Campus News
January 20th, 2026
GC students challenge themselves over break
Alpine-climbing class reaches Mount Washington Summit in OLA 125
Photo by Andy Hershey
Garrett College students (left to right) Iris Dubansky, Brooks Mead, and Haiden Hinebaugh are shown ice climbing at Covered Bridge Crag during the OLA Mount Washington trip.
Winter break is generally a time for Garrett College students to rest and recharge their batteries before returning for the spring semester.
Or not.
Seven GC students went the "or not" route over the last two weeks. The group signed up for Introduction to Alpine Climbing (OLA 125), a three-credit course that took place during a 12-day trip to New Hampshire's presidential mountain range, which the class climaxed by summiting Mount Washington.
"I'm not going to lie to you – it was pretty intense," said Haiden Hinebaugh, a 2025 Northern Garrett High graduate who is majoring in Outdoor Leadership and Adventure (OLA) Education. "The hiking was physically demanding, with a lot of vertical gain over short mileage. As we climbed, it got really windy and we were facing almost whiteout conditions. You couldn't even see 20-30 feet in front of you."
"It went very smoothly," said OLA Professor Andy Hershey, who led the trip along with professional guide Chad Cochran. "Intro to Alpine Climbing is a course that has a lot of variables, including weather and student abilities. This trip went as well as it possibly could have – the weather cooperated and the students were excellent."
Hershey said the course began January 5th with trip preparations, followed by an all-day drive to New Hampshire the following day. After three days of instruction on technical ice climbing and mountaineering skills, students took the American Institute of Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) Level I two-day certification course, using last Monday to pack for three days on Mount Washington.
"We hiked and set up camp last Tuesday at 4,000 feet," Hershey said. "Last Wednesday, we climbed to the summit and then came back to camp, and hiked out on Thursday, followed by a debrief and a written examination."
Travis Martin, an Oakland resident who came to GC after being homeschooled, noted the climb to the summit included a "2,400-foot difference in elevation in just over two miles."
"Then, on the way down, there was pretty steep technical terrain we had to get down using a belay," added Martin. "I was the last person at the top and I got to hang out in the dark for a little bit, which was really cool."
"It got pretty intense up at the top," said Iris Dubansky, a 2025 Southern Garrett High graduate who is also an OLA major. She described the summit as "a big, exposed slope with white-out conditions that got pretty crazy with really strong winds."
Lyle Graham, a freshman from Gaithersburg who is also an OLA major, characterized the trip as "pretty amazing."
"We definitely pushed ourselves," said Graham. "We not only learned to mountain climb, but we also attended an avalanche course. That was really interesting and related to the summit– it helped us understand the terrain we'd be going through."
"There were excellent conditions – perfect for making it a little bit challenging," said Cochran, who was in the first GC class taught by Hershey in 2005 and is now a full-time guide with the American Alpine Institute. "It gave everybody a little bit of taste for what it's like to be in the winter in the presidential range in New Hampshire."
Photo by Andy Hershey
Garrett College students climbed to the summit of Mount Washington last Thursday. Pictured, left to right, are Lyle Graham, Iris Dubansky, Haiden Hinebaugh, Ashlynn Anderson, Charlie Wroten, Travis Martin, and Brooks Mead.
Photo by Andy Hershey
The Garrett College OLA 115 students camped in the Tuckerman Ravine prior to their climb to Mount Washington's summit. Pictured, left to right, are Lyle Graham, Iris Dubansky, and Haiden Hinebaugh.
While the majority of the students participating were OLA majors, that wasn't the case for all of them.
"One of my buddies is an OLA major and asked if I wanted to summit Mount Washington," explained Brooks Mead, a 2025 Southern Garrett graduate majoring in Business Administration. "I've always enjoyed being outside. It was an awesome experience – unlike anything I've seen or done before. There was a little bit of a learning curve at the beginning, but otherwise it was really enjoyable."
Ashlynn Anderson, a 2025 Northern Garrett High graduate majoring in Elementary Education, said she'd "never experienced something like that before."
"I've always wanted to pair education with the outdoors," said Anderson. "It worked out well since it was over winter break and didn't interfere with education classes. That was really cool – I don't know any other college that would offer summitting Mt. Washington as an option."
Martin said he was pleased with the wide range of skills students learned in a compressed period of time.
"We started out learning how to use ice tools going over ice terrain, combining all of our skills learned throughout the first week in the hike up to the top of Mount Washington," said Martin, adding, "That was awesome. That was probably the most hard-core thing I've ever done."
"This trip was appealing for a lot of different reasons, including the climbing opportunity and being in a class of my peers," said Charlie Wroten, another 2025 Southern Garrett High graduate, who agreed with tripmates who were excited to be able to complete a three-credit course that didn't interfere with their other classes.
OLA 125 is part of a three-course, seven-credit alpine climbing track within the OLA major. Students who plan to complete the track will participate in this summer's upcoming trip to Washington State's Cascade Range to complete Intermediate Alpine Climbing (OLA 225) and the Alpine Climbing Instructor Development certification course (OLA 271).
"Sign me up for the July class in the Cascades!" said Martin.
Note: The students' lodging and their $650 per-person course fee for the avalanche course was covered by the Scott Hess Adventure Sports Student Fund administered by the Garrett College Foundation.
Hess, a GC graduate, passed away in 2020 in an automobile accident. His parents started a fund in his honor to support the professional development of OLA majors.
The funds came through donations from the Hess family, the fundraising of the Coopers Rock Climb-a-thon, and other donations. This support reduced student course fees by over $1000 per person.
