The Outdoors Club explores Mt. Mégantic perspectives

On Feb. 4-5 the Bishop’s University Outdoors Club planned a getaway to Mt. Mégantic, QC, where outdoors enthusiasts from all walks of life came together under the common passion of cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. The trip was led and organized by co-leaders of the Outdoors Club Annabelle Nadeau Germann, Emily Crunican, Karen Halliday, and trip leader/marketing organizer Andrew Fergusson. The beginning of the trip consisted of snowshoeing up a 5km trail on Mt. Megantic to a timeless rustic cabin on top of the mountain to settle in for the night but not before a short snowball fight and some sledding.

When asked about how the idea of a cross-country ski and snowshoe excursion came to the table, lead organizers of the event Crunican and Nadeau Germann expressed that it was the first time the club had done something to this degree in a while and was thought up in conversation while the three organizers including Fergusson were on a hike. Soon after the proposal of an overnight excursion during the hike, a plan was put into motion with no speed bumps along the way due to extensive and precise planning. The success of the trip was soon to follow and displayed the growth and capabilities the club has made over the past few years including acquiring new gear such as snowshoes, headlamps, and other equipment to make this event possible. Without the carefully mapped plan of the club’s organizers, there would not have been the opportunity to see breathtaking sites during the travel through the hills on skis, bonding around the fire of a log cabin, and having a spontaneous snowball fight.

While discussing with the club’s organizers, they mentioned their future plans to take the direction of managing more frequent overnight trips while making it as available as possible for Outdoors Club members since there was a large amount of interest in the ski/snowshoe getaway. While the club promotes the active outdoor lifestyle, they also take action through initiatives like making equipment rentals accessible and affordable for students or offering to carpool when traveling to further destinations. Not only does the club promote fun activities at a low cost but it has been notable that firstyear students benefit by meeting people with common interests in an informal setting and make new friends along the way while building priceless memories.

Despite leading the two-day long trip, both organizing leaders Crunican and Fergusson wasted no time in making an appearance at the combined Outdoors Club and Figure Skating Club social get-together back in Lennoxville, displaying their driven dedication to the Outdoors Club and active outdoors lifestyle.