This article is featured in the 2025 Winter Carnival Special Issue.
For first-year students — particularly those from warmer climates — the deep freeze of New England winter can be intimidating. But, for those willing to brave the cold, Hanover winter can also be an occasion to try something new — from skiing to skating and more.
The Dartmouth checked in with the brave freshmen trying their hand at winter sports. Several weeks into her first winter on campus, Joy Utech ’28 said she is taking beginner ski lessons at the Dartmouth Skiway. Utech, who learned to ski when she was younger but “forgot after a couple of years,” cited Hanover’s “very beautiful, mountainous section of New Hampshire” as a contributing factor to her decision to give skiing another try.
“Dartmouth is really lucky in the fact that it’s such an amazing school in an amazing place, and I think that being able to take advantage of nature is a really big gift here,” Utech said. “I feel like this might be one of the only times in my life that I’ll live in a more rural, beautiful area, so I’m trying to take advantage of it.”
For other students, the decision to pursue winter activity options is a practical one: Students can earn credit for the College’s physical education graduation requirement by participating in skiing or snowboarding classes.
Hannah Hawkes ’28, another beginner ski lesson enrollee, said the opportunity to earn a PE credit factored into her decision to hit the slopes for the first time.
“I can use [ski lessons] as a credit — that was part of it — but also one of my friends wanted to sign up to ski, so that really motivated me to sign up and try,” she said.
Utech also cited the social aspect of skiing as another reason behind her choice to take lessons.
“I thought that it could be something that I could do with friends, or as a social event, or also just for fun,” she said.
Similarly, Leila Uwaydah ’28, who is taking the “Beginning Skate” ice skating class, said she “wanted to meet more people” on the rink — while also learning a new skill and earning one of her PE credits.
“I had friends sign up for the class, so I get to learn how to ice skate with my friends [and also] learn a new sport that I never learned how to do before,” she said.
Uwaydah, who now skates two mornings a week for her course credit, said she has found the experience “really fun.” Skating means she has “something that gets [her] out of bed on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” she explained.
As with any sport, learning how to ski or ice skate properly is not without its challenges, both physical and mental, according to Hawkes. For some beginners, there is also an adjustment period to the cold, the gear and the technical skills required.
“I think the first [challenge] is literally just having the two skis on your feet,” Hawkes said. “You have to be aware of how much weight is on these legs.”
Those early challenges of learning to ski are common, Utech added.
“A lesson or two ago, I could not turn left, so I kept falling,” she recalled. “One time, my skis actually popped off because of how bad I was turning. But I’m getting better, and I think it’s a learning curve.”
Still, practice makes perfect. In just the past five weeks since the start of the term, Uwaydah said she has noticed real improvement in her ice skating skills.
“The basics have gotten easier,” she said. “Just going from point A to point B and not falling has gotten easier.”
While some ’28s are learning for the first time, others are nearly experts. In fact, some freshmen are even teaching winter sports to their peers. Kate Leigh-Manuell ’28, a ski instructor for a beginner/intermediate skier PE class, said she hopes to give her students the same freedom she has found on the slopes.
“For me, skiing has always been an escape — racing down the mountain, you have no choice but to set aside your stresses and be fully in the moment,” Leigh-Manuell said. “As a ski instructor, I hope to foster an environment where my group and I can temporarily forget the problems awaiting us on campus and enjoy the now.”
