September 20, 1999

Middlebury College Community Celebrates Bicentennial

by Climbing Mountains on Oct. 9 — Students Lead Faculty,

Staff, Alumni, Parents, and Friends in Climb of 50 Peaks in the

Adirondacks and Green Mountains

On Saturday, Oct. 9, Middlebury College will initiate

the celebration of its Bicentennial with one of many events planned

for the coming year—the Bicentennial Summit Extravaganza. An

estimated 400 students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and friends

of the College will form small groups on that day and spread throughout

upper New York State’s Adirondack Mountains and Vermont’s Green

Mountains to climb the 50 peaks there that reach higher than 4,000

feet. While Middlebury’s Bicentennial celebrators will tackle

46 of the high peaks in the Adirondacks, hikers in Vermont will

be concentrated on the four in the Green Mountains that reach

that elevation—Killington, Mansfield, Camel’s Hump, and the Abraham/Ellen

Ridge.

“This Bicentennial event was organized and initiated

by students, so we are very happy about that,” said Middlebury

junior Emily Howe, outreach coordinator of the Middlebury College

Mountain Club, which is sponsoring the event.

“Given the fact that Middlebury is in the Champlain

Valley between two of the largest mountain chains in the Northeast,

and that both contribute to the campus’ character and its beautiful

setting, it makes perfect sense that we celebrate the Bicentennial

by climbing these surrounding mountains,” added Howe.

Student guides, who will lead each group, will be

trained in wilderness first aid and have knowledge of specific

hiking areas. Organizers estimate that the size of each group

will be four to six people, preventing the overcrowding of trails.

The College will provide shuttles from the campus to the trailheads

to ease traffic and parking congestion near the wilderness areas.

Middlebury College students who are currently studying

abroad will also be climbing mountains on Oct. 9 in their host

locales, spanning six continents to cover a total of 60 peaks

in 24 different countries, from Mt. Fuji in Japan and Mount Omul

in Romania to the United Kingdom’s Ben Nevis, Mt. Montecatini

Alto in Italy, and mountains in the Philippines, Morocco, and

around the Great Wall of China.