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Volume CXXXIII, Number 15 |
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Patagonia sale causes widespread flourescent jacket wearage
ELLIOT JACOBS
COLUMNIST
On Monday, climber, alpinist, writer, ski-mountaineer, and all-around stud Mark Synnott made the trek over from his home in New Hampshire to speak to students at the Outdoor Leadership Center about "his greatest adventure."
Mark Synnott's talk, entitled, "The Scorpion Wall," was about his 2003 big-wall climb in Guyana, which later became a National Geographic special. Synnott, who bears a frightening similarity to the character of "Hansel" from the movie Zoolander, entertained the crowd with amazing stories from his five-day climb out of the thick rainforest and to the top of an unexplored rock wall that rises out of the it.
Synnott began climbing in high school and fostered his love of the sport during his time at Middlebury College. Prompted by an internship at a climbing magazine after college, Synnott went on the road, tackling big climbs in the United States and writing stories while living out of his car. Synnott has settled down now with the help of a sponsorship from The North Face. He continues to climb around the world and trains year-round.
His talk about "The Scorpion Wall" was fascinating and hilarious because his low-key, almost scatterbrained style belied the seriousness and danger of his climb. He talked at length about trying to make spiders and scorpions, collected from the wall for important scientific analysis, fight a "battle royale." Other highlights of his talk included "the sickest pitch ever sent by a hired Guyanese farm worker" and his own discovery that the worms were safe to drink because "there can't be a parasitic worm [coolness pause] without a host." His talk was certainly not one to be missed, and inspired all of the students here to quit school and spend their time dropping acid and hanging out with spider monkeys in Guyana-quite a perspective.
In other outdoor news, if you missed the sale this weekend at the Patagonia Outlet, you are certainly going to stand out. That is because everyone who went to the sale managed to purchase a fluorescent, waterproof/breathable, gold-plated supercoat for approximately 43 cents. Now, our already-outdoorsy campus appears over-run by Patagonia-clad crossing guards, who glow in the day like neon gods and goddesses. The only way that things could get more outdoorsy/preppy was if the Volvo outlet were to have a sale on seven-year-old Volvo wagons. If you are still one of the students fighting the good fight in your muted blues or greys, I salute you. But I do have to say that I am very much enjoying my $9 bright-pink Gore-Tex bodysuit. Unfortunately, since all the good sizes were gone, me-sized people have to try to fit into XXL or XS. Which should you pick? I can't make the choice for you, but I personally went for XS.
Lastly, the Bowdoin Outing Club has some awesome stuff going on this weekend, so listen up. On Saturday, there will be a snowshoe hike going out-time is running short for winter adventures, and spring is almost upon us. Don't miss this opportunity to get out and enjoy the beautiful Maine winter before its too late (just for the record, that's the 37th time I've written that exact sentence this winter). Also, after a brief cancellation due to the cold, the telemark skiers are heading back out on Sunday to rip it up, so that will be most satisfactory. Also, there will be an all-members dinner and movie screening on Monday evening in the OLC. We will get together, have a home-cooked meal, and then watch the surfing classic Weight of Water-directed by none other than Jack Johnson. This will be a great way to kick the winter blues, so if you're interested, email me-ejacobs-with your i.d. number. That's all the news from the BOC-check out the website for updates about speakers, classes and trips.
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