It was the weekend before spring break when Peter Landsman ’12 finally did it. He drove 300 miles to ski Bigrock, a “small local hill” in Aroostook County in northern Maine along the New Brunswick border.

As he completed the run, Peter also finished his college-long mission of skiing every mountain in Maine.

“If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I love to ski—in any condition,” Peter said.

This was no small undertaking: there are 11 areas to ski within the state. It took careful planning, too. In his junior year, Peter said he skied 11 out of the 12 months of the year. Upon completing this, he said, “It was great to be done driving…but also bittersweet [because there are no] more places to go at the end of my senior year.”

The government major and environmental science minor hails from Mercer Island, Wash. Peter’s zeal for skiing developed because it was a favorite family pastime. So what brought Peter to Maine, when his parents attended the University of Pennsylvania and his older brother, twin brother (not identical) and younger brother all attended or currently attend Colorado College? Peter said that he “didn’t want to be in the same school” as his twin but that he wanted a small liberal arts experience and, of course, snow. So he turned to the schools in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. Something clicked with Colby, and four years later, Peter is set to graduate with a legacy all his own here in the Northeast.

Although his dedication to skiing has repeatedly pulled Peter out to the peaks of Maine and New Hampshire, he is certainly involved on campus, especially when it comes to the great outdoors.

A Colby Outdoor Orientation Trips (COOT) Leader this past year, Peter led a trail work COOT to Baxter State Park. Although the experience was overwhelmingly positive, “I managed to forget our food in the Bobs lot in a car,” Peter admitted. On the long drive north, he realized the food was left behind and had to turn around. Needless to say, the first-years on his trip were not pleased, but all was soon forgotten once the trip was truly underway.

Peter also works as a trip leader and officer for the Colby Outing Club. His favorite trip, he said, is the journey to the top of Mount Katahdin. Peter is also an avid hiker.

For four years, Peter has served as a dorm president for the Student Government Association (SGA). Although it is rare for first-years to be elected dorm presidents, the opportunity opened up when the 2008-09 Sturtevant Hall president quit, and Peter jumped at the chance to apply for the position. Since then, he has not looked back. Two years in Sturtevant, one in Johnson and currently in Anthony-Mitchell-Schupf (AMS), SGA has been a steady institution in Peter’s college career.

“Just to know what’s going on and feel involved and to help others know what’s going on [is a good feeling],” Peter said. When SGA passed legislation in 2009-10 to adjust the way dorm president elections worked, Peter came up with the winning proposal.

“They called it the Landsman Compromise,” he said, and SGA has since implemented this change. Before, one had to live in the dorm in order to be elected there for the upcoming year. “My plan changed it so they don’t have to live where they [lived] again.”

Another constant for Peter has been Relay for Life. Since his first year on campus, Peter has helped run the College’s chapter of Relay for Life, an American Cancer Society (ACS) overnight team event that seeks to raise money for cancer research and help affected communities heal. According to the ACS website, it is “a life-changing event that helps communities across the globe celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer remember loved ones lost and fight back against the disease.” For the past three years, Peter has served as co-chair for the Relay event on the Hill, which will take place on April 27 at 7 p.m at the Harold Alfond Stadium.

“Thankfully I have no direct connection with cancer,” Peter said. Rather, he became involved in high school “because it is a fun event to do with friends that benefits a great organization,” so he wanted to continue in college.

“I’ve loved my experience at Colby,” he said. As for next year, Peter ideally wants to move back West and get his dream job working in ski area management.

In the meantime, he recommends for students on the Hill to “make a bucket list.” After skiing down all the items on his list, he paused to think of what is left for him to try during his senior spring. Peter said that before he graduates, he wants to watch the sun rise from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, which is said to be the first place to see the rising sun in the continental United States.