After completing my first year at the helmof the RKMP and in preparation for itsannual newsletter, it seemed pertinent torevisit the program’s mission statement tosee if we are on track:

The Ritt Kellogg Mountain Programencourages students to interact with natu-ral resources and fosters the interdependen-cy between people and their natural sur-roundings. More specifically, the RKMPuses our natural resources to promote aca-demic growth, to challenge athletically, toteach leadership, to develop character, andto foster environmental responsibility.Perhaps the greatest challenge facing the

RKMP is finding new ways to encourage the“interaction” addressed in our mission state-ment in this high-tech, digital age. How dowe compete with the allure of a Sundayafternoon spent with Xbox 360? Even hereat Berkshire, surrounded by hundreds ofacres of pristine woodland, there are signs ofwhat journalist and author Richard Louvidentifies as “nature deficit disorder” in hisbook Last Child in the Woods. Jane E. Brody,a journalist and specialist in medicine and

biology, calls this condition “outdoor depri-vation disorder” and notes that children andyoung adults spend more time indoorsusing electronic media than outdoors. Anumber of years ago, my RKMP predeces-sor, Frank Barros, combated this dilemma byintroducing The Mountain Passport, a cre-ative approach to getting all Berkshire com-munity members in the woods and on thetrails on a consistent basis. However,administrating the program fell by the way-side with increasing demands on him in thedevelopment of the recycling and sustain-ability programs that he also initiated. By allaccounts, The Mountain Passport was agreat success, so it is something that will bereintroduced to the RKMP.

Last December the school was fortunateto receive a visit from Colby Coombs, afriend and college classmate of Ritt Kellogg(see page 8). In his address to the students,he mentioned that Ritt received “great satis-faction from taking students out and seeingthem learn things they didn’t think theycould do. Being a facilitator of that is whatalways drew Ritt back to teaching outdoorskills and rock climbing in the OutwardBound program.” Traditionally, the primaryimpact of the RKMP on Berkshire Schoolstudents has been through after-schoolofferings, which include rock climbing,backcountry skills, boat building, wintermountaineering, mountain biking andwhitewater kayaking. Through these offer-ings our instructors raise the bar highenough to accomplish the same sense of sat-isfaction both for teacher and student toexperience what Colby described as a “bondbetween partners—super strong. Throughstruggle, challenge, and even failure thesebecome ‘forever’ bonds.”

In this newsletter, in addition to theafter-school offerings, you will read of newRKMP initiatives that will continue to chal-

lenge, instruct, and convey respect fornature—particularly through a programco-sponsored by the National Park Serviceand the Appalachian Trail Conferencecalled A Trail to Every Classroom and amajor construction project that harkensback to the days when students and facultybuilt cabins that once dotted the hillside:the Adirondack Lean-to Project.

We’ll introduce you to Nathaniel Blauss,physics teacher and new RKMP instructorwho just might be the first faculty memberwith the distinction of being an AppalachianTrail “thru hiker,” and Lars Robinson ’13,who summarizes his experience as a partici-pant in the Appalachian Mountain Club’sBerkshire Teen Trail Crew.

There are also numerous “RKMPUpdates” that will fill you in on other activi-ties of the program that occurred through-out 2009-10. Overall, I believe we have metthe challenge of the mission statement, butwe leave you to be the judge! Happy trailson your own mountain, wherever it may be.

A Trail to Every ClassroomBy Anita Loose-Brown, science department chair

Sixty-four students in the Biology andAdvanced Biology classes were given theopportunity to take a closer look at themountain behind Berkshire Hall in ajoint program designed by me and MikeDalton for the fall term. In teams ofthree, students set up and recorded dataon study plots in the woods beyond theThoreau House. Students learned to usecompasses to set quadrat boundaries (an

continued on page 3

WINTER 2011 NEWSLETTER

Ritt Kellogg Mountain Program

Ritt Kellogg ’85, doing what he loved most

Year in ReviewBy science teacher Mike Dalton, director of RKMP

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The Adirondack Lean-To Project By Mike Dalton

I spent the early 1970s at Paul SmithsCollege in the Adirondacks of upper NewYork State where I was first introduced tothe “Adirondack lean-to,” a three-walled,open-front shelter made from round (typi-cally softwood) logs. These structures wereplaced on trails at the college and in theHigh Peaks of the Adirondacks and used bycampers as shelters instead of tents.

There are two lean-tos on theAppalachian Trail behind Berkshire’s cam-pus, the Glen Brook Shelter and theHemlock Shelter. But unlike theAdirondack-style shelter, these are builtwith dimensional lumber and vertical sid-ing. It was decided that building anAdirondack lean-to on the mountain wouldbenefit the school in numerous ways. First,it would provide RKMP participants withfirst-hand knowledge on woodcraft – fromfelling trees to cutting saddle notches.Second, it would serve as a close destinationfor small groups of students andfaculty to have an overnight expe-rience on the mountain. Afterreceiving a set of plans for thelean-to from the AdirondackMuseum, I contacted my son Seanto be the lead teacher on the proj-ect. Sean is a Vermont timberframer who learned the “Swedishcope” method of log constructionwhile working on the restoration ofSantanoni, a great camp which isowned by the State of New Yorkand is located on the shore ofNewcomb Lake just south of the

High Peaks in the Adirondacks.The project began during the winter of

2009 by first identifying suitable trees fromthe School’s woodlot. Great care was takento insure that the harvest of these straightwhite pine trees was random and that therewas minimal impact to the area. The treeswere cut into appropriate lengths and hauledback to Gordon Recreational Park where allthe work would take place. The logs werethen peeled with drawknives and, by the endof the winter season with a crew of four stu-dents (Hunter Lucey ’12, Lars Robinson ’13,Craig Alizadeh ’13, and Long Tran ’11), wehad a pile of peeled logs, along with sap-stained clothes and an appreciation of whatearly settlers faced when building by hand.

In early April Sean arrived for a weekendworkshop on log construction sponsored bythe RKMP. He began by teaching us how tochoose the right logs for each tier makingsure that they followed a “butt-to-tip” alter-

nating pattern, which keeps each consecutivelayer of logs level. He taught us how to use aspecial scribe with two spirit bubbles to cutthe saddle notches (at the corners) and thecoped, bottom of logs. The Swedish copemethod that we were using fits the logs per-fectly so that there is no need for “chinking,”which traditionally was made from eithersphagnum moss, mud, or small saplings(chinking keeps wind, snow, and rain fromentering the structure through gaps betweenlogs). A chainsaw was used to rough out thecuts, which were then finished by hand usingspecial – and very sharp – gouges and mal-lets. By the end of the weekend we all hadsap-stained hands and a structure that wasbeginning to look like a lean-to. This week-end workshop generated a lot of enthusiasmfor the project and, as a result, students andteachers often spent a Sunday afternoon put-ting an hour or two into fitting logs.

Construction continued this past fall withmore logs going up the wall along withthe fitting in of purlins, which are tim-bers that run the length of the lean-toand hold the rafters up. Since thestructure was getting pretty high andour staging material was limited, wedecided to take off the top half of thelean-to and continue building upwardwhile the bottom portion of the struc-ture was disassembled, logs cleanedand treated with a non-toxic fungicide,and moved up the mountain to thefuture lean-to site.

Also during the fall, members ofBackcountry Skills prepared the lean-

Troy Bernier ’14, Luyi “Lewis” Xie ’13,Stefan Guenther ’13, and Long Nguyen ’11

Lars Robinson ’13, cutting a saddle notch The crew hangs floor joists at thelean-to’s final resting place.

Mike and Sean Dalton

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to site by digging holes for the four stone foun-dations. The lean-to site isn’t far off well-estab-lished trails so that faculty and students won’thave to travel too far into the woods to campout. There will eventually be a permanent fire-place situated in front of the lean-to so thatgroups can also go out for a Sunday afternooncook-out.

At present, half of the lean-to logs are up themountain, thanks to additional help receivedfrom members of Berkshire’s “Wolf Pack” andAlpine Ski Team. The floor joists and 2”tongue-and-groove floor is in, and the top halfof the lean-to remains at Gordon RecreationalPark with rafters being fitted. This winter theremaining logs, purlins and rafters will head upthe mountain along with roof decking andwestern red cedar shingles, which will cap offthe project (weather permitting). A formaldedication is planned for the spring of 2011.Watch for updates posted on the RKMP page ofthe School’s Web site.

area of land for ecological study), meter tapes to mark tree positions,dbh (diameter, breast, height) tapes to determine tree diameter, and treeguides to identify the types of trees they found in their plot. Back in theclassroom, each team turned its measurement data into a scaled map ofits quadrate; the individual maps will eventually be displayed together toshow the extent of the study area and the similarities and differences intree species within the plots.

Students will return to their study sites periodically throughout theyear to collect a variety of data. Using HOBO® remote data loggers, stu-dents can determine minimum and maximum temperatures over a 24-hour period enabling them to collect a complete temperature profile oftheir plot as well as measure light intensity at varying heights above theground. Other studies may include soil chemistry and soil pH, as well asan inventory of soil invertebrates. Each team will have a chance todevelop its own question to investigate on its plot; those projects will bedeveloped over the course of the winter and carried out, in mostinstances, in the spring.

All the students will have a chance to test their data collection skillsagain on an all-day field trip along the Appalachian Trail above the cam-pus in the spring of 2011. Students will again be laying out study plotsand measuring and identifying trees, and will also be asked to carefullynote the structure of the forest along the trail so that they can compareit to the structure of the forest at their study site. We would like them tounderstand the differences in climate and nutrients between the baseand the top of the mountain and how those differences affect theecosystem structures in the two locales. Though all of the details of theday are not yet complete, we hope it will include a hike to the summit ofMount Everett to see the scrub oak community as well as the communi-ty along the ridges below the summit.

This project was inspired in part by a program that Mike Dalton and Iare participating in called A Trail to Every Classroom, a joint venturesponsored by the National Park Service and the Appalachian TrailConference. The program invites teachers from all states theAppalachian Trail traverses to design a curriculum unit that focuses onthe Trail that makes use of community partners and includes a servicecomponent. Key components of this program are site specific educationand service learning. The program began last spring with a series ofregional workshops, continued last summer with a week-long event atthe National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, WestVirginia and concluded last fall with regional workshops in Vermont.We would like to eventually exchange the data our students collect withthat from colleagues from other sections of the Trail, in order to give ourstudents an even broader look at the Trail as an ecological microcosm ofsorts. For our service project we would like to improve the trail-headkiosk at the base of the Elbow Trail to provide hikers with more infor-mation about the ecosystem they are entering. We will also be contact-ing the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) regional office in SouthEgremont, Mass. to solicit their help in designing future studies alongthe Trail, and to find out about other service projects that we might par-ticipate in along the local Trail.

It is our hope that this program will help to develop a future genera-tion of volunteers for the ATC and Appalachian Mountain Club as theseorganizations are responsible for much of the maintenance of this 2,050mile-long National Scenic Trail.

(More information on the Trail to Every Classroom program can befound on the Appalachian Trail Web site under Conservancy tab.)

A Trail to Every Classroom continued from page 1

Mike, Sean, Robin McGraw '70, and Lars

Doug Brown scribing the logto prepare for saddle notch

There is a high windswept meadowon Mount Washington’s shoulderstrewn with gnarled and ragged rock.The stones that litter the meadow arethe same rough stones found through-out the Presidential Range of NewHampshire. Between the rocks,browning sedge covers the ground.Diapensia creeps from between thestones or spreads in the hard pack ofabandoned tracks. The tired sunlight,let in through gaps in the low flyingclouds, mimics the meadow’s colorsand cuts swaths across it. The sedgemoves in waves, blown about on anever present wind. It is like perching ina watchtower; even the Lakes of theClouds seem far below. It is beautifulcountry.

The meadow carries along its spinethe old Crawford Path. Rather thanclimbing over outcrops, as the newertrail does, the original route weavesalong the ridge, and finding it was thereason I set out that fall afternoon. Idon’t know when the path was relocat-

ed, though I assume from the difficultyof following it in a few places that itwas some time ago. The old CrawfordPath follows the sensibilities of themen and horses that built it two-hun-dred years ago. It meanders followingthe grass and pushes through gaps inthe long strings of tumbled rock. It hasgrown into the meadow. The rocksand gentle slopes suggest a route, andthe path – long abandoned – followsthe mountain’s will.

My mother asked me years ago why Ilike hiking so much. The question stillechoes in my head. I like the sweep ofthe views, the peace of the waters, thescent of the balsam firs, the burningsweat of the climb and the quiet isola-tion of the wind. None of these things,even collectively, seem sufficient reasonto feel the way I do. I told her howincredible it is to stand in the brightestsunlight, and be totally insignificant. Isaid there’s something incredibly reas-suring about being so insensibly small.I think, now, that being so small is the

only thing that allows someone to fitinto the cradling hands of those littledells, to see the hidden places that arelittered throughout the ridges. It issimply to be in places like this meadowthat I hike.

At one point, not far from Monroe,the path winds up between two slabs ofrock forming a shallow chute. There isa large cairn and two iron pins where aplaque has been removed, and acrossfrom them, two sets of initials arecarved into the rock. Just ahead is asemi-circular windbreak, a low roughrock wall, built of the same lichen-cov-ered stones that sit doggedly in thesedge. This is where Father Bill Curtis’sbody was found hidden from the windin August 1900. I assume the wind-break was built quietly out of respectfor the dead. I sometimes wonder if ithas ever been used.

Father Bill began climbing theCrawford Path as the sky threatened ahorrible, screaming storm of snow andice with his friend, Allan Ormsby.Above the tree line, these strong hikersfaced into the cold and raging northwind and continued on. The moun-tains were careless, or else indifferent.Neither reached the summit. Thewind and the sedge have since sweptalmost everything but the memoryaway.

Perhaps because we have no powerin the mountains, they allow us to seethese little indiscretions. Perhaps theyhint of things held dear. Throughtrails are fingers of civilization pushinginto the forest as far as its resistancewill allow, and the sedges’ reclamationof the old Crawford Path is an indica-tion of our ultimate fate. With themountain’s slightest wayward thought,we become no more than a story and aslow healing scar.

And so the meadow is no place ofhalf measures. To fit between the windand the rain, the grasses and rocks and

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Place in Mind: Reflections from an Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiker

By Nathaniel Blauss, physics teacher and RKMP instructor

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drifting sunlight, it is more difficultthan to carry the packs on our backs.A place out of time demands you liveprecisely where and when you are.The challenge that the meadow puts tous is sometimes no more than tonotice the tiny pocket between cloudand rock, trees and earth and sky thatwe have been allowed into—to stepinto it and breathe the wind.

Nathaniel started hisoutdoor career tryingto build dams in theShumatuscacant River,a stream behind hishouse, out of rocks,sticks, leaves and twoabandoned tires leftrotting in the mould.

With time he grew too big for the woods ofHanson, MA, and began hiking with familyand friends in the White Mountains of NewHampshire. He eventually became a hut-man in the Appalachian Mountain Club’sHigh Huts and achieved Hut Master (respon-sibilities include keeping the batteriescharged, the fire blazing, the compost toiletsworking, and feeding hikers) at the mostremote, and least visited Galehead Hut inNew Hampshire during the fall of 2007.

Nathaniel graduated from ColgateUniversity with a double major in Math andPhysics, which required frequent breaks towalk and explore the hills around Hamilton,N.Y. After graduation in 2004, he spent ayear as a carpenter and substitute teacherbefore hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2005,starting on February 28th, and passingBerkshire School, without knowing it, some-where around June 3, 2006. He has workedas a teacher, a carpenter and a trip leadercombining the two to build a wooden seakayak and travel on the coast of Maine—inaddition to cooking and pack-muling whilein the huts. He is a Wilderness FirstResponder and says that he has learnedmore from the various trials and tribulationsof being outside than anywhere else.

The Appalachian MountainClub (AMC) is an organizationthat maintains the AppalachianTrail (AT), which encompasseseverything from rerouting, resur-facing, and building stairs to coun-tering erosion and manning thehuts and shelters provided for hik-ers. The Berkshire Teen TrailCrew, a program of the AMC thatallows teenagers to help in theupkeep of the Trail, is targeted toteens of all backgrounds and expe-rience levels consisting of aboutten teens and two leaders pergroup, who hike a portion of thetrail together and spend a weekdoing trail work and maintenance.

My family has used the AT for aslong as I can remember (hiking,skiing, and canoeing). So when Iheard about the Berkshire TeenTrail Crew, I realized it could bemy opportunity to ensure theTrail’s legacy as well as extend myknowledge of the Trail.

Our group consisted of eightteenagers and two leaders. Wewere total strangers, but ended upgreat friends despite our many dif-ferences: one of the guys in my tentwas from Philadelphia, anotherfrom the suburbs of Boston; oneleader had been a “ski bum” inUtah for two years and the otherwas an environmental activist.One of the girls had done extensivebackpacking out West, while it wasthe first time in a tent for severalothers. By the end of a week itseemed like we had known eachother for years.

For the entire week we campedat a tent site beside the trail weworked on. Unfortunately, wepicked the only rainy week of thesummer. We were not alone; anorientation group from Yale alsodescended on the same site that

week, mak-ing it a bitcrowded.

We began by rerouting an espe-cially steep section of the AT andbuilding a stone staircase. Thererouting project involved clearing,leveling, and surfacing the newtrail, then decommissioning theold section. The staircase endedup being a ton of fun to build. Tocomplete it, we needed to first findadequate stones, bring them to thework site and then we leveredthem into the correct position. Itwas like the world’s most complexjigsaw puzzle, but it felt great to seeit finished, knowing it would bethere for years to come.

Thinking back on the experience,it is impossible to point to onething and say what I enjoyed themost, because it was just cumula-tively great. The worst part wasdefinitely the weather, but even thatdidn’t lessen the experience. Thefood wasn’t gourmet, considering itwas trail food cooked over a campstove, but after a day of hiking andwork, it always tasted great.

I would definitely do this again;in fact, I am interested in becom-ing a leader at some point. Withthat in mind, I recommend theTeen Trail Crew Program to any-one who is interested in the out-doors, and doesn’t mind gettingtheir hands dirty or just wants tospend a week on the AT.

Appalachian Mountain Club’sBerkshire Teen Trail CrewBy Lars Robinson ’13

Lars Robinson is fromNorfolk, Conn. and a mem-ber of the Class of 2013 whoparticipates in the RKMP’sWinter Mountaineering.Lars also runs cross-countryand rows for the School’s crew team.During his free time, Lars helps runBerkshire School’s maple syrup operation.

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The Mountain MotelFor years the RKMP’s home, the “moun-

tain room,” was located in the old kitchenlocated on the first floor of Memorial Hall.Here stoves and cook kits were kept in anold refrigerator, sleeping bags were stored ina cubicle that had leaky walls and ceiling,and a dehumidifier had to run constantly tokeep mold and mildew at bay. With the raz-ing of Memorial Hall in the summer of2010, the RKMP was looking for new tem-porary digs which ended up being a build-ing formerly called “the motel” and nowdubbed The Mountain Motel. School car-penter Dale Smith did a great job renovatingthis structure to provide a large, open meet-ing space and a room designed to storecamping gear. The building is warm anddry and provides a safe haven for much ofthe program’s gear. The hope is that some-day the RKMP will have a permanent struc-ture that will house all of the program’sofferings along with storage for canoes,kayaks, and a large space for drying gear.

Ropes Course RepairsSteve Werntz of Indian Mountain

Adventures recently upgraded the belaycables on the high elements of the School’schallenge course. It seems that the old fas-tening system for the belay cables was not“insurable” and the industry standard hadmoved to a new method for ensuring thatthese critical cables would be secure. Stevespent a week during the summer hangingfrom ropes, replacing the fasteners andinspecting every component of the course.The inspection is an annual event thatoccurs before the start of school in the fall.

Mountain DayDoug Brown, an RKMP instructor during

the 2009-2010 school year, organized thegreatest “Mountain Day” that Berkshire hasseen in years. Senior faculty have recountedon a number of occasions that in the “olddays” students all hiked the mountain andhad lunch at Guilder Pond. Students wererequired to sign-in with faculty as theyarrived at the top of the mountain. Inrecent years Mountain Day was simply a dayfree of academic classes, but there was nosense of celebrating the great resource thatlies all around us. That all changed whenDoug volunteered to organize the day.

Students and faculty suspectedsomething was afoot when they founda tipi under construction in BuckValley on their way to first periodclass on Monday. Jack Lee ‘10, whowas scheduled to speak to the com-munity at School Meeting, was sur-prised to learn that his position at thelectern had been usurped. FidelMoreno, an ethnographic documen-tary film-maker from Santa Fe, NM andStephentown, NY, and his good friend JamesEttisitty, a traditional Navajo medicine manand healer, took the stage and gave a fasci-nating talk that included traditional singingand drumming. Fidel stressed the vision ofthe School’s founder, Seaver Buck, in choos-ing a site under the mountain, so intrinsical-ly tied to the natural environs. He praisedthe School’s close relationship with nature,as evidenced in special days in the schoolcalendar named in honor of our mountain.At this, the crowd grew wiggly and excited -they knew what would follow. To the

uproarious cheers of all, Fidelannounced that it was, in fact,Mountain Day.

This year’s Mountain Day rekin-dled a long-honored tradition.Instead of a day spent lounging, stu-dents were presented with a bevy ofenticing ways to spend the free day.From guided hikes to Guilder Pond,South Pinnacle or Race Brook Falls,to experiences on the high ropescourse behind Berkshire Hall or onthe rock wall in the gym, to fly fish-ing or birding expeditions, to ori-enteering, cider pressing or maple

syrup preparation and wood splitting, thecommunity spent the day engaged inhealthy, natural pursuits. Best of all, Fideland James led drumming sessions in the tipiin Buck Valley! Students carried greenMountain Day cards to collect points foreach activity; students who amassed themost points won valuable gift certificates toarea stores and Shawn’s Place. Students whogathered three or more points were enteredin a raffle for other certificates, t-shirts andschool store bounty. The RKMP was aproud sponsor of this event and it is hopedthat this rekindled tradition will be an annu-al event.

The Garden Shed ProjectLast spring, members of the RKMP

helped Mr. Barros and members of his sus-tainability class construct a storage shed forthe new community garden located besidethe gym where tennis courts and the tempo-rary “Centennial Classrooms” once stood.This structure, assembled next to ChevalierLodge, was built primarily with used lum-ber, much of which had been milled fromtrees felled right on campus. The shed win-dow and door hardware were salvaged fromMemorial Hall, which was about to be razedto make space for the planned math/sciencebuilding. When the shed was completed,Robin McGraw ’70 came along with hisLand Rover and dragged the shed down tothe garden site.

Glen Brook Trail Bridge and DaveChapin Trail Bridge

Backcountry Skills 2009 completelyrebuilt the Glen Brook Trail Bridge, whichwas in a state of disrepair. The handrailswere off the bridge and the deck of thebridge was rotten. Two old utility poles weresalvaged and hauled up the mountain by

RKMP Updates

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members of Mr. Bowler’s recreational soccerteam. Over these long sturdy poles a newframe, decking and railing system was built.More recently, a new bridge was also con-structed on the Dave Chapin Trail. Like theGlen Brook Trail Bridge, which was builtaround the same time, the timbers were rot-ten and the railing was down. These twobridges are located on popular trails, and sotheir reconstruction ensured safe passage foryears to come. Note: The bridge on theDave Chapin Trail was almost completelyrenovated by a group of volunteers duringMountain Day last fall.

Wolf PackEvery year when classes start at Berkshire

School a certain group of students and fac-ulty come together to form the “Wolf Pack,”a band of individuals who retreat to theMountain before class on Friday morningsin order to release their “inner howl.” Theysay there simply is no better way to start aweekend at Berkshire than to wake up andhike through the pitch dark with your fellowwolves to the summit of the mountain over-looking campus and take in a new day as thefirst rays of sunshine reach Berkshire Hall.

Beyond the Mountain - Thailand,“Take Two”

In three previous newsletters we havereported on summer adventures providedby the RKMP’s Beyond the Mountain pro-gram, which was initiated by Frank Barros,former Director of the RKMP who nowserves as the school’s director of sustainabili-ty. Unfortunately last summer’s politicalunrest in Bangkok prevented Mr. Barros andMr. Dalton from leading a group of studentson a deep-water solo climbing trip to PodaIsland, which is near Krabi and theAndaman Sea. A new trip is currentlyplanned for June 2011 and already has 12student participants registered. The itiner-ary will include an elephant safari and a visitto Cambodia’s Angkor Wat and the AngkorNational Museum, so look for a summary ofthis trip in next year’s Newsletter!

Pinnacle to PinnacleIn mid-November the RKMP sponsored

the Second Annual Pinnacle to PinnacleHike. In 2009 this event had 25 student andfaculty participants, which grew to 39 in2010. Here’s a short piece that appearedrecently on the School’s Web site:

The Weather Cooperates for the 2ndAnnual Pinnacle to Pinnacle Hike

The weather was cool, clear, and crisp on arecent Sunday afternoon when 39 students,faculty and staff gathered for the 2ndAnnual Pinnacle to Pinnacle Hike, spon-sored by the RKMP. The intrepid hikers fol-lowed a path to the base of North Pinnacle,scrambled to its peak, and then bush-whacked west towards the Appalachian Trail.Along the way they stopped at a huge pieceof limestone that resembled a glacial erraticand tried to imagine how it got to its restingplace. After finding the AT, it was a pleasant15-minute hike along a fairly level stretch oftrail to the Hemlock Shelter, where folks hada chance to take a break for water and fruit.A long bushwhack followed in a southerlydirection through some thick mountain lau-rel, past the old markings and insulators ontrees along the Telephone Trail to a spotbelow Mount Everett. The pack of hikersthen headed east and up the back side ofSouth Pinnacle, “hitting” the 1914 stonemonument “spot on.”

The student participants were AndrewWalther ’11, Bray Wilcock ’12, Charlie Yorke’13, Chris Bowman ’12, Dakota Richardson’10, Edeline Loh ’14, Grace Fowler ’13,Hunter Lucey ’12, James Steiner ’12, JPCarey ’11, Julio Morales ’11, Karina Wong’11, Kathleen Huang ’11, Lars Robinson ’13,Lillian Or ’11, Olly Liu ’14, Penny Ni ’12,Sissi Wang 13, Timothy Kou ’13, UnyimeUdoh ’13, Wesley Lickus ’13. Faculty andstaff hikers included Andrew Bogardus,Anita Loose-Brown, Dan Skoglund,Elizabeth Renehan, Evan Nielsen, FrankBarros, Hugh McKeegan, James MeriwetherHarris, Jasper Turner, Kate Garbutt, MikeBjurlin, Mike Dalton, Myra Riiska, NathanielBlauss, Nina Rodriguez, Paul McKenzie,Ruthie Fish, and Will Cronin. Also along for

the adventure were 5 campusdogs: Bernie, Koda, Patch,Remy, and Percy.

In the group was a smallcadre of repeat hikers, severalof whom wore their 2009Pinnacle to Pinnacle T-shirtproudly. Included in thisgroup were Chris Bowman,Julio Morales, Bray Wilcock,Mike Brujlin, Nina Rodriguez,Jasper Turner, MeriwetherHarris, Anita Loose-Brown,and Mike Dalton. The high-light of the four-mile hikewas, once again, a tremendous

chili and cornbread feast, hosted by Nannieand Bill Clough. The beauty of finishing thehike at the Clough’s house on East Campus(besides the food) was the opportunity tolook to the west and see the entire hikingroute that had just been completed.

Thoreau HouseIn October of 2010, two students from

Stuart Miller’s (class of ’97) AdvancedEnglish V class, Meagan McKenna ’12 andJack Lewers ’12, were the first to take advan-tage of an opportunity, albeit for only onenight each, to live like Henry David Thoreaudid during his two-year stint at WaldenPond. The overnight consisted of arriving atthe School’s Thoreau House in theevening—alone and devoid of any electronicdevice—and then joining the class for break-fast the following morning. A simplelantern, the necessary books, a journal, and asleeping bag were all that accompaniedMeagan and Jack during their individualstays in the cabin.

“Being in the cabin alone allowed me tothink. Just think: nothing special, nothingcomplicated. Just reflect on my life, mychoices, and my future,” said Meagan.

Unyime, Lillian and Dan Skoglund

Ritt RememberedBy James Harris, director of communications, English teacher

Colby Coombs, the lone survivor of an avalanche that took the lifeof Ritt Kellogg ’85 and another climber in 1992 on Alaska’s MountForaker, recently told a hushed Berkshire community about hisfriendship with the namesake of Berkshire’s Ritt Kellogg MountainProgram.

Colby, a true mountain man who employs 40 guides at his AlaskaMountaineering School in Talkeetna, Alaska, and who disdains beingcalled “mister”, also visited classes in U.S. history, English, journal-ism, and forest ecology.

The disastrous expedition, which was recounted in the book In theZone: Epic Survival Stories from the Mountaineering World, was alsothe cover story of the July 1998 Reader’s Digest. After finding thebodies of his two fellow climbers, Colby made it back down themountain despite fractures to his neck, shoulder and leg. But ratherthan dwell on the details of the disaster, the soft-spoken Colby choseto tell of his relationship with Ritt, who was his classmate atColorado College and his best friend for seven years, which he called“the time of our lives.” Colby spoke of Ritt’s love of practical jokesand sailing, of their shared passion for climbing, of steady diets ofRamen noodles and popcorn while planning their next climb, and oflong car trips spent in the shared silence of friendship.

He also showed photos on the big screen of staggeringly beautifulvistas of the Alaska that he and Ritt loved—“it was sort of a religionfor us; it cleansed our minds of all the other clutter”—and some ofthe peaks they conquered together. Included also was a quickprimer on the perils and pleasures of mountain climbing.

For his day’s labors at his friend’s school, Colby would accept onlya Berkshire School hockey cap and a half-gallon of maple syrupmade by members of the RKMP. But judging from the number ofstudents who approached him afterward, he might have landed afew future climbing clients from Berkshire School.

Clubs and ActivitiesFly Fishing Bill Bullock and Dan Skoglund

Birding Clay Splawn

Maple Syrup Corporation Mike Dalton

A Trail to Every Classroom Mike Dalton and Anita Loose-Brown

Trained in Ropes Course Mike Dalton, Frank Barros, Jesus Ibanez, Dan Spear, Peter Quilty, Bill Bullock,Nathaniel Blauss, Kate Garbutt, Brian Lewton

Thank you to the donors who have given to the RKMP endowment, from all the students who have bene fited from their generosity .FSC area

Please contact RKMP Newsletter editor Bonita Lovison, director of stewardship, with any questions or concerns (blovison@berkshireshireschool.org)

The Ritt Kellogg Mountain Program 2010-2011 Offerings and Staff

FallBackcountry Skills Mike Dalton and Nathaniel BlaussRock Climbing and Parkour Frank Barros and Dan Spear

WinterBoat Building Richard GilesWinter Mountaineering Mike Dalton and Nathaniel Blauss

SpringWhitewater Kayaking Jesus Ibanez and Dan SpearMountain Biking Frank Barros

Beyond the Mountain Frank Barros(domestic and international wilderness trips)

Caitlin, Lisle, and Colby Coombs on the Allen Theatre stage with a slideof Ritt Kellogg ’85 in the background.