SUGAR BOWL ACADEMY FALL 2007 EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

DONNER PEAK HIKE At the end of the first day of school, the SBA faculty and staff hike together from campus up to Donner Peak. The hike serves as a great ice-breaker, gets the blood flowing, and most importantly, allows us to open our annual time capsule. Our hidden time capsule contains slips of paper where each member of the SBA community writes down three things: a goal, a prediction, and something they will leave behind (I will get 50 gs points, 700 inches of snow will fall this year, I will leave behind my belief that I am not good at math... for example). On Donner Peak, the Sugar Bowl Academy commitment begins.

OVERNIGHT BACKPACKING TRIP Over the first weekend of school we load up our backpacks for an overnight wilderness camping trip. We choose a different location each year, and these photos are from our trip to Paradise Lake off of the PCT, north of school. After many hours of walking, we arrived at this beautiful alpine lake, and we all jumped in for a refreshing swim. After dinner, Matt R and Mr. Ascher set up the telescope for some stargazing, while Mallory regaled us with his ghost stories. This trip serves as another great community building activity.

FALLEN LEAF DAY HIKE In the days leading up to this annual hike, returning students start telling the new students about the "Fallen Leaf Death March" or coach Hermann's "Shakleton Hike." While no one seems to be exactly sure how long this hike is (somewhere between 18 and 24 miles), when it's all over everyone usually shrugs and says, "it wasn't so bad." Credit that to the coach's conditioning program... or the beautiful scenery.

FORMAL DINNER AND STUDENT ATHLETE PLEDGES Once every two months Chef Tom "goes large" in the kitchen and serves up an especially complex and delicious meal for formal dinner. We all dress to impress, and the faculty serves the students before we all sit down together to eat. Most formal dinners have a guest of honor who will give a presentation, but during our first formal dinner the faculty and coaching staff explain the SBA Student-Athlete Pledge and each student signs their committment to healthy, honest, honorable conduct in their academic and athletic pursuits.

SANTA CRUZ SURFING TRIP Our annual camping and surfing weekend on the coast has become one of the most anticipated activities of the year. This year was no different, and we had beautiful weather, big waves, and lots of fun. After a full day of sunning and surfing on the beach, we had a delicious pasta dinner, a big campfire, and a hilarious game of charades. We drove home Sunday afternoon with sand in our shoes and sun on our faces.

CLIMBING AROUND DONNER SUMMIT Here are a few pictures from the various rock climbing sites around school. With hundreds of routes and bouldering areas within walking distance of school, climbing is a great way for our students to challegene themselves, explore the natural world around Donner Summit, and blow off steam outside of school.

HALLOWEEN This year's Halloween festivities were fantastic! Almost everyone was dressed up for the class day, and that afternoon the Student Council put on a Halloween festival complete with apple bobbing, pumpkin carving, and the exciting and inventive doughnut eating contest!