Informant Info
Natalie Afonina, 25, born in Moscow, now lives in Seattle, WA. She learned how to rock climb 5 years ago in the Adirondacks with Eric, who was a senior at Middlebury College. She enjoys rock climbing for the feeling of control it brings and her biggest fear while climbing is finding snakes. Natalie learned of the game in Hanover from Zebediah Engberg while chatting about what their plans for the night would be.

Type: Customary, Game

Language: English

Country of Origin: US

Date Collected: May 15, 2016

Place Collected: Jonathan Belden Daniels Climbing Gym, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

Social/Cultural Context: The game is often performed as a fun afternoon or night adventure. The afternoon offers better views and the possibility of Whippi Dip afterwards, while the nighttime brings additional since the police will actively try to stop people from climbing the bridge.

Associated File:

Lore: The Fairlee Bridge Challenge consists of starting on one end of the 45′ tall bridge and climbing  to the other side over the top of the bridge. It’s strongly discouraged by local law enforcement and especially dangerous and little to no climbing protection is used. Some variations of the game involve doing the climb naked. Afterwards, Whippi Dip, located down the street, is a popular way to relax after the strenuous climb.

Informant’s Comments: Climbers complete the challenge as a way to celebrate and honor tradition. It also is pretty thrilling to climb the bridge and break an established rule without being caught. In addition, climbers complete the challenge to gain membership into a select group who have also performed the same feat.

Collector’s Comments: This was another one of the many games that we collected from climbers and is similar to the “buildering” games played on campus. The excitement comes from climbing a well-known local feature as well as the trill of rule-breaking.

Tags/Keywords: climbing, Customary, Fairlee Bridge, game, rule-breaking