Glenna and Earl Alderson – Celebrating 31 Years of Adventure

Excerpt from “They Were A Force of Nature” by Abigail Meisel, from Non Satis Scire magazine, Fall 2018

…immediately likable, [Glenna and Earl Alderson] exude the kind of cheerful levelheadedness that’s a prerequisite to, say, taking eight college kids, mostly city slickers, on a 15-day rafting trip on the Colorado River in the dead of winter, paddling up to 20 miles each day in the Grand Canyon through 40-degree whitewater.

“That was our second winter-term trip, and we were still in our twenties, but we were on duty with the students twenty-four/seven,” Glenna says. “If there’d been an emergency, the only way out was by helicopter. When we got back, everyone asked ‘How was your vacation?’ — that’s a question we get a lot.”

“There are always risks,” Earl adds, “but that’s how the students bond. They look out for each other.”

During the Colorado excursion, they were just warming up (figuratively speaking). That trip marked the onset of more than 560 weekend and extended trips — paddling, hiking, rock climbing, cross-country skiing, and mountain biking — led by the Aldersons during their 31-year careers as instructors in Outdoor Programs Recreation and Athletics (OPRA).

The duo were unstoppable. The Aldersons hauled students across the globe to plant Hampshire’s flag in Cuba, Greece, Spain, Mexico, Belize’s Silk Islands, Quebec, and even Kentucky, among dozens of other exotic locales. Pausing for breath, they’d head over to Deerfield or zip up Route 63 for some kayaking on the rivers in Deerfield and Millers Falls.

One of many former students with whom they became friends, Nate Connolly 93F, headed to Bend, Oregon — a former logging town on the eastern edge of the Cascade Mountains — and, after a few years banging nails, founded Ridgeline Custom Homes, for which he’s the designer and lead carpenter.

Nate is now building the Aldersons a Craftsman-style house there, not far from his home. They’re aiming to move there in December.

Glenna explains their plans to leave their jobs of three decades, pull up stakes, and move across the country in Alderson-ese: “It’s the next adventure.”

Join Us at a Farewell Party

After 31 years of instructing—paddling, hiking, rock climbing, cross-country skiing, mountain biking—through Hampshire’s Outdoor Programs, Recreation, and Athletics department, Glenna and Earl are retiring. We hope you can join us in celebrating them on campus.

Thursday, December 13, 2018
3–5 p.m.
The Red Barn

All are welcome, though an RSVP is requested.