August 1 is National Mountain Climbing Day, and Holderness School is ready to celebrate.
 
Mountains have long formed the backbone of the Holderness experience. Located at the southern edge of New Hampshire’s White Mountains, the Holderness School campus provides students with the perfect basecamp for outdoor adventure, exploration, and education.
 
Holderness students spend time in the mountains in many ways. It starts in September, when the entire school leaves campus for Mountain Day. This annual schoolwide tradition gives students and teachers a chance to explore the state’s wild lands – whether that means climbing a high peak in the Presidential Range, mountain biking in North Conway, or fly fishing on the Saco River.
 
That outdoor energy continues throughout the year with the Outing Club, which makes regular trips into the mountains – from overnight trips to AMC lodges to winter ascents of Mount Washington. And we can’t forget the school’s climbing team, which trains on world-famous Rumney Rocks and has nurtured world-class rock climbers like Brette Harrington ’10. And we can’t forget the school’s Snow Sports program, which has produced 17 Olympians and 38 National Team members throughout the school’s history. Just last winter, Holderness sent more than 25 skiers and snowboarders to national championship events throughout the country.
 
Perhaps the school’s most iconic connection to the mountains is its Out Back program. An 11-day winter backpacking expedition through New Hampshire’s White Mountains, Out Back has been a rite of passage for generations of Holderness students. It’s a life-changing experience for many teenagers, who learn valuable outdoor skills and gain confidence in themselves as they overcome new challenges. For most Holderness graduates, Out Back comes to be one of the defining experiences of a Holderness education.
 
With the start of the 2024-2025 just over a month away, we’re more than ready for another year of climbing mountains, overcoming challenges, and reaching new heights of learning and growth.