Tag Archives: DMC

Dartmouth Monogamy Club

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Informant Info
The informant was Josie Nordrum, a 20 year old junior at Dartmouth and a member of the DMC. She was born in San Francisco, CA and raised in Corte Madera, CA. She learned how to climb at Dartmouth from Jay Dumanian two and a half years ago on her DOC freshman trip. Josie’s climbing phobia is exposure to the elements. She loves the feeling of satisfaction after a long climb.

Type: Verbal, Joke

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: Within the Climbing culture, it is said that many are highly monogamous with other members. This is a socially accepted notion in the DMC.

Associated File:

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Transcript: “DMC stands for both the Dartmouth Mountaineering Club and, to its members, the Dartmouth Monogamy Club.”

Lore: DMC is jokingly referred to as the Dartmouth Monogamy Club, instead of the Dartmouth Mountaineering Club.

Informant’s Comments: As an example, one DMCer Josie met her boyfriend in the DMC during her freshman year and has been with him for the past two and a half years. No one knows why, but a lot of club members tend to form close relationships over the years.

Collector’s Comments: The club is a relatively close group of friends which tease many of the couples who meet through, and are active in, the DMC. The fact that the club is so open and accepting of these people reflect how friendly and inclusive the club is.

Tags/Keywords: Dartmouth Monogamy Club, DMC, joke, verbal

Mnemonic for Figure Eight Knot

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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

Climbing Near Harvard

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Informant Information
The informant was Josie Nordrum, a 20 year old junior at Dartmouth and a member of the DMC. She was born in San Francisco, CA and raised in Corte Madera, CA. She learned how to climb at Dartmouth from Jay Dumanian two and a half years ago on her DOC freshman trip. Josie’s climbing phobia is exposure to the elements. She loves the feeling of satisfaction after a climb.

Type: Customary

Language: English

Country of Origin: U.S.A

Date Collected: May 15, 2016

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

Social/ Cultural Context: This is likely in the spirit of Ivy league rivalry between the Harvard and Dartmouth Climbers.

CHRIS SHARMA & DALIA OJEDA Photographed by Boone Speed on April 30, Buttermilk region, Inyo National Forest, Bishop, CA Photographer: Boone Speed Hair: (no hair) Makeup: (no makeup) Prop Stylist: (no prop stylist)

Lore: The DMC frequently climbs are Rumney, an extremely popular climbing area in New Hampshire about 50 minutes from campus. When DMC members see Harvard climbers also at Rumney they take off their clothes and climb naked.

Informant’s Comments: Not all but some DMC members will adhere to this tradition. It’s a way for the Dartmouth climbers to not one-up Harvard but also embrace nature and themselves

Collector’s Comments: This is another example of Dartmouth climbers’ rebelliousness as well as generally fun and outgoing attitude. It shows the DMC’s desire to embrace themselves and their view that nudity is not a complete social taboo.

Tags/Keywords: naked, Harvard, Rumney, climbing, DMC, self-expression, Customary

 

The Wine Game

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Informant info: The informant was Ian Raphael, a Dartmouth ’18, who was born in Kirkland, WA and raised in Miami, FL. He learned to climb when he was 18 from an older, close friend in Port Angeles, WA.

Date Collected: 5/16/16

Place Collected: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

Type: Customary Folklore, Ceremony, Prayer

Language: English

Country of Origin: U.S.A

Social/ cultural context: The wine game is ceremonial in climbing culture and is used to bring members together. Climbers often go on day trips together. At the end of each trip, climbers are usually tired and hungry. The wine game is a way to finish off the night and come together to reflect on the day.

Associated File:

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Lore: After a long day of climbing, climbers gather around in a circle with a gallon of wine and christen it by making toasts into the fire to famous past climbers and the climbing “gods”. The climbers toast to Earl and Valerie, John Joline, DMCers of the past and present, and the “homies and the homeless”. Afterwards, the gallon wine bottle is passed around the circle. Participants may only hold the bottle to drink with their pinky finger. The person who drinks the last drop of wine is considered the winner of the game.

Informant’s Comments: This is a way to celebrate after a climb. It is a fun way to wrap up the day and have fun with your friends. No one knows why we toast to the “homies and the homeless”, but we toast to Earl, Valerie, and John Joline because of their importance to the club.

Collector’s Comments: The wine game begins with a prayer when the climbers christen the wine. It is followed by a game where each player tries to drink the last drop. The game is a celebration of the end of a long day of climbing. It is a way to reflect on the day and relax after a long climb; basically, it encourages mindfulness and team bonding. While playing the game, climbers celebrate their friendships and their outing.

Tags/Keywords: wine, games, prayer, climbing, alcohol, celebration, Customary, DMC, folklore

EE Party

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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

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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