During the early Winter Carnivals, five horses towed groups of skijoring students down Wheelock Street. At night, figure skaters took to the ice on Occom Pond, and College officials crowned the Carnival Queen. In the 100 years since the inaugural Carnival, these traditions, and a number of others, have been discontinued, but the fraternity parties and musical performances live on.
Until the 1960s, the Dartmouth Outing Club organized and managed Winter Carnival which, during its early years, was largely centered around athletic events. The College hosted athletes from 13 colleges who competed in ski relay races, ski jumping, snowshoe dashes, cross-country runs and obstacle races. Crowds of students, alumni and other visitors numbering in the thousands.
Outdoor Evening, an event that took place on Occom Pond, featured music, a figure skating show, fireworks and the crowning of the Carnival Queen. In 1935, World Champion figure skater Evelyn Chandler ended her nation-wide exhibition tour by performing during Outdoor Evening.
Carnival Ball, a tradition that began a few years after the first Carnival and soon became the highlight of the weekend, was discontinued in the 1970s. Some speculated that the termination of this tradition came as a result of the admission of women to the College, which rendered the opportunity to invite girls from other institutions unnecessary.
Even so, Rick Sarner '77, who attended the College in the early years of coeducation, said he and his friends enjoyed inviting dates from home or from another institution to the festivities.
"Since there was a three-to-one [man-to-woman] ratio, getting someone to be your date was always a centerpiece," Sarner said.
The ski jump surpassed the Carnival Ball in longevity and was only withdrawn from the Carnival agenda in the early 1990s. Ski jumpers used to fly off the wooden ramp constructed on the Hanover Golf Club green and land distances of up to 45 feet away. Sarner said that going to see the jumpers was his favorite part of the weekend.
"It was pretty neat to stand right next to the jump and see them fly off of it," Sarner said.
The ski jump was removed from the Winter Carnival schedule when the sport was dropped by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
The brothers of Psi Upsilon fraternity created a makeshift ice rink on the lawn of their house to host the first infamous keg jump in 1982. Participants put on hockey skates and pads to jump over as many side-by-side kegs as they could. Brendan Mitchell '92 set a record when he broke his collar bone while leaping over 13 kegs. In 2001, the College discontinued the event due to safety concerns.
Another bygone fraternity tradition was Alpha Chi Alpha fraternity's luge track, which was constructed to run from the second floor balcony of the house to the front lawn.
Several of the lost Carnival traditions have reappeared in recent years, and some will be brought back this year in celebration of Carnival's centennial. Students may attend the Carnival Ball on Friday at the Hopkins Center for the Arts.
Residential buildings, Greek houses and other groups may construct ice sculptures outside of their respective facilities, a once-popular tradition that declined during the 1970s. These sculptures will be judged by a committee comprised of administrators, faculty members, staff members and students.
