With the end of winter and the fleeting promise of spring, Dartmouth students are stashing away their skis and ice skates and taking up warmer weather activities in the New Hampshire outdoors.
One of the most popular ways students enjoy the College's weather is Ledyard Canoe Club.
Ledyard will begin offering canoe and kayak rentals to the general public for a daily or weekend fee beginning in mid-May, when the weather gets warmer.
But despite cold water, members have been boating in the area since the beginning of this term and have been gearing up for a host of events in the upcoming weeks.
According to Ledyard president Nick Koshnick '01, "Right now, we're focused on early spring boating, especially running beginner trips and creeking" -- a form of kayaking down narrow rivers.
Tomorrow, the club is ready to host its annual Mascoma White Water Slalom Race, the oldest continuously-run competition of its kind in the country.
With many hours of preparation spent hanging gates and clearing potential water hazards, the race effort is a major undertaking.
The competition itself will require racers to kayak through a section of class III rapids while maneuvering through 25 gates hanging above the water. Although the concept is very similar to that of slalom ski races, a small twist is thrown in because racers must catch eddies in the river and pass through several gates going upstream.
According to Koshnick, the race will test the skills of both veteran and beginner members of the club, and will be an exciting event to watch.
The Mascoma race is not Ledyard's first undertaking of Spring term, however.
This past Spring break included Ledyard's annual trip to North Carolina and Pennsylvania, and a three-person kayaking trip to Ecuador.
It is the possibility of making trips like this happen that is really exciting, Koshnick said.
But kayaking is not the extent of the club's domain, as it is developing members' interest in marathon canoe racing as well.
Looking ahead to late spring and early summer, several Ledyard members have been training for marathon canoe races, which emphasizes endurance paddling skills.
The club plans to send at least two representatives to a 460 mile race in Canada's Yukon Territory, which requires racers to sleep no more than 8 hours during the 50-hour competition.
