Mother Nature dumped 40 inches of snow in Hanover over the last few weeks, the most since 1980, and Dartmouth students are finding creative ways to enjoy the weather.
The freezing temperatures, the coldest in five years, are not deterring students from skiing, sledding, skating and wrestling in the snow.
"Saturday morning at 5:30 a.m. when it was minus10 degrees, me and a buddy of mine stripped down to our boxers and ran outside and dove into a snow pile," Mike Messina '97 said.
The National Weather Service reported a high temperature of six degrees in Concord, N.H. yesterday and predicted that the frigid temperatures will continue until the weekend.
Temperatures will climb slowly with an expected high of 15 degrees tomorrow, according to Paul Denault of the National Weather Service. By Sunday, the temperatures should reach freezing, he added.
"What we've been in for the last month is classical New England type weather. We're in an icebox," Paul Denault of the National Weather Service said.
Denault said arctic high pressure systems are responsible for this week's weather conditions.
Students have each found their own ways of dealing with the cold temperatures.
"A great way to make the cold seem not so cold is to sneak up behind your friend when you're walking through the green, stick your foot out, and push him into the snow with a mighty heave. That way, he is more cold than you," Billy Bassett '96, an exchange student from the University of California at San Diego.
Both Chad Kessler '94 and Steve Fagell '95 suggest wearing many layers of clothes to deal with the cold.
"Let's just say that it's weather like this that reminds me why I took last winter off. My strategy for dealing with the cold is to wear lots of layers, to walk as quickly as possible to minimize time spent outside and to think about where I might go for spring break," Fagell said.
"Dartmouth is so great because it's one of the few schools where you can experience the tundra first hand," Fagell said.
The frigid temperatures, combined with the recent snowfall, make this week's conditions especially challenging for those not accostomed to Hanover's harsh winters.
"First, I did some sledding, but now I'm just scared. I come from South Florida where if it goes down to 40 overnight, it's big news and they start warning people," Claude Gayle '96 said. "Below zero might as well be absolute zero as far as I am concerned."
Kelley Hart '97, a South California native, said she is trying to make the most of her new winter environment.
"I tried cross country skiing for the first time ever, went skating on a real frozen pond for the first time ever and flew down freshman hill wrapped in a plastic bag for the first time ever," she said.
Dartmouth has not received this much snow in January since 1980, John Gratiot, associate director of Facilities, Operations and Management, said.
He said this year has been particularly difficult for the crews responsible for keeping the roads and sidewalks clear.
"The storms like this past one have been very hard. People plowed for about 33 hours straight with maybe a four hour break," Gratiot said in reference to Monday's storm.
The weather has affected Hanover businesses as well. While Main Street shops like Pizzazz have seen a decrease in customers, business has increased for the Dartmouth Skiway and local restaurants offering delivery.
Maureen Dowd, a manager at Everything But Anchovies, said deliveries have increased about 45 percent over last month and added that business always improves when the weather gets colder.
The Skiway has a snow base of 22 to 60 inches and "people have been coming like there's no tomorrow," said Roger Thompson of the Skiway. The last storm blanketed the Skiway with 20 more inches of snow.
"I have been skiing way too much at the Skiway. The last storm was epic," Andrew Zdrahal '97 said.
The lowest temperature at the Skiway this week was Sunday morning's minus 23 degrees and the highest was 30 degrees on Monday Don Cutter of the Skiway said.
