From adam at adambox.org Sat Feb 12 14:37:03 2005 From: adam at adambox.org (Adam Wishneusky) Date: Sat Feb 12 14:40:45 2005 Subject: [IOCA] Winter Fun Weekend at MHC Mar 4-6! Message-ID: <775d47282eb0c4d7abf57c7d98e2c997@adambox.org> * * * WINTER FUN WEEKEND AT MOUNT HOLYOKE! * * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------- MARCH4MARCH4MARCH4CONTRADANCINGMARCH4MARCH4MARCH4MARCH4 We hope that you will join us this March for Mount Holyoke College Outing Club's annual contra and winter fun weekend IOCA event! This year's contra will take place 8-10pm on Friday, March 4 in the Great Room of Blanchard Campus Center. We will join lots of other contra-lovin? MHC and 5- College students. Outdoor events and a super cool multimedia presentation will follow on Saturday morning and early afternoon. For those of you coming from afar, there is the option to spend Friday night on campus or at our cabin. Here is a tentative schedule: DINNER ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------- We?re planning on lasagna and/or spaghetti, so if anyone in your group has special dietary needs, please let us know. Location TBA. 5:30 pm Friday evening on the Mount Holyoke Campus. We'll meet up and warm up, play a round of cards or Cranium, and get ready for.... CONTRA DANCING!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------- Did you know college outing clubs kept contra dancing alive in Western Massachusetts? Our caller, Allison First, LOVES playing for college audiences! She and a few other musicians will provide the tunes for two hours of dancing in the Great Room of Blanchard Campus Center. This is a bigger space with better sound equipment than we have had in previous years. There?s plenty of room to spread out and get your dance on! 8-10pm, Friday evening. OVERNIGHT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------- It's a 3-mile drive to our cabin at the base of Mount Holyoke. We can sleep about 20 people there. Alternatively, some of our members are willing to house people in the dorms for Friday night only. Or you could pitch a tent. Regardless, bring a sleeping bag and pad. DAY TRIPS on Saturday morning ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------- Hiking!!! Leaving in the afternoon from Wilder Hall. Hike our beloved Mount Holyoke (aka Skinner Mountain). May require snowshoes depending on the conditions. This is an intermediate hike and will last about 2 hours. Lead by Emily Welch. Backcountry Skiing/Sledding/Snowshoeing/etc!!!! Departure time variable, leaving from Wilder Hall. Hike/ski/snowboard around our upper lake and other near-campus trails. It's ungroomed, but snow-cover is good. Or, take a sled ride down Prospect Hill. Or travel a little further to the State Reservation for mild cross-country skiing/snowshoeing trails or ice skating/hockey/broomball on the pond. You're left to your own devices to get up the hill. Bring your own equipment if you have it, please! Courtney Moore will lead a bunch of folks who want to explore the trails on campus. Snowball fight!!! Whomever, whenever. Watch your back the entire weekend for attackers! Ally Neher will fire the first shot. LECTURE and PRESENTATION by Dave Anderson on Saturday afternoon ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------- In the early afternoon, come hear professional photographer/mountain guide/adventurer Dave Anderson give a talk and multimedia presentation about his travels! This guy gets paid to be an adventurer and gave an amazing presentation of ?The Long Walk? at MHC last year. This is from Dave?s site: ?Three friends and I spent this past fall retracing the amazing journey of Slavomir Rawicz, chronicled in the book the The Long Walk. The Long Walk is a true story of a remarkable trek to freedom. In 1941 Rawicz escaped from a Soviet labor camp in Siberia with six fellow prisoners. They spent a year walking over 4,000 miles of the most forbidding terrain on Earth, through the desolate Siberian tundra, the great Gobi desert, and over the Himalayas. Rawicz and his compatriots had no map, compass or supplies, only a fierce determination to survive. We accomplished all the goals of our expedition. -Retraced the route of Slavomir Rawicz -Provided medical supplies to remote communities along the journey. -Documented the changes to the environment and local people over the last 60 years, through photos and film. The expedition was a once in a lifetime experience. My presentation examines a part of the world that has gone through a tremendous transformation since Rawicz made his escape. The economic, political, environmental, religious and social character of Russia, Mongolia, China, Tibet and India has changed considerably in the last 60 years. I was able to capture many these changes on film and video. My show is an adventure that brings the past and the present together and gives hope to the future.? COOL, huh? Visit http://www.elevations.info/ and http://www.thelongwalk2004.com/ to learn more information about this guy whose job we all want. COST ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------- $16 for the whole weekend! Trips, dancing, one dinner and one breakfast! Please get money in by Wednesday, February 23. We will also have merchandise for sale at the dance, so bring some extra cash is you?re into that. We would looooove to sell you an MHOC Nalgene bottle, embroidered patch or a t-shirt. RSVP ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------- To RSVP for this event, please email Emily Welch (ecwelch@mtholyoke.edu). Please specify the number and names of individuals in your group, a contact phone number, and your preferences for sleeping arrangements (e.g. ? Will you need a Moho host, or would you like to sleep in the cabin? Do you know someone here you?d like to host you?). Also let us know how many people are planning on doing which Saturday afternoon event. If you have questions or need more info, please email Emily Welch at ecwelch@mtholyoke.edu. Then, send in your money to reserve your spots. Mail your money (checks made out to Mount Holyoke Outing Club, please) to Michelle Moon/MHC/2711 Blanchard Campus Center/South Hadley, MA 01075 DIRECTIONS ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------- From the East/South/West: get off the Mass Pike and onto Interstate 91 going North. Take exit 16 (Route 202; South Hadley/Holyoke). Follow 202 going east through the city of Holyoke. You will cross the Connecticut River and come to a rotary. Get off onto 202 heading toward South Hadley. Take the exit for 116 north soon after (the second South Hadley exit). Drive north on Route 116 for 2-3 miles until our lovely campus comes into view. Keep driving past it and turn right through the gates. Abbey Chapel will be on your left. Blanchard Campus Center will be visible straight ahead after you make the next right. From the North: Take Interstate 91 going south and exit 16 toward Holyoke/South Hadley. Follow Route 202 and the directions above. From adam at adambox.org Thu Feb 17 12:07:26 2005 From: adam at adambox.org (Adam Wishneusky) Date: Thu Feb 17 12:11:07 2005 Subject: [IOCA] Job opportunities in Wilderness Education in Maine Message-ID: <200502171307.28090.adam@adambox.org> The Hyde Wilderness School has several job openings starting June 2005 in wilderness education. If you're interested, take a look at the following two documents: http://www.ioca.org/temp_files/hyde%20wilderness%202005%20hire%20add.doc http://www.ioca.org/temp_files/hyde%20wilderness%20JOBPOSTER.pdf For more info, contact Gene Devlin ( gdevlin@hyde.edu ) or visit the Hyde Wilderness School site ( http://www.hydewildernessschool.org/ ) -Adam Wishneusky IOCA co-Executive Secretary IOCA Webmaster info@ioca.org http://www.ioca.org/ From adam at adambox.org Sat Feb 19 11:39:46 2005 From: adam at adambox.org (Adam Wishneusky) Date: Sat Feb 19 11:46:57 2005 Subject: [IOCA] Spring Conference set for April 15-17 Message-ID: As you may know, the MIT outing club will be hosting this year's IOCA Spring Conference at their cabin in Rumney, NH The trip is now set for Friday, April 15th through Sunday the 17th. Save the date for climbing, hiking, rafting and skiing all in the same weekend! There will be food (burgers, hot-dogs and a veggie option) and contra/square dancing. Another notice will go out with all the details as we near the date but in the meantime, if you think you'll be attending, please contact Greg Wallace (wallaceg@mit.edu) to let him know so he can plan for the right number of people. Signing up as groups is encouraged. -Adam Wishneusky IOCA co-Executive Secretary IOCA Webmaster info@ioca.org http://www.ioca.org/ From adam at adambox.org Mon Feb 21 14:01:27 2005 From: adam at adambox.org (Adam Wishneusky) Date: Mon Feb 21 14:04:13 2005 Subject: [IOCA] Mt Holyoke IOCA Weekend is almost here! Message-ID: IOCAns! A friendly reminder that Mt Holyoke College Outing Club's big IOCA weekend is coming up fast! The fun runs all weekend March 4th through 6th in South Hadley, MA. The weekends events include: -- dinner -- lasagna and/or spaghetti at 5:30 on Friday (contact Emily with any dietary needs) -- CONTRA DANCING! -- with caller Allison First 8-10pm Friday in the Blanchard Student Center -- camping -- at MHOC's cabin (room for 20 people) or your own tent -- trips saturday! -- hiking Mount Holyoke (Skinner Mt), backcountry skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, snowball fight! -- lecture and presentation -- by Dave Anderson Saturday afternoon (more info: http://www.elevations.info/ ) the cost of the whole weekend including one dinner, one breakfast and lodging is only $16 so RSVP now to Emily Welch ( ecwelch@mtholyoke.edu ) with your group's info. Directions and full info on the ioca trips out page: http://www.ioca.org/trips/ If you're a club president/secretary, etc, please announce this at your next meeting as only a few people have signed up so far and MHOC has put a lot of work into planning this annual event. I apologize for any duplicate emails. -Adam Wishneusky IOCA co-Executive Secretary IOCA Webmaster info@ioca.org http://www.ioca.org/ From adam at adambox.org Thu Feb 24 11:56:32 2005 From: adam at adambox.org (Adam Wishneusky) Date: Thu Feb 24 12:03:39 2005 Subject: [IOCA] Fatpacking in Arizona March 19 - April 3 Message-ID: <421E1550.3070101@adambox.org> Weight loss study backpacking trip: Fatpacking ( http://www.fatpacking.com/ ) is seeking several people to participate in a backpacking trip/body composition/weight management study. We plan to escort participants about 100 miles on the Arizona Trail. We are looking for participants who are 15-50 pounds overweight to join us. This trip is not only a vacation, but also a study in which we are trying to tangibly determine the effects of backpacking on body composition, stress, respiration, heart rate, and other health metrics. Backpacking experience is not necessary, but a modicum of physical mobility and a positive attitude are essential. We plan to backpack roughly 4-11 miles per day over a variety of terrains, distance depending upon the group?s ability and morale, and trail conditions. The trip will be a backcountry experience. That means sleeping in tents and no plumbing. Participants will be expected to share chores like cooking equally. We will not place you on a starvation diet as our philosophy is that eating heartily will still result in weight loss. We may however, meticulously record everything you eat. Furthermore, we will not impose any austere diets, such as Atkins on participants, since that would be a drag and we would be unsure to what extent the backpacking affected weight loss. Participants must be able to transport themselves to Phoenix, but we will handle all ground transport (except for hiking, which is what you do) from there. We will also do our best to provide equipment such as tents, food, ground pads, water filtration devices, bear canisters, stoves, and other equipment. We will be unable to provide personal items and size dependent items such as hiking boots and backpacks. We expect to take one day off in mid-hike to stay at a cheapish motel where you?ll be able to shower and have access to phones, e-mail, etc. We cover the cost of this. We also plan to stay in a mid-range Bed and Breakfast at the end of the hike, which is also included. The trip costs $750. If you or someone you know would like to be a part of this study and backpack the Arizona Trail (Superstition Wilderness, Four Peaks Wilderness), please contact me at steve.silberberg@alum.mit.edu. You can also call me at 781-773-1115. I would be happy to provide details. Disclaimer: This trip is both a study and commercial in nature For more information or to sign up, please contact Steve Silberberg steve.silberberg@alum.mit.edu From adam at adambox.org Fri Feb 25 15:11:10 2005 From: adam at adambox.org (Adam Wishneusky) Date: Fri Feb 25 15:13:55 2005 Subject: [IOCA] Leave No Trace program offerings for 2005 Message-ID: <421F946E.9070108@adambox.org> From Dara Johnson of the Appalachian Mountain Club: Hello, Linked below is the 2005 schedule of Leave No Trace Master Educator Courses offered through the Appalachian Mountain Club. New in 2005 is a canoeing course in Ontario, and a backpacking course in Pennsylvania. More information about the Master Educator Course can be found on www.LNT.org, under Trainings. To register for a course, complete the AMC LNT Master Course Application (linked below and also available on www.LNT.org) and fax or mail it back. Once your application has been approved, we will contact you for payment and to complete your registration. You may apply at any time. If you don't see a course you can attend and have a group of interested people in your area, contact me about setting up a custom course. If you and your group provide logistical support, we can offer the course at a significant cost savings. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for your interest in Leave No Trace! -Dara Johnson Files: http://www.ioca.org/temp_files/2005%20AMC%20LNT%20Master%20Course%20Schedule.doc http://www.ioca.org/temp_files/LNT%20AMC%20Master%20Course%20Application.doc _______________________________________ Dara Johnson Leave No Trace Coordinator Appalachian Mountain Club PO Box 298, Rt. 16 Gorham, NH 03581 (603) 466-2721 ext.209 djohnson@outdoors.org