Do you enjoy being outdoors but don't know what to do when the temperature drops? Do you live for summer but suffer in winter? Are you cooped up from November to March? Don't hide from the cold — celebrate winter! During IAP, participate in MIT Outing Club's Winter School, where you can have fun learning skills like cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice climbing and more. Winter School is MITOC's crash course in cold weather activities.

Lecture series topics include:

• Mandatory Tuesday January 8th MIT room Room 26-100. Intro, MITOC policies, clothing, basic gear, hiking, weather. Guest lecture: Sawyer Alberi on Safety, Decision Making and First Aid.
• Mandatory Thursday January 10th MIT room Room 26-100. Safety, gear rentals, eating and drinking, winter driving.
• Tuesday January 15th MIT room Room 6-120. Above treeline travel, ice climbing, skiing, and navigation.
• Thursday January 17th MIT room Room 6-120. Overnight trips in winter.
• Tuesday January 22nd MIT room Room 6-120. Guest lecture: Ryan Matz, Mt. Washington Snow Ranger
• Thursday January 24th MIT room Room 6-120. Guest lecture: Angela and Steven, founders of Map Adventures. Randy Pierce, founder of 2020 Vision Quest on completing the NH 48 with a guide dog.
• Tuesday January 29th MIT room Room 6-120. Guest lecture: Thomas Lone on doing the 7 summits. Andrew Drummond, founder of Ski the Whites
• Thursday January 31st MIT room Room 6-120. Winter School Review: MITOC Winter School Participants.

Winter School is an annual IAP course presented by the members of MITOC. Its goal is to teach the skills one needs to enjoy outdoor sports in the winter. During the month of January, participants attend lectures every Tuesday and Thursday evening and spend time outdoors during the weekends. Trips are offered at various levels of intensity and include hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, back-country skiing, ice climbing, winter camping, orienteering, and mountaineering.

Photo Credit:  Emily Joy Sotomayor