The Class of 2026 is the very first cohort of students that get to take their “First Ascent” up to the Kennedy Mountain Campus, about two hours north of the Denver campus. The purpose of the trips are to build new connections and reflect on your intentions and goals at DU, all while enjoying the beautiful outdoors. 

I got the chance to stay at the mountain campus Sept. 16 through 18, and it was quite the experience. Being in the very first group of students to go, I wanted to share a few things you should know before you ascend (assuming you are a first year) as well as my takeaways from the experience. 

First and foremost, go. You have the option to stay home, or change your weekend to go with friends. Just go when you’re assigned to go. You might be drowning in school work, working part time or still trying to figure out campus, but that is all the more reason why you need this trip. At first, I looked at it as an inconvenience. My first college weekend and I’m on a retreat – great. But after getting to our final destination and meeting so many new friends while exploring my own personal values in nature, I knew I would have regretted not going. 

You will receive a packing list of things to bring along with you, but here is my more realistic version: 

• Layers layers layers. Most mornings started out freezing cold, but you are a lot closer to the sun, so it may warm up. Depending on what weekend you go, you’re going to want clothing for both extremes.
• Melatonin and/or noise canceling headphones if you want to get any sort of sleep. There will be people in the common room until 2 a.m., so either join them or figure out how to get some sleep. This also helps with snoring, coughing, etc. that you may experience from the other 32 bodies sleeping in the same room as you.
• If you don’t have a headlamp, that’s okay. You can rent them out for free there. It gets very dark at night, so if you don’t have a headlight, you’ll want to use a flashlight of your own or the flashlight on your phone.
• Water bottle. Stay hydrated.
• The beds are rock solid, so I recommend bringing some extra bedding. I personally slept fine, but heard some other complaints.
• There is a full fridge, so bring snacks! The dining hall food last weekend was AMAZING; hands down some of the best food I’ve ever had. However, the snack bar in between meals gets raided quickly, so bring along a couple munchies. 

Besides what to bring, there are some other tips and tricks you might find useful: 

• If you have homework you can do offline, you’ll have some time to do it. Otherwise, plan ahead so you don’t have to stress while you’re in the wilderness. 
• Stay with your group when hiking! There were some shenanigans I overheard on the radio and it sounded very panicked. Don’t freak everyone out. Wilderness in every direction is pretty tempting. By all means, explore, but do it with someone that knows what they are doing. 
• They provide shampoo, conditioner, body wash and a towel. The gender neutral one stall bathroom has a really nice shower. If you can get your turn in to use it, enjoy it.
• Try to pack in a rolling suitcase or something easy to lug around, because you are going to want to book it from the bus into the cabins, if you want first pick at a bed. 
• Phones are basically useless up there (but bring them for pictures). Don’t count on having any sort of service. I thought this would go without saying, but there were some girls pretty concerned about not being able to post their BeReal on time. 
• The bus ride is long, but a really pretty drive. Or a nice nap.
• Sign up for activities! They are catered to people our age, so they aren’t lame. I recommend the ropes course and the hike to this crazy cool rock that has never been ascended. 
• Say thank you to the chefs, Front Range people and any staff members. They do a lot to make the trip possible. 
• There is a survey that you’ll take on the way home. Don’t forget to mention how good the food was, because rumor has it they were thinking about just catering Sodexo (campus dining hall food…). 

All in all, just enjoy yourself. The views are amazing from sunrise to sunset. Meet new people, go stargazing, have fun. I can’t say whether or not everyone enjoyed it, but it would be extremely hard not to if you go in prepared and with the goal of having a good time.