Mt. Moosilauke (1931) - Winter Accommodations
". . . When winter snows begin to gather deep and white on the summit of "Dartmouth's Own Mountain," a project will be launched that marks one of the most important steps in the development of skiing interest in this section. The Moosilauke Summit Camp, for a decade a familiar center for New England summer campers, will be opened every weekend throughout the skiing season with accommodations for thirty. No other White Mountain peak of equal altitude (4,811 feet) will offer such comfortable accommodations combined with such ideal skiing conditions.
The credit for conceiving and developing this project goes to J. D. Robinson '32, a member of Cabin and Trail, and for the past two summers hutmaster at the Summit Camp. The inspiration came last winter, but only when he saw sixty ski enthusiasts, including one Smith College girl, on the mountain at the time of the Down-Mountain Race last March, did the plan appear practical.
As may easily be imagined many problems came up in working out the details of the plan. Moisture was perhaps the greatest obstacle. Even a slight opening in the Summit Camp will admit fog and cloud, and almost before it can be discovered, blankets and mattresses are literally soaked, while cooking utensils rust with a mysterious rapidity. The only solutionwas to insulate the whole house as completely as possible. Double windows and shutters have been installed, all cracks caulked, and window panes reputtied.
-Photo by Adrian Bouchard
Strangely enough, cold is one of the easier things to provide against - despite the unofficial low of 55 below zero. With good wall insulation, a separate drying room, a special oil heater for the main room, and double mattresses and extra blankets in the bunk room, the guest is assured a warm welcome. In the interests of economy the east section of the house has been partitioned off and this alone will be used. As the prevailing winds are from the west, drifts on the east side are expected to help keep out the cold. A Kohler electric light system installed this summer is so affected in its operation by the cold that lamps may have to be resorted to this winter. The storage of canned goods under winter conditions called for special consideration and for protection from sudden changes in temperature these are to be stored in specially insulated chambers.
Drinking water presented a rather unique problem. The spring which is used in summer, in addition to being frozen up, is buried below several feet of ice and snow during the winter months. Snow, which is used for water at the smaller winter cabin, is blown full of dirt and gravel in the exposed vicinity of the Summit Camp and is unfit for use. As a result special troughs are to be used to freeze water into ice, to be brought out and melted as required during the winter.
The protection of climbers on the trail is an all important consideration especially on the exposed ridge above tree line. Cairns marking the ridge trail have been piled higher than ever. The telephone line from the summit down the mountain will be put in repair, and an emergency telephone box is planned for the junction of the Carriage Road and the Glencliff trail with connections to the Summit Camp and the Pike operator. Weather forecasts and storm warnings are to be furnished to warn the climber of unusually forbidding conditions; while to check on the climbers a system of semi-registration is planned, visitors signing at the bottom and again at the top. Finally novices are to be discouraged from making the ascent. Undergraduate parties have come to make light of a winter attack on the summit, and with these added precautions little danger should exist. . . ."
From "Moosilauke House to Be Open In Winter" by S.B. Dunn D'34, Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, 1931.
