Discussion Held At Dartmouth in 1910 To Find Way of Keeping Outdoors in Winter Resulted in Skiing Interest

To the average student who attends college in or near a city, it may be a somewhat difficult matter to imagine the possibilities that offer themselves to the country-bred student for an escape from the artificialities of our all too complex civilization.

At Dartmouth there naturally sprang into existence some years ago an organization known as the Dartmouth Outing Club, formed to give some kind of expression to the desires of the undergraduate body to get out of doors. It may seem strange, with the facilities for such an organization available since the very founding of Dartmouth College, that a start was not made before 1910.

At any rate, according to the college chroniclers, the new era began in 1910 when Fred H. Harris of Brattleboro, Vermont, the first proficient ski runner and ski jumper to enter Dartmouth, awakened and organized those outdoor instincts which had been dormant so long. A gathering of some twenty-five students and a few faculty men discussed ways and means for getting the college out of doors in winter; and a public meeting shortly afterwards, gave birth to the Dartmouth Outing Club, with 50 or 60 enthusiastic members. On successive Saturdays this primeval flock of snowshoera waddled noisily forth from the campus behind a few lively skiers to climb hills in the vicinity of Hanover, Etna, or Norwich, their odd clothing and clumsy gait provoking more derision than enthusiasm in college circles.

But winter sports and all out-of-door activity in general were not destined to remain for long the laughing stock of the college. The popularity of the new sport of skiing grew at an amazing rate. Soon there was scarcely a man in college without his pair of skis, and the highways and byways around Hanover were all given over to the demands of this new sport. Several different kinds of skis appeared, old too straps gave place to daredevil harnesses, and "telemark" and "christiana" turns became topics of general discussion. It is said that the college had never fallen so quickly for any other new sport as it did in 1910 for skiing.

As the years went by and winter sports continued to hold a popular place among other campus activities, it became the custom each year for a certain period to be set aside during the winter for the holding of winter athletics of all kinds.

Contests in skiing, ski-jumping, speed skating, figure skating, and snowshoeing were engaged in, and soon intercollegiate competition became the order of the day, such opponents as McGill, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Princeton being taken on.

The modern form of Winter Carnival is something of which Dartmouth has always been proud. It has become more established with the years until it is now a permanent feature of winter activity in Hanover. It attracts hundreds of visitors yearly, so a short explanation of its main highlights may attract a few more.

For the gala occasion the campus is decorated as it is at no other time during the year. A large, well-sculptured statue of ice, generally of some revered son of Dartmouth, stands at a prominent spot on the campus. The fraternities also take great pains to brighten their thresholds with ice and snow sculptures, many of which are electrically illuminated, so that in general a holiday air prevails.

On the first night of festivities the famous coronation of the Queen of the Carnival is held. A large castle is erected on the golf course. Beneath it is the specially-made figure-skating rink, where an exhibition later takes place. Fireworks of all descriptions are exploded, and with a background of white snow the effect is one of unrivalled beauty. Then follows the storming of the castle by King Winter and his court of skiers and the ceremonies of the evening swing under way.

After the formal opening of the Carnival, many different features vie with each other to attract the visitor's attention. The Dartmouth Players present their mid-winter attraction, and fraternity dances are held, climaxed on the last evening with the Carnival Hall. During the day athletic contests take place, not only winter sports but also varsity swimming and basketball.

And so when Time at last decrees an end to festivities, it is sometimes a rather difficult matter to return to the ordinary classroom routine.