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The Hamilton Outing Club is proud to welcome 15 to new leaders to the community after last weekend’s leader training session. The participants sacrificed their weekend to learn what it takes to be a leader for the Outing Club. They spent time in and around the Glen House learning the necessary and important skills for leading a successful trip.

Hamilton was well represented at the recent Northeast Regional Association for Experiential Education conference. The three-day event featured workshops, speakers, and events relevant to outdoor and experiential educators.

Stephen Venables, British mountaineer and author, will discuss his climbing career on Monday, April 16, at 7 p.m. in the Kennedy Auditorium, Taylor Science Center. This lecture is free and open to the public.

Winter Outing Club trips are an entirely different beast than any other time of year. With the blankets of snow covering the ground come a set of issues that uniquely challenge leaders. Andrew Jillings, director of Outdoor Leadership, and eight students embarked early on Jan. 27 for a weekend-long training session that would equip them to address these challenges. Jared Mandelbaum ’18, Jack Gumina ’19, Sarah Stigberg ’20, James Southwick ’20, Keith Ruggles ’20, Mike Moubarak ’21, Sean Conroy ’21, and Hans Wydler ’21 joined Jillings for the enriching experience.

Through the support of the Outdoor Leadership Center, six students along with Andrew Jillings, director of the Outdoor Leadership Center, attended the Association for Experiential Education (AEE)’s Annual International Conference held in Montreal on Nov. 8-11.

It was a busy Halloweekend for the Outing Club as the newest batch of leaders was eager to get out into the High Peaks and show what they learned. Many students found that crisp, cool mountain air is the perfect remedy for a mid-semester lull and were able to enjoy the pristine beauty of fall in upstate New York.

Last weekend marked the beginning of a special time of year for the Outing Club -- the initiation of new leaders into the community. The first of two HOC Leader training weekends began Saturday morning in the Glen Haus, the Outing Club’s on-campus headquarters. These training weekends run in conjunction with a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) certification course from SOLO Wilderness Medicine which will take place Oct. 7 and 8. After completing both parts of the certification, the new leaders will be qualified to lead trips for their peers.

Four groups of students participate in backpacking trips, and the College's Marathon Canoe Racing Team takes part in the grueling 90-mile Adirondack Canoe Classic.

Six Hamilton Outing Club (HOC) members who have trained together, led trips in tandem, and have gathered innumerable times in the Glen House are ready to set off in different directions, having secured outdoor leadership positions.

Six current students, six Hamilton alumni, and four employees attended the Northeast Regional Association for Experiential Education (AEE) Conference in Becket, Mass., from April 21 to 23. The regional conference draws educators and students who use experiential methodology to engage with students and participants in and out of the classroom.