News

Members of Hamilton’s Class of 2024 have walked off the Commencement stage, canes in hand, and out into the world ready to make a difference.

Every fall, Hamilton’s Outing Club (HOC) sends groups of students to the Adirondack Mountains where they attempt to summit each of the 46 high peaks in one weekend. This year, there were 25 trips and five overnight backpacking trips. Student participants included 40 HOC leaders, 20 shadow leaders (as part of HOC leader training), and 51 hikers for a grand total of 111. This year, Hamilton students summited 39 of the 46 peaks.

A large group of students braved the cold and embraced winter with a day of cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in Hamilton's Rogers Glen on a January weekend.

Last weekend, the Hamilton Outing Club sent 125 students into the Adirondack Mountains for its annual 46 Peaks Weekend. The tradition began in 1995 when the Outing Club officers at the time challenged the group to get one student on top of each of the Adirondack’s 46 high peaks — mountains over 4,000’ — in one weekend.

Zach Weller ’23, a digital communications intern and student writer for the Communications Office, and Asa Szegvari ’23 embarked on a five-week, 80-mile-per day, bike trip across the Continental Divide in June. As Zach reports here, the trip came to unfortunate early end.

Anna Bastidas ’13 and Devin Farkas ’10 recently landed jobs in outdoor education as the associate director of the Bowdoin College Outing Club and the assistant director of Outdoor Programs at the University of Vermont, respectively. Day-to-day, Bastidas works closely with outing club officers, runs student leader training, and organizes orientation trips. Farkas oversees many outdoor-based clubs and directs the pre-orientation program.

As part of Hamilton’s annual Feb Fest celebration, the Hamilton Outing Club led six students on a winter camping trip in the Kirkland Glen.

Student writer Hannah Katz ’21, an Outing Club leader, describes a weekend camping trip held right in her own backyard — on campus in the Glen.

Campus activities may look a bit different this semester, but students interested in exploring the nearby outdoors can still enjoy the Mohawk Valley, thanks to new bike borrowing and guided ride opportunities.

Keith Ruggles ’20 is a longtime Hamilton Outing Club leader and officer, Adirondack Adventure orientation leader, and student writer for the Communications office. Here, he tells how the training he’s received as an outdoor leader has been valuable in helping him manage the uncertain current environment.