On September 27, 2023, Northwood hosted their traditional Mountain Day. Mountain Day is a day when all the students hike the high peaks of the Adirondacks and have a fun time getting out of their comfort zone with students they have just met.
Mountain Day is in its 46th year at Northwood. Former faculty member and legendary Adirondack climbing guide Don Mellor created the memorable event. Mellor started the event to share his love for the Adirondacks with colleagues and students. Northwood students and teachers look forward to this beautiful day in the Adirondacks to see the area. They also enjoy making new friends and trying something new.
Mountain Day is an effective way for the students who don’t do NOC (Northwood Outing Club) to see what their program is about and what their classmates do.
“Mountain Day isn’t for the weak. My first year at Northwood wasn’t the best. I didn’t want to wake up early and hike a mountain without my friends, but now I admire the outdoors and love the views from the high peaks,” Hamish Riddell ’25 said.
At Northwood, our theme this year is Unity. The people you interact with are normally the people you play sports with. So, when Mountain Day comes along, and you find yourself hiking up a mountain for a few hours, you talk to people you normally wouldn’t.
“I met people who weren’t in my friend group or played my sport. It was nice to talk about a sport I didn’t know,” Diogo Charra ’25 said.
Last year, Mountain Day was in the spring because of bad fall weather, but this year the event is early in the school year and served as an ice breaker and a time for people to branch out to get to know other classmates.
