topic, presided over by a schoolmaster and often including a guest speaker. The school has often invited prominent figures to give speeches and talks to the students; these have included heads of state, politicians, ornithologists, naturalists, artists, writers, economists, diplomats and industrialists. Boys can write for, or join the editorial board of, a number of school magazines that are published in English or Hindi. The Doon School Weekly, established in 1936, is the oldest publication and the official school newspaper. Distributed every Saturday morning, and edited by pupils, it chronicles school activities and is a platform for creative, political or humorous writing. The publication aims to represent the views of the school community as well as Old Boys, and include satire and criticism of school policies. More subversive publications, critical of teachers and the school establishment, have occasionally been produced without official sponsorship. Other magazines include The Yearbook, a heavily illustrated publication for recording all highlights of the school year, and The Doon School Information Review for cultural criticism. Specialist publications by academic departments include Vibgyor (Art), Echo (Science), The Econocrat (Economics), Infinity (Mathematics), Grand Slam (Sports) and The Circle (History and Political Science). Mountaineering Halfway through each term, the boys go on a one-week "midterm", an expedition through the Siwalik Hills or Himalayas. Senior boys make treks of up to five days, unaccompanied by teachers, camping out in tents and cooking their own food. The trips are planned by students themselves. Alumni have recalled these midterms as formative and character-building experiences. Doon has been credited with pioneering mountaineering in India, due to the accomplishments of masters such as R.L. Holdsworth, Jack Gibson and Gurdial Singh, and alumni like Nandu Jayal, who later became the founder principal of Himalayan Mountaineering Institute. Notable climbs by staff and alumni include Bandarpunch (6,316 m) in 1950, Kala Nag (6,387 m) in 1956, Trisul (7,120 m) in 1951, Kamet (7,756 m) in 1955, Abi Gamin (7,355 m) in 1953 and 1955, Mrigthuni (6,855 m) in 1958 and Jaonli (6,632 metres) in 1964. Some of these expeditions have been noted for their idiosyncrasies. After Gurdial Singh led a successful climb of Trisul, he performed a headstand asana on the summit as a tribute to the Hindu god Shiva, who is said to abide there. Holdsworth smoked a pipe on reaching the summit of Kamet (7,756 m), during its first ascent in 1931. Two Doon pupils