CASTLETON, Vt. (WCAX) – A daunting challenge for some no matter the season.

“With the big adventure of doing Mt. Washington where they could really see a winter mountainous environment that was in somewhat of a controlled setting here in the northeast,” said Steven Lulek, Castleton Adjunct Professor.

Lulek runs a winter mountaineering course at Castleton University. After multiple days hiking and camping at local mountains throughout Rutland County, the crew trekked up Mount Washington over the school’s spring break in April.

“We’re looking for those extreme winter conditions and here we are hiking up in blizzard in 15, 20 degree weather,” said Georgia Donaldson, a Castleton Freshmen.

Lulek and the students stayed overnight on the mountain as the temperatures plummeted.

“Going into the night getting really windy, we were having some trouble lighting our stoves and keeping them going to boil our water,” said Donaldson.

With 40 mile per hour winds and freezing temps, instead of trekking to the top after a sleepless night, they decided to head back down for their safety.

“I was excited to go up the mountain more but I knew that was the right call and I fully agreed with it because the conditions at base camp where we were at were windy; were cold,” said Luca Mele, Castleton Senior.

Even without reaching the peak, Lulek hopes the experience taught the class that the mountain will still be there another time if you can’t make it to the top.

“Sometimes you just have to turn around, and so watching their maturity happen that it’s ok, not necessarily to fail, but to make a decision that ‘I’m not going to get that today’,” said Lulek.

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