WITH THE OUTING CLUBS
ON THURSDAY NIGHT, September 26, the Ravine Camp at Mt. Moosilauke burned to the ground. Russel Kirsch '35, acting as assistant manager, was alone in the camp at the time. The kitchen fire had been allowed to go out and Kirsch, a sound sleeper, had gone to bed early. He was aroused about eleven o'clock by the persistent action of the camp kitten who licked his face again and again. Hearing the noise of the fire, he pulled on his dungarees and ran into the living room which was already filled with smoke. The entire kitchen and roof were already in flames. Crawling out one of the living room windows he tried vainly to fight the fire, but the old lumber camp planks, the wall-board partitions, and the tar-paper roof burned so easily that it was already out of control. Fortunately the wind was from the south and blew the flames away from the woodshed and the forest, confining the Club's loss to one building rather than an entire mountain side of timber.
To those close to the College and to alumni who put time and love and enthusiasm into the building of the Ravine Camp, the loss is like the sudden death of a great friend. The three summers and two winters spent in the camp will always be remembered and probably immortalized in the minds of the people who knew the "old" Ravine Camp.
The plans for a new Ravine Camp have been simmering since last spring, and many sketches and ideas have been discussed. Each new plan proved better than the one before it, and in view of the short building season this fall, it was decided that more work be done on the plans and that a final building scheme be approved early next spring. By this method it is hoped that mistakes will be avoided and that there will be an attractive lodge in the Ravine as soon as necessary funds are available.
This sudden emergency has not altered the program for continuing at Moosilauke during the coming winter. An old farmhouse has been leased and preparations for the ski season have begun. The farmhouse is situated on top of a hill directly east of the Libbey farm where the Ravine Camp mail has always been delivered. To reach the farm, follow Ravine Camp signs as far as the Libbey farm and walk from there three hundred yards to the top of "Spy Glass Hill" the present quarters of Dartmouth-at-Moosilauke.
"The Ravine Camp at Spy Glass Hill" is a story-and-a-half house over one hundred years old. There are five rooms downstairs with a long attic above which is being converted into two bunkrooms. Anyone interested in old houses will enjoy the wide floor boards, handwrought hinges, and the pine living room. The old chimney and fireplaces were taken out when stoves came into fashion, but otherwise the original charm remains. A shed attached to the house will be converted into a warm ski room and another shed away from the house will be made into an extra guest house with bunk space for twelve people. Altogether the total accommodations will be 34, with so in the house bunkrooms, twelve in the guest house, and two in a private room.
The open slopes around the house offer perfect practice hills for our ski schools which begin December 21 and continue through January, February, and March. Florian Haemmerle, a young Bavarian who received a very high rating in the Eastern Amateur Ski Association's instructors' class last winter, will be with the Club the entire season. Trips are planned into Jobildunk Ravine, and the use of the trails on Moosilauke is anticipated. A small cabin built near the Ravine Camp last summer will be open on Saturdays and Sundays and skiers will find hot soup, coffee, and sandwiches ready for them.
Because of the fire our list of reservationsfor this winter was lost. Will all those whohave already made reservations for thiswinter please write again so that we maybe completely sure about whom to expect.
D. O. C. House on Occom Pond, Gift of Class of 1900
