While Dartmouth hosts the oldest collegiate winter festival in the country, several other institutions also revel in the snowy outdoors during their own annual winter celebrations. Other schools' winter activities range from the extreme the University of Denver's snowboarding exhibition to the obscure Syracuse University's bowling competition.
Bates College's annual Winter Carnival celebration dates back to 1920, according to the school's web site. The event, held at the end of January this year, consists of various sporting events and some unusual traditions.
During Bates' "torch run," a group of 20-30 students run from Augusta, Maine back to Bates' campus in Lewiston, Maine a distance of over 30 miles. Students are driven to Augusta, where the governor of Maine lights a torch to signal the start of the relay. Participants then run back to campus carrying the torch, arriving in time for the opening parade.
The tradition, which dates back to 1958, was inspired by an Olympic-themed carnival that year, according to the Bates Outing Club's web site.
Bates students also participate in the "puddle jump," an event much like Dartmouth's Polar Bear Swim, in which students jump into the icy water of Bates' two and a half acre pond, Lake Andrews.
Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. celebrates the season with FebFest, a week-long series of winter-centric festivities. Students enjoy a variety of events, ranging from snow football and ice skating to "pizza wars" and beer and wine tastings. The Mr. Hamilton contest, another FebFest highlight, is a "male beauty contest" in which students raise money for charity, according to Hamilton's web site.
In late February, Middlebury College will simultaneously host its 87th annual Winter Carnival and the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association Championships, according to Middlebury Associate Dean of Students Douglas Adams. As per tradition, the festival will begin on a Thursday night with a bonfire, fireworks and the kick-off of the snow sculpture competition. Friday a campus holiday marks the first day of skiing events and the "Northern Lights" competition, a Middlebury version of the winter Olympics.
"We cap it all off with a Winter Carnival Ball," Adams said. "We're also hosting a banquet for the athletes this year."
A celebration hosted by the town of Middlebury, Vt. that same weekend includes a chili contest and bonfire.
Snow sculpture-building is a popular activity at several schools, including Michigan Technological University, where students come together to build intricate snow statues around campus in the first week of February.
"Students band together in an annual celebration of our beautiful, tough, exhilarating and character-building climate," according to the school's web site. "The [snow] statues have become famous for their size, detail and design as building methods (and secrets) have been passed from year to year."
The University of Denver celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Winter Carnival this year with a snowboarding exhibition and competition, according to the Office of Campus Activities' web site.
Students at Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y., enjoy a five-day-long celebration that begins with an annual Winter Carnival Dinner, complete with hot cocoa and dining hall karaoke, according to the school's web site. The holiday, which dates back to 1930, includes a chili cook-off, movie night, bowling competition and human dog sled race.
