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On Friday, Sept. 20, the Hamilton Outing Club launched the annual 46 Peaks Weekend for the campus community, as different groups of students, staff and faculty members attempted to summit all of the Adirondack High Peaks by Sunday, Sept. 22.

During spring break five Hamilton students summited Mt. Washington, New England’s highest peak, as the culmination of a week-long introduction to mountaineering course. Hamilton’s Outing Club (HOC) sponsored the six-day course taught by HOC officer David Morgan ’15. The Mt. Washington ascent came after 4 days snowshoeing deep in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Students in Janelle Schwartz’s Reading the Extreme in World Adventure Narratives class are doing a lot more than reading this semester. Schwartz, a 1997 Hamilton graduate and visiting assistant professor of comparative literature, has teamed up with The Hamilton Outing Club (HOC) to bring experiential learning to her students.

The Hamilton Outing Club (HOC) ran two introductory ice climbing trips to the Adirondacks on Feb. 22-24. The trips, led by Director of Outdoor Education Andrew Jillings, focused on teaching students the basics of climbing waterfall ice using crampons and ice tools.

There was a lot of hype leading up to this Wednesday, Feb. 20, in the Outing Club. Hamilton College had the opportunity to host a very special event: the Banff Mountain Film Festival, sponsored by the Hamilton Outing Club for the 15th year. The Film Festival is the largest in the world despite being very niche - it only deals with films about the wilderness, mountaineering, stunt pulling, and your everyday life-threatening situations.

A lecture by prize-winning author and explorer Wade Davis has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m., in Bradford Auditorium, KJ.  Davis’ illustrated lecture is titled “Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest.” Davis is an explorer-in-residence for the National Geographic Society, which has named him as one of the Explorers of the Millennium.  The lecture is free and open to the public.

The Nov. 13 lecture by author and explorer Wade Davis has been postponed due to circumstances beyond his control.  Davis is an explorer-in-residence for the National Geographic Society, which has named him as one of the Explorers of the Millennium. The possibility of rescheduling the event is yet to be determined.

The 2012 46 Peaks weekend of Sept. 29-30 was a roaring success, despite the constant rain. The Hamilton Outing Club (HOC) tied its previous record of 43 peaks summited, and almost doubled participation from last year, with 125 students hiking in the Adirondacks over the weekend. “As far as our goals... it totally met that,” said Assistant Director of Outdoor Leadership Sarah Jillings. Two of the trails-less peaks were impassable, due to a washed-out bridge and high waters from the rain, which made crossing unsafe.

The Hamilton Outing Club (HOC) is on a mission to expand its reach on campus. HOC is upping its social presence, especially during Open Hours, which occur on Monday and Thursday nights. “This year, we’re trying to get more people in here, rather than just renting gear, ...to build an Outing Club community,” said HOC communications coordinator Helen Higgins ’13.

The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour will visit Hamilton College on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. in Bradford Auditorium, KJ. The screening is sponsored by the Hamilton Outing Club. Tickets are $8 for students and $10 for the public.