Dartbeat's Winter Term Bucket List
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School-Wide Snowball fight
Originally, the campus-wide snowball fight occurred during the first snowfall of the year. Unfortunately, winterim threw a wrench into this plan and so far the snow conditions have not progressed to snowball throwing levels. I know this because I threw a snowball at a girl yesterday (not to brag) but it fell apart mid-air before she was aware of what happened. So look forward to this event sometime in the near future where the snow acts less like cold sand and more like snow.
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Winter Weekend Celebration of the Second College Grant
Another event to look forward to is the Winter Weekend Celebration of the Second College Grant. It will take place February 20-21 and will include dog sledding, snowshoe trekking, woodland exploring and a ski tour. It costs $40/person ($25/DOC undergrad member) plus cabin rental which seems like a steal for something related to dog-sledding. Contact Julie Bell for cabin rentals and participation fees at (603) 646-2834
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Rent a Cabin
I did this my freshman year for PE credit and it was really fun and pretty easy to set up. Just go to Cabin section on the DOC website, figure out what day and cabin works best for you and your friends’ schedules, then call (603) 646-2834 to reserve it. Renting a cabin is only $10 a night for students/$5 bucks for DOC members. A rented cabin is a great place for anything from games of Cards Against Humanity to Hateful Eight reenactments.
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Skating on Occom Pond
While the pond isn’t open yet, (it’s being tested next week to see if it’s safe to skate on) this is your best bet if you want to enjoy the winter weather and not stray too far from campus. I would encourage you to get your skating fix early though. There’s no such thing as a pond Zamboni, so skating can get a little bumpy towards the end of term.
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Sledding on the Golf Course
After skating, you can go to the golf course to sled. The only prerequisite is having a sled, which may be hard to find when you’re surrounded by adults. Some people have gotten around this issue by using dining trays but really any flat thing short of your laptop will do. But be careful, the sledding area is notoriously icy.
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Cross Country Skiing
If you are feeling adventurous, you can go to the Dartmouth Cross Country Ski area down on Oak Hill and rent some cross-country skis. There are a ton of trails which are groomed fairly regularly. If you like downhill skiing and also being exhausted, XC skiing is a great option.
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Fat Bike Rentals
The DOC also offers fat bike rentals, which I was not aware was a thing until I started writing this article. As the name suggests, they are bikes with fat tires to give you more tread in the snow. So, if you are the special type of crazy that likes biking in the freezing cold, go to the DOC website for more details.