When the temperature drops and snow covers Hanover, many Dartmouth students celebrate coming of the winter season by heading for the hills -- the hills of the golf course, that is.
When covered in snow, the greens, hills and fairways of the course become perfect for sledding, or "traying," one of the time-honored traditions of Winter term that becomes even more popular during Winter Carnival Weekend.
Carrying everything from inner-tubes and sleds to pilfered Dartmouth Dining Services trays, over the years many students have enjoyed the rush of coasting through the New Hampshire countryside.
Traditionally, first-year students head for the hill on the golf course called "freshman hill" after the first snowfall of the year.
Although rain and unseasonably warm temperatures have prevented sledding for most of this winter, many students went sledding at the end of Fall term or during the beginning of January.
John Cruz '99, who is from Hawaii, said he went sledding for the first time at the end of Fall term.
Cruz said he was hesitant at first, since he had never seen snow until he came to Dartmouth and did not know what to expect.
After experiencing the wonders of sliding at high speeds down the icy golf course though, Cruz said "once you go sledding, you don't regret it."
Cruz said he has a tray from Home Plate, but he opted to sled using a Full Fare tray instead.
If there is enough snow during this Winter Carnival weekend, Cruz said he wants to go sledding again. "There will probably be a big crowd then," he said, "but that just makes it all the more fun."
Beth Walsh '99 said she went sledding at the beginning of January and there were many students out on the golf course.
"We went at some obscene hour like three in the morning and there were probably 30 people out there with sleds," Walsh said.
But sledding on the golf course is hardly risk-free -- Dick's House always treats several students for injuries they incur while sledding, according to Charlene Bradley, inpatient department manager for the College Health Service.
Bradley said several students came in at the beginning of Fall term with head and neck injuries, lacerations and injured hips, shoulders and ankles.
Peter Hasenkamp '98 said he was a casualty of sledding last winter.
Despite having "whacked his head with the tray," resulting in an injury that required six stitches, Hasenkamp said, "That didn't stop me from sledding."
Tucker Rossiter, associate director of dining services, said in past years, when winter came, DDS encouraged students to take old trays by separating and marking them -- in effect telling the students that if they are going to steal, they should steal the trays in the worst condition. This supply of trays has since been exhausted, Rossiter said.
Rossiter said Dining Services usually loses 50 to 100 trays each winter, but they have not noticed a lot this year. He added that they have not lost as many trays in the last few years as they used to.
He said the shortage of trays is most noticeable during the dinner rush in Food Court.
Dining trays cost three to four dollars apiece, Rossiter said, and DDS has "been known to send a truck out to the golf course to get trays that students have left there."
Due to their larger size and sturdier quality, "Thayer trays are a better product for sledding," he said.
Some students were not as eager to use the DDS trays as sledding vehicles though. Sarah Mullin '98 wrote in an electronic-mail message that she felt badly about stealing trays from Thayer, so she asked for an inflatable tube to sled in for Christmas. "Plus the [DDS] trays aren't very cushiony," she added.
While stealing DDS trays to slide down the golf course is hardly a College-sanctioned activity, College Proctor Bob McEwen still offered some basic rules that students should follow when they go sledding.
"Although it is not posted, people should follow the standard speed limit of 15 miles per hour, " McEwen said.
He said there should only be one student per dining tray, and sledders should stay in line and not pass each other.
McEwen added no one should go sledding alone, and it is better to carry a light stick at night "so if there is congestion on the hill, at least people will avoid running into one another."
According to rumor, it is better to butter or grease the bottom of the tray, especially when there is little snow or deep snow, but it is not necessary in ice, according to McEwen.
