Mt. Moosilauke (1914) - The First Down Mountain Race
". . . The forerunner of the race down Moosilauke was held on February 1, 1914, when an adventurous group of 12 men, members of the Faculty and student body, left Breezy Point to climb Moosilauke Summit on skis for the first time. The party left Hanover on Jan. 31, 1914 for Glencliff and Warren and from there the party in two groups journeyed to Breezy Point and spent the night at Eastman's Farm which is at the foot of the Carriage Road leading up Moosilauke.
Prof. C.A. Proctor '00 of the Physics Department was in charge of this group. Dick Hall '15, the first Dartmouth man to be killed in the war, R.E. Pritchard '14, Prof. of Physics A.B. Meservey '06, Jess Fenno '14, R.H. Foss '14, Dr. F.P. Lord '98, W.H. Junkins '14, A.P. Richmond '14, at the present time a professor in the Thayer School, D.A. Emerson '14, George Dock '16, and Professor Burr of the Physics Department made up the personnel of this adventuresome party.
As many men as possible had bought or borrowed skis for the trip and at that there were only seven pairs. The rest of the party made the ascent on snow shoes. The skiers did not have poles to aid them in the climb as they were considered amateurish and had never been used around Hanover. One member of the party had a regulation set of poles and the remainder fashioned make-shift sets from small pine trees cut at the foot of the mountain.
The men set out in the morning with a high wind blowing which was drifting the snow and making the traveling very difficult. The steep slopes on the up trip were too much for the skiers and Prof. Proctor, the most expert of the climbers, took the rope from his pack and braided it down the under side of his skis in order to get traction. This device was copied by the other members and the remainder of the trip was made without mishap.
The snow encountered was several feet deep on each side of the trail which had been broken earlier in the season, and which was still open. The top was reached in three hours with most of the men in good shape. The exciting moment of the trip was on top. The Physicists in the party estimated the velocity of the wind at 90 miles an hour and it was impossible to stand erect. The ordinary jobs of preparing the noon day meal were accomplished by crawling on hands and knees.
After several hours at the summit the descent was begun. It was an impromptu race between the ski men, and the snow shoers brought up the rear. Prof. Richmond was the last one to go down. The snow was too fast for the skiers, and they found it necessary to cut small trees which they straddled and used as a brake in order to make the descent without mishap. The trip down was made in three quarters of an hour. Today, more than a score of men from Dartmouth are at the summit to participate in the race down the mountain, just 13 years after. . . ."
From The Daily Dartmouth, 1927.
