Dear DOC: Welcome back to spring term — with snow still on the ground. This was one of the best winters for snow in Hanover and the Northeast more generally in recent memory — and the DOC took full advantage of it. In particular, I’d like to thank and congratulate everyone involved in the new or reactivated clubs that did such a great job involving lots of students in the kinds of winter outdoor adventures that prompted the founding of the DOC in the first place, over 100 years ago: the new Nordic Ski Club, the Alpine Ski Club and the Women in the Wilderness Club. The OPO staff also enjoyed getting out in the field with club members on weekly outings that included snowshoeing at the woodland property the College owns in Corinth, Vt. (future site for a yurt?), self-arrest and roped glacier travel workshops, several telemark ski workshops, campfires, ice climbing, trail and cabins work, Grant Winter Weekend, the Groulx Mountains expedition, and risk-management activity reviews. We aim to continue weekly outings and workshops spring term, so watch your email for the announcements and sign up for what grabs your interest. Other activities to look forward to this spring include the Woodsman’s Weekend that the DOC is hosting here on April 24 and 25 (we’ll need lots of volunteers) , and the Explorers’ Symposium that Ledyard is hosting that same weekend in connection with the annual River Fest. As a staff, we’re also excited about continuing to work with the DOC leadership to respond to the College’s Moving Dartmouth Forward initiative by documenting the many ways the Club advances the College’s goals for sustaining an inclusive and welcoming community and engaging students in positive co-curricular activities that promote personal growth, leadership and community. Additionally, we’re working on developing a proposal for a “Leadership and Experiential Education Fellow” position that would allow us to bring a recent graduate or young outdoor-education professional here for a year or two to work closely with the DOC to enhance skills, risk management, club development, and leadership development. I’m passing along a report and a picture from Brian Kunz about the spring break trip to the Groulx Mountains in northern Quebec (where there is still 10 feet of snow on the ground and temperatures were well below zero), as well as some reflections and photos from Rory Gawler about the Club’s responsibilities for cabins and trails. Please don’t hesitate to stop by to chat with any of us if you have ideas, questions, or suggestions. Cheers Dan Nelson Groulx Report 2015 Seven students and Deputy Director Brian Kunz traveled to Quebec for spring break '15 and spent our time exploring Quebec culture and the natural environment. The students were a broad mix from across campus and did not know each other for the most part. They became a very strong team that supported everyone during the trip. Our first stop was in Quebec City to visit the Museum of Civilization to better understand the French and Native culture, which was well represented. We explored the city before heading on to the oldest village in North America (outside of Florida) Tadoussac a ferry ride across a fjord for an overnight stay in a youth hostel. During the trip we visited one of the largest hydro projects in Canada, viewed the Taiga Challenge dog team races in Fermont, crossed the border for a visit to Labrador and met many new friends. The core of the trip starts at Matsheshu, the cabin built by Quebec guide Michel Denis, where we comfortably adjusted to the deep snow and cold, as well as witnessing the Northern Lights. We awoke to find wolf tracks all around the cabin even a step away from the front porch where two students slept. After some ski training we organized our camping gear on sleds and toboggans to haul up the mountain to set up our wilderness camp. The hauling went well even though we hauled a heavy 10 person tent with a sheet metal wood stove and our food. We made a nice comfortable camp. We organized work teams to rotate through the duties of cooking, cleaning and firewood production. Teams worked well and we had tasty dinners and a well-organized camp. We made excursions on skis to the plateau and explored a beautiful wilderness area. We also met a dog team and driver from western Quebec who had an interesting way to command his dog team. The day before the end of the trip we hauled all our gear back to the road, made our farewells to Michel and headed home by the way of the Youth Hostel in Tadoussac — Brian Kunz Trails and Cabins The DOC has a proud and unique history of building and maintaining trails and cabins, dating right back to the early days of the club. “A chain of cabins and trails from Hanover to Moosilauke” was an early call to action and became a founding principle of the organization. Major recent projects have included the full-scribe log construction projects for Titcomb and the ’66 Lodge and a major re-route of Gorge Brook trail (informally known as the Wales Carter Connection), not to mention the now multiple timberframe bunkhouses at Moosilauke. These projects are big and glorious and noticeable, and provided wonderful educational opportunities for the students and alums involved. Many describe working on these projects as some of the most fulfilling and personally valuable experiences in their lives. Often forgotten, however, is the joy, satisfaction and sense of ownership that can arise from regular maintenance. Fixing a broken door latch so that it stays closed, repairing a broken window to keep out the cold, adding just a few more stepping stones to reduce erosion – even just adding a thoughtfully placed, hand-made coat hook to a cozy cabin to make it feel more lived-in and more like it belongs to you, the student members of the DOC. Even simpler is the simple pleasure in using a cabin, and caring for it. Properly managing a woodstove on a cold evening, leaving with the woodbox full and kindling split for the next user, tidying up and leaving it in better shape than you found it. Don’t forget to report anything you couldn’t fix while you were there. Good chance you could head out together and take care of it later. Usually only takes a few hours and is a great excuse to get off campus. Much of the required maintenance is done by full-time crews in the summer and if you haven’t put in an application for that yet, you still can, even though the deadline is past. But don’t wait – once all the spots are full, you’re out of time. If you’re a ’17, or have other plans for the summer, there are still lots of ways to get involved – learn useful skills like creative problem solving and planning as well as power and hand tools, carpentry, etc, work with your hands, explore the many resources that the DOC has to offer. Most importantly, however, you feel a sense of pride in your accomplishment, a sense that your Outing Club is truly yours and that you have made a contribution to your successors in a meaningful way. A similar contribution that so many of your forebears have made to you. If you have any questions about how to get involved in this type of work, speak to a leader in Cabin and Trail or come find me, Rory Gawler in my office in Robinson Hall. Look forward to seeing you out there. — Rory Gawler Daniel M. Nelson, Director Dartmouth Outdoor Programs 115 Robinson Hall PO Box 9 Hanover, NH 03755 603-646-2356 (office) 603-646-1444 (fax) [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the DOC-NORDIC list, click the following link: https://listserv.dartmouth.edu/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=DOC-NORDIC