Hi everyone! I'm Tess, and I live 30 minutes outside of London. I love everything Dartmouth, including the sunsets, the traditions, the classes, and the merch. I'm super excited to experience everything I read about in this blog over the next four years. Come along with me as I explore the ins and outs of life in the woods.
A course that definitely surprised me, I did not know what to expect and had very little philosophical knowledge before taking this course. It was a mixture of current and past readings, with the final project to make a group video, testing my technological ability. Professor Bumpus was amazing, and I got to know her more when I took her to breakfast at Pine through the Take Your Professor to Lunch Program.
I was recommended to take a history course, specifically a history course with Professor Lu, and it has not disappointed! This course is cross listed with Asian Studies, my major, but it has made me consider a history minor... We start every class off with a song relating to the topic of that class, and then we move on to discussion based activities.
I have had one experience skiing—it was indoors, I was in a class of ten-year-olds (being 18 myself), and I ended up breaking a ski lift. It was embarrassing, to say the least. Anyway, I decided to come back for more, at the Dartmouth Skiway.
The Skiway
watching the Dartmouth Alpine Ski Team, EISA champs (best in the East)!!!
The Dartmouth Skiway is twenty minutes away from campus near Lyme, New Hampshire, and is a fun, family friendly mountain. There are two lifts: Holts and Winslow. On Winslow, there is a bunny slope that I have made a lot of use out of, and then a four-person chairlift that takes you up to 'Howard Chivers,' the main ski run, and then several blues and blacks. Most of the trails are groomed. The racecourse is on Holts, along with 'Big Green' which is the longest trail, and then more challenging runs. The ski lodge (sklodge in Dartmouth lingo) rents equipment with discounts for Dartmouth students and has some great food (I would recommend the chilli). At certain times there is live music as well! In terms of ski passes, the season pass is only $59 for first years, and then $99 for all other Dartmouth students.
Me, in front of the Sklodge
Transport
propping up the phone against a tree to make a TikTok! Didn't go very well…
You might be wondering how students get to the Skiway, twenty minutes away. Well, there is a free, convenient shuttle for all Dartmouth students. It picks up outside of the library and then drops us off at the Skiway. It runs twice a day on weekdays, and every hour on the weekends.
our pre-shredding selfie
Lessons
Back in Fall term, I decided to sign up for lessons through the Dartmouth PE department. All of us who were signed up for lessons got skis (or snowboards) fitted, and then a couple weeks later, we collected our brand-new boots, skis, poles, helmets and goggles in preparation for the lessons. The program is seven lessons long, and there are a range of different times that we could choose from to suit our schedules. This includes multiple times on the weekends as well as weekdays. The lessons and equipment were completely free, all we had to do was buy the $59 season ski pass to the Skiway. And I have made tremendous improvements. I started off barely being able to stop on the bunniest of bunny hills, and then the first time going down a green was so traumatizing I had to call it quits and lay down in the lodge. Now, having completed the program, I can go down runs, not fall, and actually have a good time! All the instructors are enthusiastic Dartmouth students who love skiing. In my group, we had two instructors for three learners.
Skiing
views at Dartmouth Skiway!
Yes, I have struggled while skiing. When I fall down, someone usually has to come over to give me a hand. I have dropped gloves and poles (accidentally) from the chairlift, onto runs that I have no ability to do. Nevertheless, I have had a great time at the Skiway. I have strategically put all my classes in the morning this term, so I love to go skiing in the afternoons. As it is so close to campus, it makes sense to go even just for a couple hours. There is rarely a queue for the lift—I was talking to someone who aims to go on 20 runs in a day! All in all, my skiing experience has been amazing, and I can't wait for next year.
While many people might associate cold, long, snowy winters with hardship, I've found that winter at Dartmouth is full of potential to be just as fun as other seasons.
In just a month, I went from a complete beginner to a proficient skier, smoothly making my way down the green and blue runs at Dartmouth Skiway. Read about my journey and how I made such rapid progress!
I've never felt the saying, "Time flies" more strongly than now. How am I already halfway through my Dartmouth career? This winter marks the end of my 6th out of my total 12 terms, the halfway point of my Dartmouth journey.
