Dartmouth Hosts Winter Carnival This Weekend

Friday, February 8

Hanover/Lyme, N.H.

9:30 AM

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth Day One

While there are a number of different activies at Winter Carnival, flag jousting is not one of them.

Photo by: Dave Priganc

2/7/2019 3:35:00 PM | Skiing

Winter Carnival activities

Featured events are the ski races, ice sculpture contest, polar bear swim and human dogsled race

By: Rick Bender

HANOVER, N.H. — The Dartmouth ski team will host this week's Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) carnival race as a part of the college's Winter Carnival throughout the campus this weekend.

Not only will the Big Green welcome the other EISA teams to the Dartmouth Skiway and Oak Hill for the alpine and cross country events, respectively, but the college will have numerous other activities across campus. The festivities will begin with the opening ceremony for Dartmouth community members this evening from 6-8 p.m. in Common Ground with food and beverages served. An ice sculpture contest will take place on the southwest quadrant of the Green all day on Friday and Saturday, with other events like the polar bear swim, Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble performance, Baker Tower tours and human dogsled race occurring throughout the weekend.

Expect the skiing to be hotly contested with Vermont battling Dartmouth for supremacy in the EISA. The Catamounts have won two of the first three carnivals this season, just barely hanging on last week in Stowe, Vt., by a mere 20 points. The Big Green boast two NCAA champions in sophomore Katharine Ogden (cross country) and junior Tanguy Nef (alpine), not to mention a deep and talented roster in both disciplines.

Dartmouth has won every men's alpine race this season with Nef taking gold in the alpine twice and sophomore Drew Duffy climbing to the top step of the podium in the other four. And with three other skiers with multiple top-10 finishes this year, the Big Green men make for a formidable group.

Speaking of formidable, the women's alpine team has been even stronger top to bottom, leading the team in points earned. Eight times a Big Green skier has stepped on the podium this year, including senior Alexa Dlouhy in all three of her slalom races. Dlouhy, junior Stephanie Currie and sophomore Claire Thomas have all won races as well, and the team welcomed Olympian Tricia Mangan to the squad this year as well.

On the trails, Ogden is the one everyone is chasing after she won both cross country events at last year's NCAA Championship as a freshman. And with no less than seven different skiers who have earned a spot on the podium this year, and all three NCAA skiers (Ogden, senior Lydia Blanchet and junior Lauren Jortberg), the women's Nordic team can put on a show.

The men's Nordic squad has a pair of seniors who competed at the NCAA Championship last year — two-time All-American Callan Deline and Gavin McEwen. Although the men are off to a slower start, they will continue to improve and be an integral part of the team in its quest for a third NCAA title this year.

On Friday, the giant slalom will begin on Wordens Trail at the Dartmouth Skiway at 9 a.m. with the women's first run followed by the men at approximately 10:15 a.m. The women's 10K freestyle will begin at 9:30 a.m. (weather permitting) at Oak Hill with the men's 15K freestyle starting about two hours later. The slalom will take place on Thomas Trail starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, while the classical races are expected to begin at 9:30 a.m.

Other varsity sports competing on campus will be the squash teams against Brown on Friday at 5 p.m., the men's hockey and basketball teams on both Friday and Saturday night at 7 p.m., including Flannel Night on Saturday when the men's basketball team hosts Columbia.