First College Interview

So today was my first college interview (of four). I Skyped my interviewer for Carleton College. The interview has reassured me that Carleton deserves its place as one of my top-choice schools.

Talking to my interviewer makes the college sound amazing, and I would love to go there. The weather includes snow, they have a strong outdoors club, a strong quiz bowl, a great liberal arts education, good opportunities for the science-oriented, and, probably most uniquely, the Dacie Moses House, where you can always come in and bake some cookies.

Strangely enough, my interviewer also mentioned that baking (chocolate-chip oatmeal cookies, to be specific) was a stress-reliever for her; I suppose I'm not as weird as I thought. I'm really excited to be applying to Carleton, and I hope I will be accepted.

Next up: Interview for MIT

Pictures from the Summit Bechtel Reserve

Sunset over the CONSOL Energy Bridge.

Monty exploring his new environment.

Monty at Twelve Points.

Map of the Summit Bechtel Reserve.

A view of the Rocks.

Looking down the Energy Bridge.

Monty does a bit of "rock climbing" on his own.

We were rather surprised to meet this little bat on the rock climbing wall.

Monty fits right in at Adventure Valley.

Base Camp Bravo.

Summit Day 5

Today was our final full day at the Summit Bechtel Scout Reserve. My group (six out of ten of us) went to the Ropes in the morning and the Rocks in the afternoon. Ropes is multiple aerial challenge courses high in the treetops. It was a lot of fun, but not too terribly tiring. I don't think any of our crew members fell during the whole morning (we did two courses).
The afternoon was rock climbing, which was good. Most of the rock climbing courses are set up with an auto-belay system which is actually quite convenient, and simpler than being belayed by a person. The staff only had to check our carabiners and harnesses and keep an eye on us - they could be climbing walls too. The best I climbed was a 5.6, but we have a few spider monkeys in our crew who made valiant efforts at the 5.10's and 5.11's. There was also an area for bouldering. We are required to have two people spotting for every person climbing, but it was fun. It's strange climbing without a harness, and even scarier than usual, if that's possible. (I really don't like heights.) After bouldering and rock climbing, we rappelled down the side of the rappelling tower, and did the Leap of Faith. The Leap of Faith is almost like a zip line set up with the auto belay system, so as you jump off the rappelling tower you move out and down. It was a lot of fun.
That evening was the closing ceremony. The closing ceremony is basically a flag ceremony at Twelve Points, and then you get your evaluation forms, patches, Big Zip cards, etc. The patches say Christen High Adventure Base, and don't have a year on them. Unfortunately, the Duty to God and Outdoor Ethics patches are not available yet.
Overall, going to the Summit was a lot of fun. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again or recommend it to another crew. However, it is most definitely a new camp that is still rather disorganized and has a lot of learning to do. Also, don't expect a high adventure experience like Philmont, Northern Tier, or SeaBase. The Summit claims to be a high adventure base, but it is really more like an extreme version of summer camp.

Summit Day 4

I feel like our week is nearly over.

Last night was incredibly cold. No matter the amount of clothing and blankets I add, I'm still shivering in my sleeping bag.

Today we began with our service project. We raked mountain bike trails, getting dead leaves and loose rocks out of the path. The majority of the time was spent on hiking, waiting for tools to be found, and being driven to and from the site. It wasn't bad, although we didn't do much work.

After lunch and a ride back to the Scott Visitor Center, we stopped at our campsite and then continued beyond Bravo Camp to The Canopy, our elective. We did two sets of zip line courses in two groups. It was pretty fun, but uneventful.

Tonight all the usual activities will be open. A few people will have latrine duty. We also have to start thinking about preparing to leave on Saturday morning.