Snow Orientation Part 1

Remember that girl from New York who had never gone camping in the complete wilderness up until just a few months ago? Well, the adventurous side of her took over, as she decided to go camping in the snow. That's right ladies and gents, I signed up for Snow Orientation. I can't exactly explain what it is that sounded so appealing to me, maybe it was the thought of being forced to slowly melt snow in order to have drinking water, constantly battling the elements and trying to stay warm. Perhaps it was knowing that we'd be hiking our way into the mountains with heavy backpacks. Okay I know this doesn't sound very appealing to most people, but for me it's all about trying something new. I came out here looking for adventure, and learning how to survive under these conditions seems like a pretty good skill to have.

The Night Before

I'll admit, packing was hard. While I was emptying the contents of my makeup bag and replacing them with necessities like a compass, first aid kit and hand sanitizer, all I could think about was how my parents were starting out their luxurious Caribbean cruise. Not to mention, I'm horrible at packing. It seems I always bring more than I need, but on this trip consolidation was necessary. I was going to be carrying everything I needed on my back, so anything extra would just be dead weight. So, I went through my checklist and made sure I packed only items I'd need. I learned in class that no matter how cozy I thought my Hurley hoodie was, it wouldn't be reasonable to pack because cotton is terrible for wilderness camping. Once it gets wet it'll stay wet, and in order to stay warm out there you need to stay dry.

As I climbed into bed that night I was anxious and nervous for what the weekend would bring. I didn't sleep well at all, but every time I woke up I was more and more thankful for the warmth of my fleece blanket and the comforter my mom made me.

Day 1

We started out early with Drew knocking on my door around 7:30 am. He brought over the food that needed to stay refrigerated. We packed everything up and made our way down to the lower parking lot, where we met up with the rest of the crew. We loaded up the van and headed off.

packing the sleds

Once we got to the spot where we'd begin hiking we unloaded the van and filled sleds with things we'd need but couldn't fit in our backpacks like tarps, food and snowshoes. Then we set out on a hike, which wasnt very difficult because there had been so many snowmobilers out rinding that the trail was packed down really well. When we got close to our camping spot we had to veer off trail, which was a little bit more difficult because the snow was deep. During this hike staying hydrated and well fed was crucial. Your body never tells you that you are thirsty until it's too late, so we frequently stopped to take a break.

digging out the shelter
Setting up camp made me feel like a kid again. We dug giant holes in the ground and set tarps over them to shelter us from wind and snow. It felt like we were building snow forts. However, these "forts" were much more high tech. First we had to stomp out a platform where we would dig, then let it sit for 15-20 minutes so the snow could harden. We began digging out the basic shape of our shelter, and once we got it to a depth we liked Drew set up dead men as anchors for the corners of the tarp. We then dug out stairs, and had to dig a whole deeper than our ground level because cold air sinks, we didn't want to be sleeping at the lowest point.

the finnished product
Before we knew it, it was supper time. We cooked our food and had discussions about sleeping warm. It was getting late and cold since the sun went down, so we filled up our waterbottles with hot water and went to bed.

Day 2

I slept really well, only waking up a couple of times during the night. In fact, I was so warm and cozy it was difficult to get up in the morning, but hungar took over so I headed to the kitchen for breakfast. Once we all ate we walked around the campsite and talked about the different shelters we had built. We then proceeded to destroy them, taking down the tarps and filling the holes back in the best we could so no wild life would get injured from falling in them.

the kitchen

Then it was time for class where we learned about hypothermia, and had a lesson on how to use beacons. They were both very serious topics-- hypothermia can be hard to identify in its early stages, and its effects can be devastating. And obviously, riding backcountry and knowing how to properly use your equipment is vital. Avalanches are disastrous and only about half the victims caught in them survive. We took turns hiding beacons and finding them. I'm glad I had the opportunity to work with them, but I still wouldn't go out in the backcountry until I know exaclty what I'm doing.

the classroom

Overall, last weekend was a great experience. I feel like I learned a lot and can't wait to go out again this weekend for the four day trip!