Kicking off a week of Winter Carnival events, students swarmed the slopes of a local ski area for skiing, snowboarding, tubing, and treats on Feb. 5.
First-year student Abdul Rafay ’25 of Lahore, Pakistan, joined the “Takeover” at Auburn’s Lost Valley. In a few short months, he’s gone from never having seen snow to becoming a novice skier.
“It’s my fourth time skiing, so I’m pretty new to the activity still. I’m definitely going to keep skiing and trying out new winter sports that we don’t have much of in Pakistan. I think it’s part of going to college in Maine.”
Despite temperatures dipping into the single digits, around 500 students turned out for the outing, some bringing their own gear, others taking advantage of rentals, which were free for the Takeover night — as was the pizza. (Thanks to a college membership, Bates employees and students can ski for free anytime at Lost Valley.) Students chose between a variety of slopes at different difficulty levels for skiing, boarding, and tubing.
“There were a lot of experienced skiers, my gosh,” said Interim Coordinator of Campus Life Programming Aml Mohamed. “It just shows how much this is a culture at Bates.”
Having the whole place mostly to themselves was a definite plus, she added.
“It made it feel like it’s their home. Like if they don’t know how to ski, they’re not around strangers; they’re around each other and they’re around their friends.”
At Bates, Winter Carnival and the Outing Club were established hand in hand 102 years ago to “make the out of doors more entertaining and attractive during the winter months,” according to the Bates Student.
The first carnival kicked off on Feb. 26, 1920, with an ice hockey game vs. Bowdoin. Other events included interclass snowshoe racing, a costume party, and ice tennis.
“The days when winter locked the college doors are gone,” celebrated the Student. “Bates has learned that winter opens…another door to a world of keen activity and zest.”
Categories Student Life
