It is 5 am, you are at 10,000 feet and starting to climb by moonlight and headlamp. For those who have never done it before, an alpine start is a surreal experience. You start hiking at an hour when most are still cozy and sound asleep in their beds. By 6:00 am you’re crossing above 12,000 feet and tree line. And you’re at 14,000 feet by 8:30 in the morning, when cars are idling in their morning commute. By noon you’ve climbed 4,000 vertical feet, witnessed a view unrivaled within the continental US, snapped some photos, descended back to the trailhead, kicked off your boots and kicked back. All before most have their lunch break.

This is out of the ordinary. It’s not an everyday experience. It’s a big challenge. You will be tired and sore. So why do we do this? Because at Overland we believe that you learn so much more about yourself when you step outside the normal routines, when you take that first step toward climbing a 14,000 foot mountain in the Rockies, when you greet a group of students at an orphanage in Tanzania or when you strap on that climbing rope in Thailand for the first time.

We keep this in mind every fall as we sift through questionnaires, brainstorm trip ideas and locations and begin building our new programs. We want to offer programs in desired locations; but beyond that, they need to suit our culture. They’re locations and activities that allow us to create those carefully crafted challenges – ice climbing the Matanuska Glacier in Alaska, ordering ingredients for dinner in Spanish along Las Ramblas or putting the finishing touches on a beautiful essay – that will both challenge the individual and turn a group into a cohesive unit.

Thailand and Colorado both fit the bill. They both offer “out of the ordinary” opportunities that will challenge our groups. Step off the plane in Bangkok into a world of Buddhist monasteries, dense jungles and elephant sanctuaries on Field Studies Thailand. Learn the basics of Thai and then greet your guide before heading out on a three day trek. Visit the famous “wat” (monastery) of Doi Suthep. Take basic Thai cooking classes. Work with rescued elephants at a sanctuary.

Or strap on a pack and head to the Rockies on Colorado 14er Challenge. Learn the basics of backcountry camping in Rocky Mountain National Park and hike to the Continental Divide. Pick up your work gloves and shovel and spend four days working on Colorado’s “14er” trails. Whitewater raft on the Arkansas River. And wake up early, strap on a headlamp and start climbing, summiting five of Colorado’s 14,000 foot mountains.

We believe that Field Studies Thailand and Colorado 14er Challenge offer suitable challenges for both our alums and those new to Overland. They are “Overland.” They fit right in. So think about it. Think about trekking through the jungles of Thailand and arriving at a 14th century Buddhist temple. Imagine hiking under a full moon on the slopes of one of Colorado’s 14ers.  Imagine accomplishing all of this before most people even begin their day. Imagine doing something out of the ordinary this summer.

- Alec

Fall has arrived in Williamstown, and the full time staff at Overland is already back to work in the office preparing for our 28th summer. Though the trips are months away, the work that goes into preparing for an Overland summer begins well in advance.

Preparation for the upcoming summer begins with a thorough review of our 2011 programs. Theresa, Emily, Dawn and Kate have been busy collecting and reading student and parent questionnaires from the summer and passing them on for a second reading to our logistics coordinators and enrollment team. We love receiving positive feedback and value constructive criticism that helps us to improve. September and October are exciting months for strategic planning, and we love the new ideas and visionary changes that spring from the previous summer’s feedback. If you haven’t yet completed a questionnaire, it’s not too late! Email us to request an electronic copy of the questionnaire.

Meanwhile, our logistics staff has been busy tweaking the fine details of each trip. Emily, a new addition to our full-time staff, is preparing for her upcoming trip to southern California and Santa Monica to scout a new section of the American Challenge; Hannah, Catherine, Alec, and Kate are fine-tuning Overland’s classic trips through Alaska, Yellowstone and along the Pacific Coast, as Melissa and Conor meet with Tom regularly to hash out the details of a new international program! And of course, we are all sorting through the 39,000 photos collected over summer 2011 to identify catalog-worthy shots of smiling faces, epic scenery, and the Overland family. Kate and Tom are working hard to compile our glossy catalog as we all wait eagerly for the final product. Contact us now to secure an early November mailing of our 2012 catalog, if you have not done so already.

Jonathan and Chris are busy scheduling leader recruiting visits to campuses across the country. Leader hiring for the upcoming summer begins early in the fall, as Overland staff members contact potential leaders, arrange interviews and prepare presentations about leading for Overland at colleges and universities around the country. It is not by luck that Overland’s leaders are among the brightest and most inspiring students in the country; the rigorous hiring process requires visits to nearly two dozen campuses multiple times a year, in-person group interviews with all finalists, and discussions among full time staff members about leader candidates – the final product is a truly special hand-picked group of warm, charismatic, over-achieving leaders who we feel immensely fortunate and proud to call our own.

Though summer 2011 is only now drawing to a close, we are already looking forward to our 28th summer with anticipation. Soon, our catalog will hit the mail, the phone lines will begin to ring with calls from curious parents and eager students, leader applicants will start to visit our office for interviews, and the office will fill with the sound of excited conversations and ample laughter that characterizes the Overland community through all seasons.

It is never too soon to start thinking about 2012 – a friendly, helpful conversation is just a phone call away. Our online application is up and running, our program dates and prices are current on the website, and the catalog is nearly complete. Please join us!

Happy fall from Williamstown,

The Overland Team

Hello Overland families and friends!

Thanks for a wonderful summer!  Please check our SmugMug photo website to see photos from all of our trips.   All photos were taken by our leaders and are available for free download for home printing or professional printing through SmugMug.  All photos from the summer will be online by Friday, August 12.

Overland SmugMug Website

Enjoy!

The Staff at Overland

Hello FST A & B Families!

It’s been a busy week for both FST groups and both groups are making their final packing preparations before boarding their flight home from Tanzania.  Both groups will travel together on the group flight, scheduled to depart from the Kilimanjaro International Airport on Wednesday evening.  Parents, an email with the group flight itinerary should be in your inbox now and please feel free to call our office with any questions about the return flight home.

For both groups, the trip up Kilimanjaro proved to be incredible challenging and rewarding.  Over five days each group hiked up the Rongai Route from the north side of Kilimanjaro with their wonderful guides, chefs, and porters from the African Walking Company.  Each group was staggered by a day so they only saw each other in passing when FST A headed down as FST B headed up the mountain.   FST A had almost the entire group reach the summit and FST B went 13 for 13 and had a full crew on top of Kilimanjaro.  As we’ve said from the beginning, this trip is about a wonderful group experience and we feel confident that sharing this week on the highest peak in Africa together as a group was a fitting end to the trip for two awesome groups of students, regardless of whether or not you make it to the summit.  We’re proud of both our FST groups for their strong hiking this week!  If you have any questions about their trip up Kilimanjaro or would like more specific information, please email me.

When our leaders return, we’ll upload their photos to our SmugMug photo website.  All photos will be online by Friday, August 12.

Please call our office if you have any questions about trip end travel!

-Liz

Hello!

Lexie, Wes and Hannah are having an amazing time with their group of eleven on Berkshire Adventure 6! The leaders checked with me last night and filled me in on how their first few days have been going. On Sunday, the group had pasta for the first night of the trip with the option of either pesto or marinara sauce which everyone thought was really tasty. After some great day hiking on Monday, the group had a fun time at their campground decorating their water bottles then had some delicious strawberry shortcake and whipped cream for dessert which involved lots of sticky hands, laughter and smiles! They’ve also seen a lot of nature so far including frogs, newts and fish and they’ve haven’t even gone on their splash hike yet (which they’ll do today). Yesterday, the group biked down and back on the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail and they did an awesome job – some students made it more fun by singing on their bikes along the 22-mile ride too. This particular Berkshire Adventure group is lucky enough to have 3 leaders which is “really wonderful” according to Lexie because everyone gets all of their tasks done more efficiently so there is more time to hang out and enjoy each other’s company. Overall the leaders said the group is engaged, they’re excited for the activities coming up (climbing Greylock and whitewater rafting) and everyone has really great attitudes! Here’s a picture which was taken yesterday too!

-Conor

Hello CEP 4 families!

Our 12 CEP students, Julia, and Nate have had a sunny and beautiful week to begin the College Essay Program in Williamstown!  Students arrived on campus on Thursday, settled into their dormitory as a group, and got right to work on Friday with their first of five straight days of class devoted to getting their essay writing process off on the right foot and into the drafting process.  Today (Wednesday), they’ll take a break from class to spend a day outdoors hiking up scenic Mount Greylock in Williamstown to clear their minds and enjoy the company of their fellow CEP students.  They return to the classroom on Thursday and Friday to edit and finalize their essays before coming home on Saturday.

Students have several solid drafts completed so far, says Julia, and the group is focused in the classroom and working hard!   In the afternoons, they’ve kept busy with a variety of different activities, including a bike/hike combo to Hopkins Forest and then a walk around the figure eight loop, a trip to central Berkshire County to ride bikes on the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail, a hike up the Cascades Trail to a waterfall, and a hike on the Taconic Crest Trail.  They also did a Williams College campus tour on Tuesday and headed to a local swimming hole afterwards to cool off!  Julia says the group is getting along well – they love playing cards together and working through riddles together at meals!  The photo below is from their hike along the Taconic Crest Trail.

Check back at the end of the program to see photos from this session on our SmugMug photo website!

-Liz

Hello!

Jasper and Lilah filled me in on their first week of adventure out in Colorado on their Rocky Mountain Explorer 3B trip on Thursday and it sounds great! After arriving in their campsite in Rocky Mountain National Park, they spent their first day hiking to Sprague Lake, had lunch at Alberta Falls and then had a delicious vegetable stir fry for dinner. On Tuesday the group headed up Deer Mountain where they had awesome views and then breakfast for dinner that night (chocolate chip and banana pancakes with fruit salad on the side). On Wednesday and Thursday, the group went to Sand Beach Lake and then to Cub Lake, enjoying a little sun tanning both days and also some swimming though the water was close to freezing. The group’s name is the Gnarwhals and they’ve been playing lots of Mafia and also an improv game called Park Bench which a student taught the group this past week. Jasper and Lilah said that everything was going really well and the students were all getting pumped for their backcountry in Colorado State Forest this weekend. After that, they’ll do some whitewater rafting and then head up Mt. Yale to round off their two weeks out West. Here’s a belated group photo too!

-Conor