Privy Counselor

DURING THE SUMMER of 1923 the student crew of the Summit Camp on Mt. Moosilauke was faced with an odoriferous problem. The six-holer outhouse was overflowing. Rolf Christian "Doc Sy" Syvertsen, an avid outdoorsman and scientist, knew that concentrated sulfuric acid could desiccate organic matter. All the crew had to do was to carry (carefully!) a couple gallons of it up the mountain and pour it down the six holes. Presto! The problem would be solved.

The result was volcanic, or perhaps more aptly, geyseric. The accumulated mass of sludge boiled and seethed and let off voluminous clouds of sulfuric stench that hung like a foul cloud over the summit. But there was very little decrease in the sludge. Some say the cloud could be seen from miles away. The following summer chemical toilets were installed on the summit.

adapted from David O. Hoove's history ofthe Dartmouth Outing Club

Mount Moosilauke: Summer 1923.