women's Alpine
17Brayton Osgood '03Men's XC
17Jeannie Eisberg '01Women's Alpine
22Eric Reinhardt '02Men's Alpine
22Tom Temple '03Men's XC
24Matt Cleveland '02Men's XC
24Tracy Wilson '02Women's Alpine
26Kristin Luckenbill '01Women's Alpine
30Jenny Viele '00Women's Alpine
32Rich Dickinson '00Men's XC

Highlights

The 2000 competitive ski season for the Dartmouth Ski Team was etched with many highlights, including:

The Dartmouth Ski Team program continues to hold its place in the forefront of intercollegiate skiing. Undoubtedly it's biggest strength lies in the program that it offers. The Team consists of four interconnected disciplines: men’s and women’s cross country and men’s and women’s alpine. Each discipline has one head coach. Up to eight people ski on each varsity team. Much of our program centers around the two development teams: alpine and cross country. Each is co-ed and accommodates up to fifteen athletes.

The Racing Season

Although the team results at the 2000 NCAA Championships in Park City, Utah were disappointing, the Team can be proud of its individual performances, and more importantly, the solidarity of its Team. Dartmouth began the Championships week in 7th and finished in 7th. The University of Denver, with two medal sweeps in Men's Cross Country events won the title ruining the University of Colorado's attempt at a "three-peat". Gusty Swift pulled another ace from the starting shack taking second place in the Women's Slalom, and earning All-American honors again this year. Her second run was bested only by former Dartmouth ski star Jen Collins '99, and only by 0.04 seconds. "Gusty skied very solidly on the steep demanding top portion of the course and then really attacked the bottom flatter section. She dominated the bottom section, skiing at the brink of disaster," described Coach Bruce Lingelbach. By skiing to sixth place, Norwich local Stephen Donahue became the second Big Green skier to earn All-American honors this year. His performance was the second best U.S. finish in the Men's Freestyle event. In addition, it was exciting for all skiers involved to be competing on courses and race hills planned for the upcoming 2002 Olympic Games.

Women's Alpine

Gusty Swift faced the unenviable task of picking up where superstar Jen Collins left off this year. Gusty did so in grand fashion with a stellar skiing year. Of course, captain "even-keeled" Jenny Viele will be missed to graduation this spring. Jeanne Eisberg, Alison Keller, and Tracy Wilson will continue to form the backbone of a team which has really come together over the past few years. Of course freshmen Emily Copeland, Katrina Lindgren, and Lindsay Lockhart should add spice to the pudding!

Women's Cross Country

This year's team was struck sorely by graduation of All-Americans Barb Jones, Jessica Smith, and Abi Holt. A team composed primarily of sophomores shouldered the burden of rebuilding. Captain Kate Pearson, along with Erin Quinn-Hurst, Sara Donahue, Annalisa Harrington, and Erin Morrissey plunged into a Carnival season which should provide the foundation for a solid team over the next two years. The addition of daughter Sophie to Cami Cardenali added to a balancing act that she would perfect as the season unraveled. There's little doubt the family and team both face a smiling future!

Men's Cross Country

Stephen Donahue finished his skiing career with a 6th place NCAA All-American finish heading one of the stronger Men's Cross Country Groups over the past six to eight years. First Team All-East skier Scott McArt looks to better that finish next year! Brayton Osgood and Tom Temple matured as freshmen this year and undoubtedly will be solid in years to come. Matt Cleveland, Rich Dickinson, Joran Elias, Eric Schoen, Gabe Brooks, Levi Hensel, and freshmen Andy Hunter and Matt Stevenson ensure depth in the years to come.

Men's Alpine

This group was also hit hard by graduation and missed two time NCAA winner David Viele who skied a fifth year for NCAA Championships University of Denver. In addition, Australian star Brad Wall chose to tear it up outside the collegiate ranks last year. The good news is that Brad returns next year! In addition, homegrown freshmen Roger Brown and Matt Hoisington should keep tradition of a solid Men's Alpine Team strong next year as they add their efforts to those of G.W. Watts, Dawson Brown, and Eric Reinhardt. Missing will be captain Maciek (Mav) Zwiejski who graduates this Spring.

Development Program

The Dartmouth Ski Team's development program provides a forum for competitors who share the same enthusiasm for skiing as the varsity athletes. Development athletes, while officially not on the varsity roster, compete at the USSA national, regional, and state level and help to create a momentum, which perennially puts Dartmouth skiers at the top of the results. Development athletes, both alpine and cross country, train with the varsity teams during the fall preparation period and then embark on a separate race schedule during the winter term months. Each of the development teams accommodates up to 15 athletes and follows a competition schedule similar to the varsity’s with races every weekend and training during the week. Dartmouth’s unique development program contributes immensely to the Dartmouth Skiing family. The Alpine Development group continues under the capable guidance of veteran coach Vince Gross. Jessica Smith chose to take the reins as Cross Country Development Coach following a stellar Dartmouth college skiing career. She will be sorely missed next year!

Staff

Although a worn out topic by now, the success of the entire program rests on the talent and hard work of the current staff. Peter Dodge, Cami Cardenali, and Bruce Lingelbach all face change in terms of growing families. They're both accomplishing incredible things on both the home and work front. Maggie Sullivan bears the brunt of balancing a fast moving staff, new home, retirement investment, and committed golf game. A major step forward was the development of new coaching job descriptions along with salary improvements for the entire coaching staff. Each coach has individual responsibilities for administration of their own teams. Each is involved with recruiting, planning, etc. In addition, we all share responsibility for overall management of the program. The Director of Skiing job description has been redefined and fits this scheme neatly. The Directors job is to provide the framework for overall management to happen in a unified way. This is done through responsibilities outlined for coordinating and managing the overall program. Given the natural growth of our staff the current plan appears to be the most efficient.

Events, Projects, and Issues

Friends of Skiing
Annual Appeal
2000$19,864
1999$19,035
1998$16,328
1997$14,704
1996$14,335
1995$11,930
1994$10,600
1993$6,535
1992$5,264
1991$5,968
Friends of Skiing

Through their organizational and motivational skills and direct financial support, the Friends have been instrumental in most of the major skiing developments at Dartmouth, among them the installation of snowmaking facilities at the Skiway in 1986, and presently with support for the new lodge at the Skiway. They have also been responsible for the realization of the dreams of literally hundreds of Dartmouth skiers. Our Friends have grown to include over to eleven hundred members, whose recent donations have been used for development team vans, alpine gates, and cross country grooming equipment. Their knowledge and assistance is also invaluable in running our Carnival races. We remain eternally grateful!

2000 Special Events Fund
$ 6,105.00
Sargent, David
Canadian Race Series/Ontario, Canada		$ 115.00
Luckenbill, Kristen
Eastern Cup Finals/Sugarbush, VT		$ 130.00
Donahue, Stephen
Fall Training Camp/Oslo, Norway		$ 600.00
Keller, Alison
FIS Racing/Eastern US		$ 75.00
Hansen, Hans
Idaho International/Western US		$ 300.00
Donahue, Sara
Idaho International/Western US		$ 100.00
Osgood, Brayton
Jr Olympic Championships/Jackson, NH		$ 400.00
Kloek, Sue
Jr Olympic Championships/Jackson, NH		$ 400.00
Medin, Ashley
Jr Olympic Championships/Jackson, NH		$ 400.00
Wilson, Tracy
Summer Camp/Mt Hood, OR		$ 800.00
Swift, Gusty
Training Camp/Austria		$ 1,000.00
Wood, Amy
Training Camp/Royal Gorge, CA		$ 350.00
Dickinson, Rich
Training Camp/Royal Gorge, CA		$ 350.00
Arvold, Nils
Training Camp/Royal Gorge, CA		$ 350.00
Harrington, Annalisa
Training Camp/Royal Gorge, CA		$ 350.00
Ballard, Kim
Training Camp/Royal Gorge, CA		$ 175.00
McArt, Scott
US Nationals/Park City, UT		$ 210.00
Special Events Program

Through the Al Merrill Dartmouth Ski Team Endowment Fund and the Walter Prager Dartmouth Ski Team Endowment Fund, partial funding is available to Dartmouth skiers who benefit from a special skiing experience. During the past competitive year, the following athletes were recipients of Special Assistance Grants for opportunities not covered by the normal budgetary process.

Robinson Hall

Renovated in 1995-96, Robinson Hall is the "home" of the Dartmouth Ski Team. Our facilities here include men’s and women’s locker rooms, a ski room and coaches workrooms, as well as our expanded office space. Most ski team activities radiate out from this centrally located spot on campus.

The Ski Team’s location in the Outdoor Programs Office is often questioned. Commonly, people will ask why it is not in the athletic department "with the other teams." The question is understandable and, given recent focus on the Student Life Intiative, bears careful scrutiny. This potential for change is expected to have direct consequence for the Dartmouth Ski Team in future years. It's important that change in "our Robo" home is met with a perspective fitting the Ski Team's past and it's unique fit with Outdoor Programming and the Dartmouth Outing Club. I've included a piece written by David Hooke at the end of this report and hope it can be referred to in future years as the Student Life Initiative gradually moves toward a new campus face lift.

Dartmouth Skiway

Since 1957, the Skiway has served as home to Dartmouth alpine skiers. Located just fifteen minutes from campus, with varied terrain and FIS approved slalom and giant slalom hills, the Skiway serves as the training site for the Ski Team and plays host to Dartmouth Carnival races as well as FIS and USSA competitions throughout the season. In the winter of 1986 snowmaking made its debut at the Skiway. Steady improvements to the snowmaking and lift systems over the past 13 years have provided Dartmouth skiers with outstanding training and racing conditions regardless of the whims of New Hampshire winters.

This fall the College announced the Dartmouth Skiway Campaign to raise funds for the construction of a new lodge and further expansion of snowmaking capacity. Ground has been broken this Spring as the Lodge moves toward reality. The original Brundage Lodge was built in 1956. Since then the number of annual skier visits has increased from 5,000 to over 40,000. The proposed new lodge, at 16,000 square feet, will provide over four times the space of the Brundage Lodge. There will now be room for everyone to find a comfortable seat with a great view of the races during the Dartmouth Carnival! The increased snowmaking will allow for more trails to open earlier in the year to provide even better training for the Ski Team and more variety for all the other community and Dartmouth skiing programs. A leadership gift given by Linda and Andy McLane '69 of 1.5 million dollars has kicked off the drive to raise the necessary 4 million dollars to complete the project. Project planning is well underway and with the campaign moving forward construction is hoped to begin by the end of this season or the next.

Oak Hill and the Silver Fox Ski Touring Center

With the help of John Morton, an 8.5km loop designed to accommodate updated standards of course design, including expanded width to provide daily classical and freestyle tracks side by side, is currently being expanded to 15km. Dartmouth Outdoor Programs, in cooperation with the Hanover Improvement Society, grooms over 25 kilometers of these trails for its programs and to enhance public recreation. Located two miles from campus, the Silver Fox Trails at Oak Hill serve as the site for the Dartmouth Carnival cross country races as well as dry land and on-snow practices. In addition, purchase of a new Piston-Bulley groomer and tilling hardware brings track setting to a new level.

Endowments

Two recent endowments have enabled both Alpine and Cross Country programs to continue their focus on non-collegiate competition and training. The Alpine Excellence Fund and the Ned Gillette Adventure Fund ensure that the scope of Dartmouth Skiing can continue in these areas. "Thanks to the Alpine Excellence Fund the Men's Alpine budge has gone from $10,000 in 1997 to about $16,000, an increase of 60%, yet the program has not changed. Without this funding the Men's Alpine program faced a 35% cut in program including cutting the team size from 10 to 6, eliminate all funding for non-collegiate racing and a cut back in on snow training." -Peter Dodge, Men's Alpine Coach. Needless to say, it should come as no surprise that skiing is an expensive sport. It has been for a long time, and it will continue to be so - especially for those who race competitively. Nor should it come as any surprise that Dartmouth expects to provide a quality program for its skiers.

"The dilemma now is twofold: at the institutional level there is the increasing cost of providing quality academic education, and at the ski program level there is the increasing cost of supplies, equipment, travel, and ski area usage. Because it costs more to provide the academic education expected at Dartmouth, there is less money available for the non-academic programs. The Ski Team is being treated fairly and receives its share along with other non-academic programs, but the total amount available is smaller at a time when the skiing program expenses are increasing.

The solution? Endowment. Pure and simple. Endowment relieves the institution of its annual commitment to programs like this so it can provide the necessary support for quality academic programs without changing its philosophical perspective of educating the "whole person." Endowment lasts. The interest is generated year after year while the principal stays intact. Endowment grows. It is invested in stocks and bonds so that the principal value increases. This provides more income with which to support the program." -Earl Jette, Will to Excel Campaign

Other Events
Hazing and Alcohol

There's no question that hazing and misuse of alcohol are activities which bear scrutiny and require education by groups such as the Dartmouth Ski Team. The events which took place at the University of Vermont this winter only highlight a nation-wide problem. I don't believe any of the staff and athletes involved in this program are naïve to these problems. Our teams and coaching staff are involved with discussion on these topics throughout the year. In a formal way, the hazing and alcohol policies are reviewed annually during a compliance session either in November or January. In addition, a great deal of education occurs regularly through discussions ranging from ski racing issues to issues such as these. These discussions occur in the vans, on the hill, on the tracks, in Robinson and at the race sites. I truly believe that these discussions lead to a great deal more than fast skiing and fit into the Dartmouth overall scheme of education.

Student Life Initiative

As we've talked about over the coarse of the past two years, the Student Life Initiative will have far reaching effects on the Dartmouth campus and, in particular, on Outdoor Programs and the Ski Team. I feel it's important to remember some of the following thoughts in the years to come.

Unique History

"The Dartmouth Outing Club was founded by a student who came to Dartmouth with a strong skiing background. In 1909, he gathered about 75 students and faculty and created the club to foster outdoor winter sports. Students learned to ski quickly and in 1911 the Outing Club hosted the first Winter Carnival. Although there were no organized teams at other colleges, individuals representing their respective schools competed against Dartmouth along with members at non-collegiate ski clubs from around northern New England. By the mid-teens, the DOC saw the need for a coach and the club president was authorized to hire one. From that time on until the late '30s, the ski coach answered to the President of theDOC. Despite the lack of ski programs at other colleges and the corresponding lack of any collegiate league, the Dartmouth Ski Team grew in size and prestige. Also, by competing against ski clubs such as the Nansen (Berlin, NH) Ski Club, Lebanon Outing Club, Newport Outing Club, Brattleboro Outing Club, and Lake Placid Outing Club, the DOC was instrumental in creating the Eastern Ski Association, which eventually became the U.S. Ski Association (USSA). From its earliest year, "club" competition has been the backbone of the Dartmouth Ski Team’s competitive programs.

"Gradually, collegiate skiing became organized. It did so at other colleges in the absence of a strong outing club, and therefore, developed as part of the athletic departments. Until the mid '50s, whatever collegiate competition existed was connected with ESA. Then the NCAA was created and collegiate skiing took on a life of its own. The Dartmouth Ski Team found itself with two competitive outlets: EISA (club) and NCAA (collegiate). It has been that way ever since, continuing to provide and participate in more non-collegiate than collegiate events, but always representing the Dartmouth Outing Club, in which all skiers are members.

"This combination of club and collegiate programs makes it unique, both nationally and among sports at Dartmouth. This uniqueness is what draws so many top-level athletes. They know that Dartmouth considers the development of individual skiers through the club program to be as important as maintaining a position of pre-eminence in intercollegiate skiing. The benefit of this two-track approach is that it provides such a wide range of opportunities for Dartmouth students.

"Currently there are eighty athletes participating at four levels on the Dartmouth Ski Team: development, junior varsity, varsity, and elite. Support for this program is present because Dartmouth believes in it as a crucial part of the culture of this place. Indeed, Dartmouth exploits this special nature of the skiing program in its outreach to the perspective students and to its alumnae/i. The Ski Team never would have developed to this unique level without the DOC, and it is difficult to believe that a program of this nature could exist without the continuation of an outing club connection." -David Hooke, Outdoor Programs Office

Of course the biggest change we face next season is Earl's retirement. None of us can really imagine the effect that this will have on all of us. Although I'm personally very excited about plans being outlined by Dean Larimore in how we will be governed in future years, the areas we'll miss Earl the most will be those most unexpected. Where's this key, where's that wrench, what's "in the Dartmouth wind", how should we respond to this question, whoops I need guidance, and on and on. We're naming one of our awards in Earl's name which will carry into the future. Of course, this is nothing compared to what he's done for all of us. So, yes. We face change.

Ruff Patterson
Director of Skiing

Cabin and Trail

Chair's Report

Hello Chubbers, Heelers, and Vagrants! This past year has seen a revival in Cabin and Trail. Ascending ten new council members in the past year has allowed us to increase our activities. We finished the Ore Hill Shelter, we have had numerous trailwork trips, for the first time in years, all of our weekend trips have been packed, and our forestry (ugh!) teams were dedicated and successful.

We would like to thank David Hooke for his continued support and dedication to the old C&T, and wish him a safe return from India.

The future year will be another busy one for us. We will have four devoted first year students on the summer trail crew up at Moosilauke bustin' it up. A new Moose Mountain shelter is in the works, and hopefully will be completed for the 2001 hiking season. Also, next spring will see a return of leisure loggers to the Hanover plain as we will again host the Spring Woodsmen's Meet on the Green.

Below are the reports from each division of Cabin and Trail.

Yours in the Ways of the Woods,

Dave Hastings '00

Cabins Report

This year Cabin and Trail dealt with moving the privies at Nunnemacher, Armington, and Hinman cabin. We are in the process of relocating the John Rand Privy. Over the summer, Billings Cabin was insulated and now provides great heat in winter. The cabins were well stocked with wood all winter, also thanks to this past summer's trail crew. We had many broken mauls and axes which are constantly being replaced. We should find stronger axes or some way to prevent this problem. We are in the process of installing clear and colorful signs in each cabin to explain mantle and stove use. Luckily, we did not have many rodent problems this year. The top window at Great Bear was replaced as well as some windows at Armington and Hinman. We finished off the Spring with a Spring Cabin Clean Up Weekend, allowing guests to spend a weekend for free at a cabin in exchange for cleaning and fix-up work.

Devon Bonady '00

Trails Report

Cabin and Trail had a successful and active year in terms of trail maintenance. In the spring of 1999, trips went out to the Ore Hill shelter and the trail work seminar on Moosilauke during Spring Weekend was successful in brushing out many of the trails and clearing waterbars. The fall of 1999 was a very active term for trails with many work trips going out in an effort to improve the DOC's section of the Appalachian Trail. Many of the trips focused on the Cloudlands section of the Appalachian Trail in Vermont. Blowdowns were cleared and the trail was reblazed. Blazing also took place at Moose Mountain and blowdowns were cleared off Cube and Moose Mountains and Velvet Rocks. We also made five visits to work on the shelter and trail at Ore Hill. One of the trips was a "Go-Out" trip for a fraternity which was very successful in getting more people involved in maintaining the DOC's section of the AT. On those two trips, a muddy section of the trail was improved with waterbars and rock steps. Several sign-making seminars were also held in the fall and the fruits of heeler labors were installed at the shelter trail junction at Velvet Rocks. Moosilauke Fall Weekend was also a rousing success, bringing out 17 students over two days. They cleared out and repaired waterbars on the Ridge Trail, Al Merrill Ski Loop, Gorge Brook and Hurricane Trails, as well as the Carriage Road. In the winter of 2000, there were more trips to Oak Hill to work on signs. Also, several scouting trips went out designed to assess where maintenance was most needed on the DOC AT.

David Weissberger
Kenny Gillingham

Heelers Report

This year has been relatively successful for Cabin and Trail's leadership training program, "Heelers." Heeling continues to focus on fulfilling the group dynamics and outdoor skills DOC leader requirements, although Heelers must complete first aid, CPR, and Brian Kunz's Risk Management on their own to be considered for Council. Fortunately, the enforcement of the DOC leader requirements starting this fall did not affect Cabin and Trail as it did other clubs largely in part to great Heeling in recent years.

In the spring, Greg Miller '99 rounded out a great year as Heeler Director culminating with the ascensions of six active Heelers to council, five of whom were freshmen, to provide new blood and spirit for the club for the years to come. Heeler projects were stressed as a valuable addition to the core requirements and will continue to be required.

With the arrival of the class of 2003 in the fall, Heelers became increasingly important. Liz "I'll never leave Dartmouth" French '99 directed Heeling with great participation from other council members. Traditional seminars including tool sharpening and several sign making sessions were held at Oak Hill, although attendance was not consistent. During the last several weeks of the term, Liz found herself bogged down by the fun of Thayer School, and she was forced to turn Heeling over to Devon Bonady '00 and I for the remainder of the term and year. We held an ascension feed in honor of the senior and sophomore who were ascending.

In the winter, Heeling got off to a great start as soon as classes resumed with an organizational meeting that I spent regurgitating a Food Court Buffalo Chicken sandwich into the Rock's toilet. Knot tying that night, however, was a success. Axe hanging and a Heeler-Council feed (with a game of Combat Kissing) in week two proved that it would be a great term. We then began the "Where The Hell Am I?" series of seminars with a New Hampshire roads and trivia seminar followed by a map, compass, and orienteering seminar the next week. Axe hanging became the popular default for a Heeler event as the winter forestry (ugh!) competition neared, and much of the remainder of the term was spent at Oak Hill doing that. Several low-attendance sign-making trips also went out. Many Heelers co-led trips and during the last three weeks of the term, Heeler overnights dominated the program. Zach Goldstein '02 led an epical Heeler overnight to Great Bear including a hike up Moosilauke instead of the far too familiar Hinman Cabin overnight. Three sophomores and a junior ascended to Council giving us a thirteen person group.

Heeling this year was particularly strong in the fall, and surprisingly, in the winter. The Heeler Log that debuted at our first winter meeting was used in an effort to keep meticulous records of our events and to preserve the essence of Heeling. As expected, Heeling last spring saw more of a core group, and the same will likely happen this year as the weather improves and Chubbers, particularly freshman who knew nothing of the area in the fall, turn to the outdoors for their own spontaneous activities or just lounging on the Green with no concept of time. We look forward to a great year to come with new and enthusiastic additions to Council this spring.

Joe Cloyd '02

Trips Report

This year was great for Cabin and Trail. Except for the Summer term we had trips going out almost every weekend and great attendance and great fun. We started out the spring term with a trip to Moosilauke lead by Liz French herself. Three people skied or snowboarded and the rest all snowshoed down the mountain. Jorge led a biking trip to visit the Old Man of the Mountain area. There was a great turnout for backpacking our section of the Vermont AT. The most epic trip of the term was as usual the Grant Trip. We brought along mountain bikes and some climbing gear. We stayed at Stoddard and had chocolate fondue with fruit as well as a meal of great and tasty proportions. Different groups split off for the two days to hike, bike, climb, or just go boondockin'.

In the summer, alas, we only had one council member, one pseudo council member, plus two graduated council members, one who was only with us for half the term. So... we didn't end up doing much. Meetings were very small and informal. Our first trip was strawberry picking which turned out well- we made great strawberry pies from our pickings. We also had a few feeds that had pretty good attendance. Our main activity in the summer was working on the ore hill shelter, and we made great progress.

This fall we also had great attendance and a lot of new freshmen got involved with the club. Some trip highlights include the Mahoosucs trip where eight people hiked over Goose Eye Mountain and into the hardest mile of the AT. It was a blast going up, over, under, and around boulders in the notch. Snowball fights and lots of other fun highlights. There was a great trip to Billings over Thanksgiving and to the Grant for New Year's. Plus after finals in December there was a cabin-hopping trip in which thirteen people hiked from Nunnemacher to John Rand staying at all the cabins plus Hexacuba Shelter along the way. They had a great view from Moosilauke and overall, a bitchin' time. We ended the winter with a big contradance in Collis with Bernie Waugh's and Dave Hooke's band – it turned out a huge success.

Finally, this winter we still had trips going out nearly every weekend despite the cold. Dinerdude led dinertoure religiously, Ore Hill Shelter was finished and slept in at negative 40°F!!!, there were lots of feeds, and another great contradance. Trips included xc-skiing and hiking from Billings cabin, a Smarts Mt. day hike, a Camel's Hump dayhike, and an overnight trip to John Rand with sledding down Moosilauke. Finally, once again there was the epical Grant Trip. There were options of xc-skiing, boondockin, hiking, or just hanging out in Stoddard. We made great Lasagna in the wood stove and even had some cake to go with it.

That brings us to the end of our outing year, I'm sure this year will be just as memorable.

Yitood,

Dori Sugar '01

Forestry Report

Forestry. Ugh! This year the rallying grunt of the Dartmouth Woodsmen's Teams echoed from scenic Canadaigua, NY, to the suburban jungles of Montreal. From the arid plains of Durham, NH to the whispering pines of Oak Hill in Hanover came the thrilling ring and crunch of the keen axes as they bit into the peeled and glistening wood. Forgive these adjective-laden reveries, but to me Forestry will always be a blur of impressions, a bosky collage of sights and sounds. The glint of the sun on the razor teeth of a salmon-spotted crosscut saw, the smell of fresh-cut wood, the tautness of muscles after a good practice: these are the things that come to mind as I think back over the last year. But over and above all this I remember the people, the camaraderie that exists as in no other sport. Half the fun of a forestry meet lies in cheering on your team-mates, in screaming yourself hoarse to encourage someone to keep going even though their arms burn and tremble. "You're not tired!" and "Breathe!" are some of the commands that burst forth from the lips of your comrades as you stand on top of an eight inch thick block of poplar thinking you will never break through. Then your axe severs the last fibers and you collapse, surrounded by a whooping and hooting circle of friends.

The Dartmouth teams were fabulously successful this year, by which I mean that we had a great deal of fun. We were also stunningly victorious this year, by which I mean that we conquered within ourselves the spirit of competitiveness that seemed to hold so many of the other teams in its icy iron grip. Participation and enthusiasm were both stronger than our arms this year, which is the way things should be. Many other schools hold try-outs and for them forestry is a varsity sport. At Dartmouth, we are far more serious than that. We won't take just anyone on the team. There is a minimum biceps measurement of 37" (25" for the guys) as well as a rigorous psychological exam to be sure the person can handle the intense pressure of intercollegiate woodsmen's competition. Well, really we'll take anyone at all, especially if they are silly. Speaking of silly, the women had a dedicated contingent of juniors and sophomores who will be back next year to power Dartmouth through the spring meet on the green. The men, meanwhile, boasted a strong team with five seniors. Intense practice at Oak Hill and fierce competition helped mould this year's teams into formidable wood-chopping machines.

I cast my mind back to last spring, as we rolled on to the campus of Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua, NY. From our base of operations in the humongous Egyptian Cotton tent, the Dartmouth teams proceeded to dominate the first day of competition. This is traditionally the way things go, since the first day of the meet involves the more aerobic events, like canoeing and the packboard race. Not that the other teams are much larger and slower than us, but they are. Thanks to the expert tutelage of Putnam Blodgett '55, the men ran away with the singles and doubles canoeing events, while the women took the doubles and portage events. Both teams won the packboard race handily. The second day of competition, which involves the strength events like chopping and sawing, is really sort of peripheral in importance, so I won't go into it here, except to note that Sarah McCoy '99 took first in the pole climb and Gary Maslow '00 sliced off his left leg in the team crosscut event. The men also had a disastrous equipment meltdown in the team bow saw event, which no doubt adversely affected their final showing. Other teams did quite well, for which we applaud their gumption. The men finished 5th out of 89, while the women came in 3rd out of 7. David Weissberger '00 did not win the axe throw event.

Losing stalwart captains Greg Miller '99 and Sarah McCoy'99 to graduation, the team trudged on in the Fall, and actually managed to get in a few practices before attending a meet at UNH, which the women won! (And the men did not win). David Weissberger '00 did not win the axe throw event.

Winter saw the team gearing up for the infamous McGill meet at the school's Ste. Anne de Bellvue campus outside of Montreal. Some things happened at this meet, but it was so cold I can't remember them. We did make a foray to the infamous Annie's saloon, where dancing was enjoyed by all. The food at the school was enjoyed by none because it was nauseating. We are still trying to figure out how the Canadians could grow so big on such a diet. We suspect that they mix growth hormones in with their feed. The Dartmouth teams put up a valiant effort, but succumbed to the unfamiliar climate and lack of canoeing events. The men and women both came in 8th, which is an important number in some numerological systems. David Weissberger '00 did not win the axe throw.

We attended two meets this spring which I do remember, but I am not supposed to write about them, so you'll have to wait till next year to find out that David Weissberger '00 won the axe throw at the UMO meet.

Now that my intercollegiate woodsmen's' competition career is over, I can ponder what I have learned. Which is that all sports are stupid, except for forestry. And also that we only triumph through the ineptitude of others, so it's better not to do too well because that means someone else must do badly. And though it may seem paradoxical, I have learned to appreciate the beauty and complexity of our forests since I began cutting down trees. The old-time logging tools have a grace and elegance that matches the trees they were used on. Think on the chainsaw to see how much our attitude toward the woods has changed. Ugh. Thanks to all the foresters who made it so much fun!

David Weissberger '00

Ore Hill Shelter Report

The Atwell Hilton was scheduled for destruction in the winter of 2000. So, to prepare for the departure of the old beast, we began clearing the sight for the Ore Hill shelter in the fall of 98. We decided at that point that we wanted the shelter to be made entirely with handtools, so we didn't use chain saws or other power-tools at any point in the process. In the winter and spring of '99 we logged the spruce trees that became the raw material for the structure of the shelter. All the logging was done under human power, so we only brought down trees within dragging distance. We spent a week over the interim between spring and summer terms finishing the last of the logging, peeling the logs, bucking the tools and other prefabricated materials up to the site, and getting the foundation built. Then, over the summer and fall terms of '99 we put up the walls. Winter term 2000 we finished the shelter and spent our first night in it. The temperature dropped to 50 below, and the stars were beautiful.

Scruffy and Serene,

Morgan Heater '01

Trail Crew Report

Although this year's Summer Trail Crew spent a good part of their time swimming, pulling pranks on the Lodge Crew, and generally fooling around, the group of David Weissberger '00, Tim Bartholomaus '02, and Zach Goldstein '02 did get some work done with our foreman Larry Hathorn. Besides the annual firewood cutting for all of the cabins, we spent a good amount of time this summer fixing up Hinman Cabin. We constructed a brand new roof on top of the old one (which happened to be slanted, causing us to have to take off half of the new roof and re-adjust it to better accommodate the slant) while slapping black flies left and right during our first week. Returning the third week, we built a new dock, cut out some new windows to replace some of the light we removed when we covered up the old skylight, and replaced the bunkbeds.

We also spent two weeks this summer doing trail work on the Appalachian Trail just outside of Hanover; the trail now has a beautiful new string of stepping stones, a gorgeous new 150 foot long drainage ditch, and a wealth of new waterbars between Velvet Rocks and Three Mile Road.

On our way to the Second College Grant, we stopped at Billings for a week to add some insulation, to build an extension to the woodshed, and to get in a little bit of hiking in the Presidentials despite the mysterious odors that kept coming from our bean-based dinners. Two weeks in the College Grant found us primarily supplying firewood to the cabins and getting a tan at Slewgundy, although we also spent a couple of days cutting some new trail (thanks largely to the help of Lorraine's huge bushhog and our chainsaws). Of course, no summer would be complete without the requisite prank wars between us and the lodge crew – we found McKenney turned into a forest, fire pit and all, after our week at Billings, we found the truck filled with popcorn before our first trip to the grant, and we got a wonderful Christmas holiday at the end of our second week in the grant. But we made sure to fight back, stacking firewood to the ceiling in the lodge kitchen, creating a scavenger hunt to find race car driver Bobby LaBonte on the mountain, and covering Bobby with the burnt, oily popcorn from the truck.

A great summer was had by all, from the trail work to the marvelous hikes to the general relaxing time at the Lodge itself. The Lodge Crew definitely deserves our thanks for filling our bottomless stomachs every night after work, as does Larry for his great attitude and for teaching us so much about the trails and cabins. Spending so much time outdoors has inspired all of us, I think, to be happy, active outdoorsmen.

Zach Goldstein '02
Tim Bartholomaus '02
David Weissberger '00

Diner Tour Report

Led last spring by almost-Council Anthony Accurso '99, Diner Tour gained momentum reaching epical proportions in the fall and winter of this year stressing cultural awareness of the area. DinerToure (formerly known as Diner Tour) adopted Wednesday as the official day of DinerToure and is now more regular than the lunar cycle. The discovery of Blanch and Bill's Pancake House in Bridgewater Corners, VT was without a doubt the most epical trip and included two hours of driving and two hours of eating. We continue to attract many students otherwise uninvolved in Cabin and Trail as we forge friendships with diner waitresses throughout New England.

DinerDude '02
[Editor's Note: a.k.a. Joe Cloyd '02]

Cycling Club

1999 was a year of growth for the cycling club. While we noticed significant expansion in member numbers, perhaps the most awesome growth was in the range of activities enjoyed by the club. Further, interaction between the cycling club and the rest of the DOC flourished.

Spring of 1999 brought road racing season to the club, and both old and new faces competed in races across the northeast. The road team won the div. II championships in both individual and team points.

Spring also provided the club opportunities for the expansion of new activities. The first annual mountain bike trials exhibition, coupled with the all-DOC day, was a resounding success. Of course, group rides and feeds with club members were ever-present. Most significant was the addition of a weekly ride designated for new riders.

Fall term continued the momentum of the spring. Mountain bike races were enjoyed as part of the collegiate mountain bike season. As part of fall weekend, a large group (14) ride to the Ravine Lodge was established. This began (or resurrected) a tradition that will certainly continue this spring and hopefully for many years to come. This was also a great way to ensure that the cycling club remains connected to the DOC. The highlight of fall term was the creation of a relationship with the Upper Valley MTB Association in an effort to ensure trail access. This was deemed an important step to ensuring the member's enjoyment and stewardship of the area, with trail closures becoming more and more frequent (e.g. Boston Lot). Finally, group rides and club feeds were commonplace and help strengthen our membership.

Ryan Jones '00

Environmental Studies Division

It's been a busy year for ESD! Spring was mostly focused on Earth Day activities, organized by Becky Lothrop. It was a two part event, starting Thursday with tables outside of Collis on various environmental issues, ranging from population to national forests. We gave away leftover enviro-mugs to people who signed an ecopledge and held a raffle which could be entered by using reusable dishes at Collis or the Hop. Professors Dana Meadows and Lee Lynd spoke that evening on sustainable energy. Saturday was spent working out at the Organic Farm, with a wonderful potluck and dancing to Riverbed finishing off the day. Our other spring projects included the Greening of the Ivies conference and education.

We'd been interested in working on environmental education for quite a while, so when Kate Turpin mentioned the possibility of working with her hometown, Orford, we jumped at the chance. We went in to work with the 7th and 8th graders about once a week and also did several field trips to learn about streams, marshes, and organic farming. Spring was a great success and the kids loved it. We've continued the project, though fall and winter were much more difficult, due both to the weather and fewer people with time to dedicate to it. We still managed to do several activities each term, and hope to continue to be involved.

We started off the fall with an "Environmental Dinner and Rally," held in Collis the first weekend of the term. We cooked a wonderful dinner for over a 100 people, relying primarily on food from the Organic Farm. Alas, the supposedly wonderful speaker droned on and on and on and people slowly drifted out before he finished. For future reference, brief speeches by students or other Dartmouth folk would be much more successful, and certainly cheaper. We did, however, gather lots of new names for our blitz list and lots of interest for the next major event: ECOnference 2000. Held in Philadelphia in mid-October, we sent 28 people for a weekend of inspiring lectures, workshops, and marches with students from all over the country. This being an election year, we had the wonderful opportunity of all the presidential candidates coming to Hanover and other local towns. Partnered with Matt Stembridge '99, a.k.a. Captain Climate, now working for Ozone Action, we worked to focus the candidates' attention on global climate change and other environmental issues.

We also worked a lot on educating ourselves and others, sponsoring speakers from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and Mission: Wolf, and a raptor show from the Vermont Institute of Natural Science. We co-hosted an AGORA, which is run through the Rockefeller Center to promote discussion on important issues. Several of us attended an activism training weekend on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. We tabled on a variety of issues, including presidential candidates' environmental positions, protecting roadless areas in national forests, promoting use of reusable dishes and silverware in Collis, and "compost fairying," a friendly reminder for people to sort their trash correctly. We held many ecostews – dinner discussions with guests such as Scott Stokoe, the Organic Farm manager and Kevin Evans the College forester. We also, of course, went on several trips, ranging from just hanging out at a cabin to a three day weekend of snowshoeing and skiing in fresh snow and 20 below up at the Grant this winter. Erica Mintzer organized an alternative spring break trip to Costa Rica that we co-sponsored with the Tucker Foundation.

All in all, it's been a good year. It's sometimes seemed that we were a little directionless, but then some big opportunity would come along and we'd manage to end up with more than we could handle doing. Last spring, we received the Milton Sims Kramer Group Award, for the campus organization that had contributed most to Dartmouth. The $1000 prize was contributed to the purchase of organic cotton shirts for freshman trips. We hope to continue to be an active presence on campus, as there's still lots of room for improvement.

Molly Redmond '02

Mountaineering Club

The Dartmouth Mountaineering Club had quite a productive year in 1999, with many climbers doing ascents in a number of places, some far away. The year started off with a few dedicated ice climbers clawing up challenging lines at Cannon and Cathedral. Bart Paull and Fred Wilkinson did the Black Dike a number of times, and Bart and Jim Hotaling did a one-day ascent Repentence and Remission (all WI-5), two of the more difficult water-ice falls in the state. As for the rock climbing, most effort was vented indoors, with a large crew of people training for the spring. Dartmouth climbers competed at three intercollegiate competitions, placing people in the top rankings of each one, highlighted by Tom Pasquini coming in first at Middlebury.

Spring Break was an enormous success, taking thirty people, many of whom were quite inexperienced, for a tour out west at Jack's Canyon and Joshua Tree. While the climbers enjoyed the nice sport routes of Jack's, aided by the relaxed rating system out west, the second week at Joshua Tree saw a lot more "chilling" than climbing. Nevertheless, Matt Holmes sent the bouldering test-piece "Stem Jim (V5)," and Thad Law bagged "Caveman (V8)," avoiding the hot California sun. Brian Garton documented the trip with an amazing video, which also caught Justin Neumann sending a 5.12d.

Spring Term came on fast, with the weather getting warm in a hurry; cooped-up rock climbers eagerly came out of the confines of the gym to attack the granite of New Hampshire and beyond. Alex Lowe visited, and gave an inspiring slide show about an expedition to Antarctica. Most DMC trips went to Rumney for sport climbing; yet, there was a quiet surge in traditional climbing among. There were a number of trips to the Gunks; High Exposure saw dozens of ascents, and Matt Holmes sent the Buddha (V7), an upside-down bouldering problem at the base of the cliffs. Bart Paull continued his alpine training sessions at Cannon, climbing almost every route there with various people, including Fred Wilkinson, Jim Hotaling and Page Kyle. The most ridiculous of these outings was a speed ascent of the six-pitch Whitney-Gilman ridge: Bart and Jim, car-to-car in less than two hours!

During Green Key Weekend, John Waldman, Page Kyle, and Thad Law headed South for a five day climbing/driving adventure at the Red River Gorge in Kentucky. While the trip only led to a handful of successful ascents, the three worked dozens of problems on the overhanging, pocketed sandstone found only in Kentucky.

For those climbers who were in Hanover during the summer, the relaxed classes and long days provided ideal conditions for cranking full-time; people climbed every weekend, and often during the week. Fred Wilkinson and Scott Weintraub climbed Vertigo (5.9 A0), a difficult line on Cannon featuring a pendulum swing three hundred feet up!

Fall marked an extremely active term for the DMC as a whole; Ben Miller, Chris Leander and Chris Reidy spent the whole term trekking in Nepal, bouldering when they got the chance. There were two trips to the Gunks on successive weekends; one of them involved four members finding themselves in the Lost City, an amazing series of cliffs unknown to the bulk of the climbing population. This outing featured John Joline and Page Kyle sending Pleasure Dome (5.12a); John got it on his first try since he did it twenty years ago! Page, Scott and Bart also pulled down an impressive assortment of 5.10s on these trips, and Bart and Fred "flashed" Shockley's Ceiling, Vulgarian style. Rumney was under attack the whole term, highlighted by Matt Holmes' red-point of Butt Bongo (5.13a). As it got cold, a core of climbers frequented the hard lines at Rumney, taking advantage of numbed fingertips to crank out normally-painful climbs! Mark Synnot gave a slide show on Great Trango Tower, spending the night telling stories to a crew of alpine climbers who have big plans for 2000.

Page Kyle, co-chair

Ski Patrol

The 1999-2000 season was perhaps the strongest season that we have seen in recent memory. We saw many positive changes and events for the Dartmouth Ski Patrol, including new projects, new members, and new equipment.

As was mentioned in last year's report, the OEC class was moved to the spring. While a spring OEC class is unusual by NSP standards, we found that it greatly improved the sense of continuity and camaraderie amongst incoming patrollers. We are now truly a year-round organization.

Fall was, as usual, our busiest term organizationally speaking. Despite an increase in the selectivity of our recruiting practices, we received such an abundance of applicants that our initial apprentice class size included almost 60 S.P.I.T.s (Ski Patrollers In Training). With a group as large as this, we decided that it was necessary to do as much as we could to make the new members feel like part of the group. Along with our usual B.S.I. lecture, Lift-Evac Training, and CPR-First-Aid training for the apprentices, we included a work day on the Skiway. We found that making the apprentices hike up the mountain with packs, and play in the mud for a day really brought the group together. On a side note, it should be mentioned that we also provided an OEC challenge exam in the Fall. This allowed us to both let a select few students with EMT training join patrol directly, and refresh existing members of our patrol who would be off in the winter due to the D-Plan.

Winter term went well as usual. We successfully treated a wide variety of accidents, and many of our Apprentices saw quite a bit of on-mountain training. An outstanding difference between this winter, and those of the past, was the fact that we needed to hand-select apprentices for our OEC class. By season's end we had over 40 apprentices meeting our basic requirements for the apprentice year. Unfortunately, we are only able to accommodate 18 apprentices in our OEC class this spring. As a group, the officers of patrol hand selected the 18 most qualified apprentices to join the OEC class. Despite the difficulty in selecting this year's OEC class, I am confident that it will be one of the best that Patrol has seen in recent memory.

Unfortunately, the time has come for me to graduate. I have passed the reigns of Director into the capable hands of Tom Campbell. The class of officers is strong this year, and for the first time that I know of the DOC president is a member of patrol. The Skiway will begin construction on a new lodge this coming year which should provide patrol with a proper aid room at the bottom of the mountain. I see a bright future for the Dartmouth Ski Patrol.

Respectfully submitted,

Paul Krakow OEC
Patrol Director '98-'00

Snowboarding Club

The Snowboarding Club had another active year, despite a late start on the snow season. Last spring kicked off with 25 of us heading to British Columbia, skiing and riding at Whistler/ Blackcomb- a crazy time. Spring term boasted a couple of late season days at Killington plus an epic day at Tuckerman's Ravine, Mount Washington. Our first day of the new season was October 29, with 2 trails open at Killington we got a crew of folks to head up and take over the mountain. The snow was grainy and slushy, and the truck ride from the gondola to the snow was muddy and windy, but hey, it was OCTOBER. A couple more days at Killington, some ski/board tuning clinics, and a winter break trip to Sugarbush organized by Ryoji Takeyama '00 finished off the term. Several club members also worked at liaisons for the American Skiing Company, selling All East college passes for dirt cheap to their friends, and getting a free pass in return to the ASC resorts on the East Coast- Killington, Sugarbush, Sugarloaf, Attitash Bear Peak, Sunday River, and Mount Snow. This winter, several of the club's active members took some time off from school to devote themselves to their passion, including Brett Golden '99 and Adam Wilson '02 who spent the winter in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Brad Crevier '01, Lydia Dixon '01, and Melanie Watts '99 lived in Park City, Utah, working at the newest ASC resort, The Canyons. The spring break trip returned to Jackson Hole this year, the same destination as 1997 Spring Break, for a fun-filled week hucking off boulders and dropping cliffs, notably the infamous Corbet's Couloir. All in all, another good year for the club, with more months spent on the mountains than off, and plenty of psyched talented '03s coming onto the scene. As we always sign our blitzes, PRAY FOR SNOW!!

Lydia Dixon '01

Winter Sports Club

This winter witnessed a continuance of the activities of the Winter Sports Club. Having been relatively quiet in the last few years, we returned with a host of trips and activities this winter.

Together with the Snowboarding Club we led several trips to local ski resorts, such as Killington and Sugarbush. These one day trips allowed many people who do not have cars to go out and ski at various areas. Conditions were mixed at times due to the fickle weather, but all had a great time.

We also continued to organize a seminar on avalanche prediction, safety, and rescue techniques with several other clubs. This seminar, involved an overnight to Mt. Washington, a hike up to Hojos, a lecture by the Snow Ranger at Mt. Washington, and various drills taught by Brian Kunz. We then skied down the Sherbourne trail. This seminar was extremely fun, educational, and managed to bring together a diverse group from various clubs in the DOC. We hope this activity will continue again into next year.

For the future we would like to obtain space for our members to tune their equipment and are very interested in the recent proposal of obtaining a DOC house. In addition, we would like to branch out to include snowshoeing, XC-ski trips and possibly winter camping, perhaps in cooperation with other clubs. We're looking forward to a productive and exciting spring term and year ahead.

Thomas Levi '01

Women in the Wilderness

This was a laid back year for Women in the Wilderness, both fun and frustrating. The 99's and 00's who had led it in the past were ready to pass it on to new women, but come the start of fall term, nobody had stepped up. After a little pleading from Lydia at the end of the first Directorate meeting, Becky Lothrop and I agreed to give it a shot.

We continued the tradition of Sunday night dinners, but with mixed results. Early in the term, we combined one with harvesting at the Organic Farm, and around 25 women showed up. Other weeks, however, we were lucky if there were five of us. We were in a similar situation with our other activities. Women flocked to the gym for women-only intro climbing days, but only a few showed up for mountain biking. The next week, however, fifteen people showed up at 7 a.m. for a early morning hike up to Velvet Rocks. The people who came always had fun, but it was frustrating to spend so much time organizing events that often ended up with only a few people. We did have a wonderful trip to Moosilauke later in the term, though, topped off by heading to bed around 6 p.m. and getting twelve hours of sleep before a little hiking in the morning and then returning to Hanover. Winter continued much along the same lines, this term with Beth Huston co-chairing as well. We combined our Sunday night dinners with snowshoeing in Pine Park which was always a great way to end the weekend, but had varying levels of attendance. The highlight of the term was the annual winter camping trip, lead by Walker Holmes. We spent most of the day setting up our tent, and the trusty stove kept us more than comfortably warm, despite the pipe falling out in the middle of the night, necessitating an emergency repair job.

I'm not sure what the future will bring for Women in the Wilderness. It's been a struggle to find people who would like to continue to lead it, understandably. We never felt like we had the time to devote to really getting this club together, partially because it was just two or three of us doing all the work. At the same time, the club serves a worthy function as being very accessible to many who are not otherwise involved in the DOC and I'd like to see it flourish. Hopefully we will find a group of women with the time and energy to make that happen.

Molly Redmond '02

 

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