THE FIRST SENIOR MOUNT WASHINGTON TRIP
Early in the month of March, a year ago, a party of twenty undergraduates left Hanover for the White Mountains, with the express purpose of making a midwinter ascent of Mount Washington. Many such winter expeditions to the Presidential Range have been undertaken by Dartmouth men in years past, but this particular group of climbers was perhaps as unique as any within the history of the Dartmouth Outing Club. All the members were seniors in the class of '27, for the affair had been organized primarily as a senior party; and in addition to the class officers and several members of Palaeopitus it included many men who were leaders in various campus activities. No one in the group could lay claim to any mountain climbing ability, and very few had ever mastered the art of skiing, but now with parka windproof suits and Swiss crampons these twenty adventurous spirits were to bend their energies on scaling the highest mountain in New England. What the result of such an experiment might be, few could predict, for never had the Outing Club run a senior trip before. To increase the novelty as well as to insure the safety of the climb it was to be made from the Base Station via the three and a half mile cog railroad, while the story of this senior party was to be recorded in the annals of the class by a light and portable movie camera.
Seldom has more enthusiasm been seen on a midwinter mountain trip. From the hour of their departure until their return, five days later, the hitherto dignified seniors might easily have been mistaken for a group of schoolboys running away to the circus. Joy was unconfined. At the end of a long day's train ride, the first night, spent at Whitefield, saw the hungry mountaineers commandeer an entire restaurant, and it can truly be said that when the twenty seniors blew in, the proprietor almost "passed out." A high school basketball game and a local dance provided the first evening's entertainment, after which the men were bivouacked for the night in private homes throughout the town.
Next morning saw the arrival of the seniors at Fabyan's, from which they caught their first glimpse of the snowy mountain they were to climb on the morrow. Here they donned their skis and heavy packs for the seven mile trek to the Base Station, and the entire day was then given over to this single ski run. Many of the neophytes confessed they worked harder at this stage of the trip than they did in climbing the mountain, but the experience of looking up to a dozen dazzling peaks while eating lunch after a long hard run, or drinking from the frosty bank of a mountain stream is one they look back upon unanimously with a thrill of pleasure. When the long file of skiers at last drew up in front of the Base Station, with its tortuous line of cog track extending up and out of sight above tree line, they were greeted by John Coreau, the winter keeper of the Base. Still hale and hearty in his sixtyeighth year, Old John is a picturesque mountain character. As host to the party for two days he did his best to give everyone a good time. The whole Base Station building with its beds and blankets and heated rooms was at the disposal of the seniors, who promptly proceeded to encamp. The exertions of the day's ski trip were sufficient to put most of the men to bed early that night, but the lure of a good bridge game kept a few inveterate card players awake until the wee hours of the morning.
Promptly at seven o'clock the activities of the climbing day began, for although the summit of Washington was hidden in drifting clouds it was deemed advisable to go through with the scheduled plans. By the time the men were dressed a hearty meal w;as ready for them, after which lunches were prepared, packs were adjusted, and the mountain climbing gear was put in order. Shortly before ten o'clock the expedition set out. Old John waved farewell, and the long line of seniors set off up the track. For many it was their first snowshoeing experience as well, but the snow was crusty and easy to walk on. After crossing Ammonoosuc brook on the high trestle the rest of the climb to tree line was just routine work. A long rest was taken at the Half Way House, and the crampons were put on there. Beyond this point the bleak and treeless snowfields of the mountain extended on to the summit, and. the icy trestles of the cog road added difficulties to the climb. Parka suits were donned when the windswept areas were reached, and from then on there were thrills enough to satisfy the boldest. The movie camera in the expert hands of Harv Jones took some fine views of the men scaling Jacob's Ladder and bucking the wind at the Gulf Tanks. A few inquisitive individuals ventured to explore the headwall of the Great Gulf, and others showed a lively interest in the frost feathers on the watertanks, and the monument beside the track, which marks the site of the first mountain casualty. However, clouds obscured most of the Northern Peaks, and light snow flurries made it wise to reach the top as quickly as possible. A few men found the going hard toward the last, but by taking plenty of time and a little grit every man on the trip reachedthe top.
The scene in Camden Cottage, the winter shelter hut, will long be remembered by these Dartmouth men. The first climbers reached the summit at one o'clock, and built a roaring fire in the little stove, on which they melted ice for drinking, and heated several cans of soup. Sweaty clothing was removed and hung up to dry; and a few tired mountaineers stretched out full length on mattresses to rest. The stove was the nucleus for twenty in this one small room. Josh Davis supervised the manufacture of drinking water, and gave each man a number which he called out in turn as often as enough ice had melted to fill a glass. An hour was thus spent at the summit in resting and preparing for the descent. When all were again dressed in their parkas a group movie was taken in front of the Summit House. Flurries of snow and dubious weather made it unwise to venture down to the Lakes of the Clouds so the return was made on the railroad.
Supper that night was the big feed of the trip—in fact it was a banquet. An ancient grand piano furnished college music, and the big 1927 Dartmouth banner on the wall increased the atmosphere of a real class pow-wow. Old John Coreau had a seat of honor, and entertained the company with Canuck humor. Gorged with food, and self-satisfied with their mountain climbing prowess the seniors retired for the rest of the evening to the comfort of the wood stove, their pipes, and their bridge games.
The final day at the Base was spent in various climbs and trips, and on the following morning the party retraced its steps to Fabyan's and embarked for Hanover. "Satisfaction" is hardly a sufficient term to apply to the feelings of all connected with the first senior expedition. Moreover, this story would not be complete without mentioning the royal tip that was left with the venerable host at the Base, which prompted him to say of his visitors, "They were all mighty good boys."
A rest at the Summit
Coming down the Cog Railroad
Passing the Mount Washington Hotel on the way home
On the platform at the Tip Top House
