Most memorable experience thus far

I neglected to post these a while back, I asked all the first years around the beginning of October to tell me their most memorable experience thus far.   Here were the answers, at least at that point.

Ben Ogden: Pittsfield, MA

So far, I think that a really fun and certainly exciting memory was our hike up St. Regis the other week.  Though the RUN up wasn't necessarily that fun, once we got to the top, I was very satisfied with what we had just accomplished.  There were incredible views of the Adirondacks and the lakes in the valleys in between.  It was an unforgettable site.  I think all hikes are good as long as there is a worthy reward at the top.

Leah Hart: Meredith, NH

There have been many memorable moments, probably too many to count, but there is a certain practice that sticks out in my mind. Some of the girls and I trekked through Canton one oddly warm, humid Sunday morning to classic rollerski on the road of Hell. This is no joke. Never ski on 310, never. First of all, the shoulder was coated with a layer of dead frogs/frog body parts/frog guts. It was a Frogger gone way wrong. Once I got over the gross-ness of the situation it was a remotely fun pastime to dodge them in hopes of taking my mind of the second component of this horrible, terrible, never-to-repeat-again ski. The road was flat. All flat. No hills and no turns. There were fields to the left and fields to the right. (Oh yeah we saw a dead deer and skunk too). So here we are double poling through a flat war zone of decay and destruction. But wait it got worse; here came the third piece of the Perfect Storm. After an hour of double pole we decide to turn home. When Libby, Caroline, and I started the endless pole back to campus we noticed something was different. Yes some of the frogs were gone by this point, but with less frogs had arrived a headwind! Awesome. Taking turns leading and experimenting with aerodynamic formations, we struggle against the headwind (while drafting off the occasional Amish wagon)barely making it back to campus. Yes there was the option to go the way of the frogs, deer, and skunk, but we poled on...and on. We eventually made it home. We try to put that day out of our minds as a way to cope, but unfortunately I think it got the best of us....

Adam Terko: Shelburn, VT

So far one of my favorite experiences here was doing rollerski intervals with little kids standing outside yelling "Go USA! Go USA!" when we skied by.

Kelly Prime: Canajoharie, NY

I would definitely have to say that mine was getting an alpine start (3am) on my Pre-O trip and hiking to the top of Mt. Colden for the sunrise.