Hi there!! My name is Martin, and I'm thrilled to be a '27 blogger for People Places Pines! A small rural town in Maine called Veazie is where I call home, and I can't wait to tell you about what life at Dartmouth is like! Carving the slopes in the winter, hiking through woods in autumn, or basking in the Green in spring and summer, that's where you'll find me! Stay tuned for everything Big Green!
The Dartmouth Skiway is Dartmouth's own ski slope—just a short twenty minutes by car or shuttle bus from campus. It's operated by Dartmouth and, in large, run by its students, with students entirely running important programs like Ski Patrol for the entire mountain!
Today, I took my first trip to the Skiway since arriving at Dartmouth for the winter. Unfortunately, we haven't had a whole lot of snowfall in New Hampshire, until Sunday—which made it the perfect day to finally hit the slopes!
The snowfall I woke up to outside of my dorm this morning!
My friends and I left Dartmouth early Sunday morning, headed towards the town of Lyme (north of Hanover) where the Skiway is located. It wasn't an easy drive to the slope, as the snow was really coming down! After the short drive, we grabbed our skis, picked up our season passes (that we bought months ago in preparation for snow!), and hit the slopes.
Today, only three or so of the main trails on the Skiway were open because it's still early in the season. Most days, there are around thirty open trails ranging from the easier (green) to the more difficult (black diamond) trails. However, with the downpour of fresh snow that came from the night before and all throughout the day (it never stopped snowing), those few trails were more than enough to keep us entertained all day long.
A picture of one of the main slopes on the Dartmouth Skiway
Some of my friends had never skied or snowboarded before, so we took some time in the morning to teach and show them all the basics. My favorite part of the day wasn't actually the skiing, but instead the view from the top of the skiway! The downpour of snow was mesmerizing, and it kept each trip back up the mountain on the lift exciting.
My friend Xavier and I on the main slope earlier today!
As a first-year at Dartmouth, you'll likely spend the end of your orientation "First-Year Trip" in the fall (should you choose to go on one—which I recommend you should!) at the Dartmouth Skiway Lodge. Here, you come together at the end of your trip with other trip cohorts of your incoming class, and spend a day or two here playing fun games and getting to know your fellow classmates! I spent the end of my orientation trip at the Skiway lodge, and so it was nice to finally return today—except this time, there was snow and the slopes were finally open!
A picture of the Dartmouth Skiway Lodge from above, in all of its glory
It's safe to say that I'll definitely be returning to the Dartmouth Skiway very soon. I'll update this blog with my other ski adventures when I do!
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!
