The Great Escape

Don't get me wrong, I love living in Steamboat. Whenever someone from out of town asks how I like going to school here I smile and reply "It's awesome, it's like living on a permanent vacation". But sometimes you just need to get away for a little bit. My room mate and I reached that point, we weren't sick of anything in particular, our friends are great, the town is still beautiful and friendly, but we needed a break from our every day routines. So we packed our backpacks, hopped in Heather's car and headed for her home town- Grand Junction. I'd been there once earlier this year for a conference, but we hardly had time to explore the town. This time I got to see the place VIP style, and it was a blast. After driving for about three hours we reached Grand Junction and Heather decided to show me some places around town. We saw the house she used to live in, the river where everyone floats during the summer and *gasp* a mall. I have to admit I almost forgot those things existed. Then we went to her house where her mom made us pizza and we just relaxed. Followed by that was my favorite part of the trip- White Rocks. She said we'd be doing some climbing so I threw on some sneakers and a light hoodie in case it got cold when the sun went down. The place was gorgeous. We started climbing and at first it was nothing too difficult, it was very similar to bouldering. The rocks were close enough to the ground that I felt falling would mean little injury. Then Heather decided to climb up a huge rock and jump over to another one. I was immediately reminded of my fear of heights and decided to find an alternate route up. Once I got up there I saw why she was so insistent upon it. The views were amazing. After hanging out there for a while we headed back and I eventually passed out. The next day her mom made us a delicious homemade lunch and we headed back to Steamboat.

Living in a Postcard (Snow O Part II)

Imagine going four days without any technology. No cell phones, palm pilots, no laptops or high speed internet. No satellite TV or high definition video games, not even an alarm clock. All you have is the gear you need to survive, and an optional snowboard if you wanted to bear the weight in order to seek out some fresh turns. To most people in my generation this sounds like some form of cruel and unusual punishment, but for me it was a little piece of heaven. That's right, its Snow O round two, more exciting and adventurous than ever.

Day 1
It was the most grueling three mile hike I'd ever been on. My pack didn't bother me too much but the sled I was pulling seemed to drag me backwards every time I tried to move forward. I don't know what kept me going because at times my body told me to give up but I knew it was something I had to do, so after taking a second to catch a breath of fresh air, I kept trekking along. Once we finally decided on a site we had to start digging because we only had a few hours of sunlight left. Quinzees are a lot more difficult to make than the snow shelters we had made the previous week. You need to pile up a ton of snow, let it sit for at least a half hour to harden, then dig out a cave to sleep in. I'll admit I was kind of out of it, and Hunter ended up doing most of the digging while I helped with snow removal. We ended up making a ridiculously large quinzee and it took the help of three other people to finish off the "Taj Mahal". After that we ate supper and I went to sleep completely exhausted from the day’s work.

Day 2
We had a late start, I think everyone was exhausted from the previous day, but we decided we'd go on a hike. Before heading out Sean briefed us on what to bring while traveling away from camp. When we were all ready to go Kelen was put in charge of the map and guided the way. Let me just say, this was not your typical leisurely New York type of hike. This was an uphill battle with deep powder and the heat of the sun beating down on us. Yet the scenery was stunning, each time we stopped to take a look around I would think to myself, “we are living in a post card”. Along the way we studied animal tracks, learning how to identify squirrels, fox and snowshoe hares. Pete also taught us about how to identify different types of pine trees and their benefits to the environment. We learned that in an emergency survival situation pine needles are a good source of vitamin C and okay to eat. I tried one-- if you're wondering what they taste like just imagine eating a Christmas tree. It's definitely something I'll save for emergency situations from now on. Soon after that Sean showed us how to start a fire using cotton balls, twigs and a lighter. We then hiked up a little further for some amazing views and then began our descent back to camp.

Day 3
It was once again difficult to get up in the morning because I was so cozy and warm in my sleeping bag. I debated staying in there for the whole day, but it was time to snowboard. We decided the previous night that we would hike up to the same spot and get in some fresh turns. So immediately after breakfast we headed out. I was very low on energy and motivation, but every time I looked up to the area we'd be riding my body became instantly energized. Once we got to the top I was really thrilled for my first experience backcountry riding, and best of all, they gave me first tracks! It was amazing just flying down the mountain without the worry of running into someone, and there were very few barriers to look out for. If you've never done it it's difficult to describe the experience. It's like a natural high where you are floating on a cloud. After my first run I just kept wanting more. Sean and I took turns with my board, Pete, Jackie and Kelen skied, and everyone else went sledding. It was one of the most amazing experiences, and it made me even more excited to know I was getting college credit for it. Once we made it back down to camp we began digging a fire pit and collected some dead tree branches. After dinner we all sat around keeping warm and sharing stories. Eventually we ran out of wood and headed off for bed.

Day 4
We woke up pretty early to head out. Camp breakdown didn't take long at all, so after eating we left. Along the way we decided to dig an Avi pit just for some basic knowledge on what to look for. It was an eventful weekend but I was ready for some running water and a nice warm shower. Overall it was a great experience. If I learned one thing on the trip it was appreciation. With all our modern technology I feel like we are constantly taking so much for granted. It was awesome to get out there and connect with nature, something I think everyone should do at least once in their life. Although I don't see myself snow camping again in the very near future I'm glad I was able to experience it. I can now say I've done something more than 90% of the population would never even think about trying.