Introducing Basecamp, Holderness School's new annual magazine exploring how adventure shapes learning, leadership, character, and lifelong growth.

Through stories from alumni, students, faculty, and friends of the school, Basecamp celebrates the experiences that continue to define the Holderness community.

What does it mean to think of Holderness as a basecamp for life?

That question inspired the creation of Basecamp. Through stories of adventure, outdoor education, leadership, service, and personal growth, Basecamp explores how experiences both in and beyond the classroom shape the people our world needs most.

Created in partnership with Director of Outdoor and Climbing Programs Erik Thatcher ’08, Basecamp draws inspiration from a place familiar to generations of Holderness students.

Each winter during Out Back, Basecamp serves as a gathering place in the White Mountains—a waypoint where students, faculty, alumni, and outdoor leaders reconnect, share stories, and prepare for what lies ahead. Basecamp embraces that same spirit.

Read the inaugural issue of Basecamp online on Issuu.

Within its pages, you'll find stories of alumni protecting wild places, students discovering new strengths through challenge, faculty sharing lessons learned beyond the classroom, and community members whose lives were shaped by experiences that began at Holderness. Together, these stories explore how curiosity, resilience, stewardship, and a willingness to embrace the unknown continue to define our community.

At Holderness, adventure is more than an activity—it is a mindset. It challenges students to step beyond their comfort zones, embrace uncertainty, and discover what they are capable of becoming.

As Erik writes in his opening essay, "Adventure helps students learn in and out of the classroom, gives them valuable knowledge about themselves, and develops their character, grit, curiosity, and passion."

In this issue, you'll join Chris Davenport ’89 and Jordan Cargill ’11 as they work to protect winter environments. You'll reconnect with Liesl Magnus ’17 and Karrie (Stevens) Thomas ’93, whose outdoor experiences became pathways to leadership and environmental impact. You'll meet students whose gap-year adventures span the globe and revisit the 1977 Out Back through a recently rediscovered roll of film—along with many other stories of exploration, growth, and purpose.

We hope Basecamp becomes a place to reconnect, reflect, and celebrate the experiences that continue to shape the Holderness community.

Have an adventure story to share for Issue 2 of Basecamp? We'd love to hear it. Email us at communications@holderness.org.

Enjoy the adventure.