A tradition rooted in friendship and hiking mountains

This essay is included in the Spring 2025 edition of Saint Michael’s College Magazine.

When I read the “We Want To Hear From You!” section in the most recent edition of the Saint Michael’s College alumni magazine, the prompt—“How did your time at Saint Michael’s impact your life?”—stopped me in my tracks. It struck a chord and nudged forward a story I’ve been meaning to share for quite some time.

This story begins in 2003, when a group of us Saint Michael’s alumni began gathering in the fall for a weekend of connection, food, laughter—and, most importantly, hiking. Our base camp has been my home in Peterborough, New Hampshire, and our primary goal has always been summiting Mount Monadnock, though we’ve sometimes substituted other nearby peaks when needed.

Saint Michael’s College alumni from the mid-1980s get together annually to hike the Monadnock. (Photo courtesy Pete Weber ’86.)

The first gathering was born of concern and love: My best friend from St. Mike’s, John “Spooner” Adamson ’85, had been diagnosed with cancer. Five of us college friends who used to hike Mount Mansfield, ski Smugglers’ Notch, and tackle Tuckerman’s Ravine—Andy Biache ’85, Doug Dinizio ’85, Andre Casavant ’85, along with Spooner and me—came together to hike the longest, hardest trail on Monadnock: the Pumpelly Trail, which closely resembles the kind of hike you’d find in the White Mountains.

Lifelong friends under the “Ed’s Place” sign from the mid-1980s, which hung in St. Edmund’s Hall -now Salmon’s Hall.

In 2005, we returned with two more St. Mike’s alumni, Joe Prevost ’85 and Chris Ozmun ’85, for another fall hike. Then, in March 2006, Spooner passed away. That fall, I floated the idea of getting together again. To my surprise and joy, everyone came back—this time bringing wives, partners, and even young children. That became the beginning of a lasting tradition.

We’ve now hiked Monadnock together 20 times. Along the way, we’ve welcomed more friends and family into the fold. This past fall’s summit crew even included three second-generation hikers—children of our original St. Mike’s crew—among them Spooner’s son Sean, a proud member of the Class of 2019.

Over the years, we’ve endured other losses. Our friend Andre passed in 2014, and Spooner’s wife,
Renee, passed in 2016, both from cancer. In 2020, the day before Thanksgiving, I was diagnosed with cancer myself. After surgery and radiation, I still managed to make the climb the following fall. These hikes have become a celebration not only of the friends we’ve lost, but of the deep, sustaining connection we’ve kept.

We set aside one weekend a year to reconnect, reminisce, and make new memories. That this tradition now includes our children is an unexpected and beautiful ripple effect—an affirmation of how meaningful these bonds continue to be.

The “Ed’s Place” sign that once adorned a Saint Michael’s College building in the 1980s, makes its way up Monadnock mountain each year with a group of alumni and their families. (Photo courtesy Pete Weber ’86.)

Looking back, it’s humbling to realize how much of this story began at Saint Michael’s. I met these friends
in Alumni Hall and spent unforgettable days at the old St. Edmund’s Hall—“Ed’s Place,” now Salmon Hall. (Fun fact: I salvaged the original Ed’s Place sign back in the mid-’80s, and we still pose with it for a group photo at the end of each hiking weekend.)

After graduating in 1986, I crashed on Spooner’s floor in Boston’s Back Bay while job hunting. That led
to a job at Liberty Mutual—and to meeting my wife. I stayed with the company for nearly 35 years.

None of it—none of it—would have happened without the relationships that took root at Saint Michael’s College.

It started with hikes and ski trips. It became a lifelong tradition of friendship, remembrance, and joy. Who would’ve thought? But what a gift it’s been.