FOOTNOTES - January 2008
Lose the Winter Blues

Hello,

Happy New Year! As we kick off the new year we are seeing a bit of snow in the New England area. Although our summer hostels are in hibernation until the spring we are still in full-swing. Strap on skiis or snowshoes and head on up to the White Mountains to the Albert B. Lester Memorial Hostel or to the Snow Boarding House in West Bethel. If you are staying in Boston, keep an eye on our calendar for films, readings, and workshops. We have a busy year coming up so make sure to visit our website often to see what's going on with HI-ENEC!

Happy travels!
Jessica Sutich
Marketing and Communications Coordinator
HI-ENEC

Albert B. Lester Memorial Hostel

The HI-Conway hostel is a renovated turn of the century farmhouse, located in Conway, New Hampshire and dedicated to preserving Albert B. Lester's memory and his enthusiam for hostelling. Albert spent 10 years cycling 50,000 miles all over the world, staying in hostels. To read more about Albert B. Lester's story click here.

Located in the valley admist 750,000 acres of the White Mountain National Forest, the Albert B. Lester Memorial Hostel is ideal for those seeking winter thrills instead of winter chills! Already this year more than 65 inches of snow has fallen on this wintry region. December 2007 was marked the 3rd snowiest on record, producing 40 inches of pure powder. The Conway hostel is located less than hour away from 3 of New Englands best ski resorts.

Bretton Woods, NH largest ski area, was rated top 5 by SKI Magazine's Oct 2007 Reader's Poll in the categories: grooming, scenery, snow, weather, service, and lifts. Bretton Woods also offers 100 kilometers of an intricate and diverse trail network. Enjoy classical and skate skiing or snowshoeing on painstakingly groomed trails. For more winter fun, Mount Cranmore has tubing and downhill skiing with more downhill trails just down the road at Attitash. If your looking to see the sights, try cross country skiing at these six White Mountain Nordic Centers. They offer over 450 kilometers of combined cross country trails, learn-to-cross-country-ski packages, as well as rentals! If snowshoeing is your thing, check out the Intervale-After-Dark Stargazing Tour! Snowshoers and cross country skiers depart the 1785 Inn for a two-hour tour over the gentle terrain of the Intervale fields. Join members of the local astronomy club to learn about the stars and constellations found in the winter sky using telescopes.

If you wish you could wake up with a winterwonderland at your back door, then bundle up and come enjoy the Albert B. Lester Memorial Hostel.

All events are free and open to the public! For more information on these and other Expand Your World events, please visit us here!

Cultural Kitchen is gearing up for a packed spring semester

Our schedule is booked to capacity with seven schools from the Umana Barnes in East Boston to the Dearborn in Roxbury. To help us handle the heavy load Andy Hollenhorst and Megan Foret have generously volunteered their time and expertise as Cultural Kitchen Teaching Assistants.

Together they hold a Masters in Psychology and Experiential Education, volunteered with the AVID program, served as a senior program instructor with the Close Up Foundation, directed residential summer programs for teens, and have extensive travel experience. They have already been a huge help and will be an asset to the program. I can not wait to see what recipes they will add to the Cultural Kitchen portfolio!

In other news Cultural Kitchen is exploring a new partnership with Citizen Schools. The Umana Barnes Academy in East Boston will serve as the first Cultural Kitchen Apprenticeship. It is offered as an elective during their after-school programming with additional schools and volunteers to follow in the fall!

For more information on Cultural Kitchen and volunteer opportunities please contact Molly Cosgrove; Massachusetts Promise Fellow, Cultural Kitchen Coordinator at mcosgrove@usahostels.org.

March Event

Save the Date for our March Event in support of our
Cultural Kitchen program.

Savoring the Spice of Life
An evening with author Susan Orlean

When: Monday, March 31, 2008 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
What: Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and a silent auction
Where: UpStairs on the Square Harvard Square, Cambridge
$60 per person

Make sure to check on-line for more information.

Check out our new group packages available at our Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Hostels!

We offer packages that are both recreational and educational. If you don't see something that fits your group then call us and customize your own package.

For more questions contact our Group Sales Manager at groupsales@usahostels.org

If reading about our HI-Conway hostel has skiing on your brain then after you hit the New England slopes why not head to our other ski resort locations? Go ski the majestic Canadian Rockies at the HI-Banff or the HI-Lake Louise Alpine Centers. If you can't make it out West then head north to Quebec and stay at HI-Mont Tremblant. With a variety of ski-packages and minutes from the lifts you can't go wrong. Check out these hostels and get ready to strap your skiis on and hit the trails at home and away! Visit the HI-Canadian hostels here.