[IOCA] IOCA Trips coming up!

[IOCA]

Hello IOCA Clubs and members!

It's been a while since you've heard from us.  I hope everyone did lots of
great trips over the holidays, and is making the most of winter (even though
it's been way too warm for my snow-deprived tastes)!  Here at MITOC we are
in the middle of our annual Winter School, and will be in the Whites again
this weekend doing all sorts of hiking, skiing, ice climbing, etc!

I have a number of upcoming IOCA trips to announce, including a snowshoe
race next weekend, a winter ascent of Katahdin, and our annual Spring
Conference, for which we now have a confirmed date and location!

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Snowshoe Race at Saratoga Springs Winterfest!!

There are going to be two races held at the winterfest on Sunday Feb. 5th.
At 11:00 there will be a 5k race, following that there will be a 4 x 1k
relay race (1k = 1000 meters or 2.5 laps around a track). There is no charge
for the relay race so it would be perfect for some IOCA schools to get
together and have a little friendly competition!

What: 4x1k relay snowshoe race
Where: Saratoga Spa State Park
Fees: Free
When: Sunday Feb. 5th 11:00 AM (5k start time, relay follows)

RPI can supply a limited number of snowshoes.

If you are interested, contact:
John Lembke
Lembkj (at) rpi (dot) edu

For more info visit:
http://www.adksportsfitness.com/events_calendar/running.html, or
http://www.saratogastryders.org

IOCA Trips Out Link:
http://www.ioca.org/trips/?view=20060127124115#20060127124115

Sorry about the late notice, and many thanks to John for organizing this!

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IOCA Spring Conference 2006 !!!

DAR State Forest, MA
April 21-23, 2006

Spring Conference 2006 will be held at DAR State Forest in (lovely) western
Massachusetts the weekend of April 21st to 23rd, hosted by the Mount Holyoke
College Outing Club. On Saturday there will be hiking trips in the
Berkshires, possible rock climbing, and maybe something fun for Earth Day.
We will have a cookout on Saturday night followed by a contra dance. More
information to come in the next few weeks, but please save the dates! The
contact person for questions and to sign up is Michelle Moon, who can be
reached at mrmoon at mtholyoke.edu. Spring Conference, one of IOCA's
traditional annual trips, is always fantastic fun! So, start talking with
friends and tell them to come!

Contact:
Michelle Moon
mrmoon (at) mtholyoke (dot) edu

For more info, visit:
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/western/darf.htm

IOCA Trips Out Link:
http://www.ioca.org/trips/?view=20060125112552#20060125112552

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Katahdin Winter Summit attempt!


The MITOC mountaineering group would like to make a winter summit attempt on
Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park, Maine.  This trip was done in November
1946 by an IOCA group from MIT and Colby... and was captured on film!!
Check out the video and screen shots here:
http://mitoc.mit.edu/gallery/1946-Promo-Film

It's now 60 years later, and we would like to repeat this trip (with some
more safety gear and precautions, of course!), along with mountaineers from
two or three other schools.  It will take at least 5 days, b/c it's a 2 day
ski or hike in to base camp, and you MUST wait for good weather before the
park allows climbers onto the mountain. We are still finalizing the dates.

We will most likely do it during MIT's spring break (March 25 to April 2),
when winter regulations are still in effect.  To do this, we would need to
get commitments from participants soon, and to submit an application for a
permit well in advance ASAP.  If we decide to do it the following week, the
winter regs will no longer be in effect, but other than paperwork, not much
will change.

Since there is a 10 person maximum limit on party size, we are hoping to
take 4 or 5 folks from MITOC, and a few from 2 or 3 other IOCA clubs.  If
you are interested, please let me know so that we can discuss details.

For more info, see:
http://www.baxterstateparkauthority.com/camping/win_procedures.html

Contact:
Christiaan Adams
adamscs (at) mit (dot) edu.

IOCA Trips Out Link:
http://www.ioca.org/trips/?view=20060127140953#20060127140953

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There is one other item on our "Trips Out" page... not really a trip, but
possibly of interest.  For those who have not taken one before, Wilderness
First Aid courses are a great way to build your leadership skills, and
possibly to save a life!


Wilderness First Aid Course
(Montclair Kimberley Academy, Montclair, NJ)

The Montclair Kimberley Academy will be hosting a Wilderness First Aid
course February 22-23 in 2006. The cost is $130.00 per person and the day
begins at 8:00 AM and ends at approximately 4:00 PM. I will be happy to send
a registration packet to anyone interested. Wilderness Medical Associates is
the organization running this course.

Contact:
David Hessler
dhessler at montclairkimberley.org
(973) 233-3014

IOCA Trips Out Link:
http://www.ioca.org/trips/?view=20051020092325#20051020092325

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As always, thanks for your attention, and we'll see you outside!!
-Christiaan

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Christiaan Adams
Executive Secretary
Intercollegiate Outing Club Association
info at ioca.org
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