Author Archives: Tessa DeJong

Mnemonic for Figure Eight Knot

Title: Mnemonic for Figure Eight Knot

Informant Info: Tessa DeJong is a 19 year-old freshman undergraduate student at Dartmouth College. She has been climbing for 2 years and was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV. Her brother taught her how to rock climb. Tessa’s biggest climbing phobia is the rope breaking. She loves to climb for the adrenaline rush.

Date Collected: 5/14/16

Place Collected: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

Type of Lore: Verbal, Mnemonic

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States

Social/Cultural Context: The figure eight knot is commonly used in a variety rock climbing activities. It is possible most commonly used in top belaying. Knots are important in rock climbing because they allow climbers to secure themselves to the mountain. They are involved in safety procedures.

Associated File:

Figure Eight Knot

Lore: The mnemonic used for remembering a figure eight knot is as follows “This is Charlie, give him a scarf, and punch him in the face”.

Informant’s Comments: The result of this mnemonic is a figure eight knot. The mnemonic is a silly way to remember how to tie the specific knot.

Collector’s Comments: The mnemonic for a Figure Eight Knot is an example of the playfulness that many rock climbers bring to the sport. In addition, it is a way for new climbers to remember how to tie a figure eight knot. This knot is extremely important for safety reasons, so it is imperative that climbers remember how to tie it correctly. The mnemonic both helps climbers remember how to tie  the knot and incorporates the DMC’s playfulness into every day climbing.

Tags/Keywords: knot, figure eight, mnemonic, rock climbing, DMC

PBR and Lil’ Smokies

Title: PBR and Lil’ Smokies

Informant Info: Josie Nordrum is a 20 year-old junior at Dartmouth College. Josie was born in San Francisco, CA and now lives in Corte Madero, CA. She has been climbing for two years and is heavily involved with the Dartmouth Mountaineering Club. Josie’s climbing phobia is exposure to the elements, and her favorite part about climbing is the satisfaction she gets when she finishes.

Date Collected: 5/15/16

Place Collected: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

Type of Lore: Material, Recipe and Tradition

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States

Social/Cultural Context: At Dartmouth, each term there is a big weekend. Big Weekends include Homecoming in the fall, Winter carnival in the winter, and Green Key in the spring. Over Big Weekends, students tend to party a lot and celebrate. Such celebrations usually include alcohol and gatherings at fraternities. Big Weekends are generally liked by the student population at Dartmouth. Students tend to look forward to Big Weekends as a break from studying and a reason to celebrate together.

Associated File:

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Lore: Before every big weekend, Dartmouth Mountaineering Club members sustain themselves exclusively on a diet of Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer and Lil’ Smokies. Breakfast generally includes Lil’ Smokie Breakfast Burritos and Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. Lunch generally includes Lil’ Smokies in Lil’ Blankets and Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer.

Informant’s Comments: The reason for this weird combination of foods can only be explained by tradition and members are not really sure how it came to be. However, members continue to follow this ritual because it is tradition and a fun bonding experience.

Collector’s Comments: PBR and Lil’ Smokies is an example of a ritual marking the beginning of of something — this time the beginning of a big weekend. This a theme which is consistent throughout the majority of rock climbing folklore collected. Even though the combination of PBR and Lil’ Smokies is pretty disgusting (allegedly), DMCers continue to partake in this celebration to honor tradition. In addition, it is a weird variation of a purification rite before the Big Weekend. Although counterintuitive, drinking beer and eating only Lil’ Smokies is a way for DMCers to prepare for the coming weekend celebration. By following this specific diet, they set themselves up for a fun and safe Big Weekend celebration and prepare themselves for the festivities.

Tags/Keywords: PBR, Lil’ Smokies, Big Weekend, tradition, diet, food, initiation

Spring Break Signs

Title: Spring Break Signs

Informant Info: Tessa DeJong is a 19 year-old freshman at Dartmouth College. She has been climbing for 2 years and was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV. Her brother taught her how to rock climb. Tessa’s climbing phobia is the rope breaking as she climbs. She loves the rush of adrenaline that she gets when climbing.

Date Collected: 5/13/16

Place Collected: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

Type of Lore: Material

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States

Social/Cultural Context: The DMC hosts trips for its members over every spring break. Like many other DOC clubs, it is tradition to steal a sign at the end of the trip and have all members sign it. Usually, DMCers will take a trip to Joshua Tree or Red Rocks National Parks. The trip lasts for about a week. In the past, DMCers would drive to their destination. Today, DMCers usually fly as a group.

Associated File:

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Lore: Each year during the annual spring break trip taken by members of the Dartmouth Mountaineering Club, students steal signs from roads and national parks. These signs are then brought back to Dartmouth and signed by members of the trip.

Informant’s Comments: Stealing and signing signs is a way to commemorate your trip with you friends. The members sign with their nicknames which are usually earned during the trip. Every trip brings back their sign and hangs it in a special room in the climbing gym. The signs are a cool way to cement your trip’s legacy.

Collector’s Comments: The stealing of spring break signs is another example of a ritual marking the end of something, this time the end of a trip. It is also a way for the trip members to commemorate their time together. In addition, by means of this tradition, trip members create their own legacy — future DMCers will see signs from previous years and remember or imagine the people whose names are written on the signs. The act of stealing and personalizing each sign is a way for trips to celebrate their time together engage in a final, team-building exercise.

Tags/Keywords: spring break, material, sign, names, legacy

EE Party

Title: EE Party

Informant Info: Josie Nordrum is a 20 year-old junior undergraduate at Dartmouth College. She has been climbing for two years and is heavily involved with the Dartmouth Mountaineering Club. Josie was born in San Francisco, CA and still lives in Corte Madero, CA. She first learned to climb on her DOC Freshman Trip. Josie’s biggest climbing phobia is exposure. She loves the feeling of satisfaction after a good climb.

Date Collected: 5/15/16

Place Collected: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

Type of Lore: Customary, Celebration

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States

Social/Cultural Context: The EE party stands for the exotic and erotic party thrown by the Dartmouth Mountaineering Club at the end of winter term every year since 1995. It is a celebration of the last day of winter term and the beginning of spring climbing. This is especially important for climbers because in the winter climbers are only able to ice climb (ice climbing is not nearly as fun and much more dangerous than rock climbing).

Associated File:

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Lore: Due to the informant’s concerns, the specifics of the party were asked to be held secret. However, the party involves a pre-party ritual meant to bring every member into the right mindset for the night. Most members show up to the party drunk and wearing bizarre costumes made from any item but actual clothing. The party has no sexual undertones; it is simply a way to embrace oneself and have strictly platonic fun with friends.

Informant’s Comments: The EE party is a fun way to kick off the spring climbing season. It involves nudity and drinking, but is all in the spirit of fun, embracing oneself, and beginning the spring term. Celebration traditions include a email sent out every year to explain the party to the freshman and creative costumes. Some examples of the costumes worn to the party each year are just climbing rope and hallowed out pineapple shells.

Collector’s Comments: The EE party is an example of a ritual marking the end of something, this time the end of a winter. This a theme which is consistent throughout the majority of rock climbing folklore collected. The EE party is a celebration during the transition period between seasons. The absence of full clothing is related to the DMC’s willingness to embrace nudity and their own bodies. DMCers tend to view nudity as less of a taboo as mainstream society. Instead, they view it as a freedom of expression and a way to embrace their true selves. More than being just a fun celebration, the EE party helps welcome in the spring term and return of rock climbing.

Tags/Keywords: EE, erotic, exotic, party, nudity, DMC, spring, initiation, celebration

Spring Break Blessing

Title: Spring Break Blessing

Informant Info: William Braasch Jr. Billy is a 27 year old graduate student at Dartmouth who is originally from Lyme, NH, now lives in Norwich, VT, and has been climbing for 6 years. His favorite part about climbing is being outdoors and with his friends. Billy first learned about the Spring Break Blessing from older members of the DMC.

Date Collected: 5/25/16

Place Collected: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

Type of Lore: Customary, Ritual

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States

Social/Cultural Context: When the DMC used to drive to Red Rock National Park for its annual Spring Break Trip, John Joline, who is known as the father of the DMC, would give a speech about Earl and Valarie, the climbing gods. Originally there was only one climbing god, Earl, but many DMC women went out on a spiritual adventure and realized how important Valarie is to the DMC. After this discovery, Valerie was Christened a second climbing god.

Associated File:

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Lore: The ritual itself involved John Joline blessing the cars and smashing a bottle of wine over the cars. It is important to note that some variations of this blessing beer was used instead of wine. Only after this blessing could DMCers begin the 30 hour drive to Las Vegas.

Informant’s Comments: This ritual ended a year ago when John Joline passed away. Basically, it was a way to kick off each spring break trip. Joline performed this ritual to remind climbers about mindfulness and encourage them to take a moment to reflect before embarking on their trip.

Collector’s Comments: The Spring Break Blessing  is an example of a ritual marking the beginning of something — this time the beginning of the spring break trip. This theme is consistent throughout the majority of rock climbing folklore collected. The Spring Break Blessing seems to be a way to encourage mindfulness before embarking on the trip. It also appears to be a good luck ritual ensuring that climbers will be safe and have fun over spring break.

Tags/Keywords: spring break, blessing, Earl, Valerie, rock climbing, DMC, trip, ritual, initiation