Photos:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=275415566/a=38054161/t_=38054161
Saturday 2/21:
I had been looking forward to this practice. It was a survival-type practice, where we would dig snow shelters and sleep in them for the night. I had done, and even taught, similar practices back in Michigan. Although, it had been a while for those. The snow shelter practice had been my first practice with Rocky Mountain Rescue last year, so it was my anniversary trip too. Unfortunately, there was discussion that it might not happen. I really wanted to get out, so I decided that I was going to head out for the weekend regardless. Hopefully, it was with the group.
We met at the "Cage", which is Headquarters. Everyone wanted to go, so the trip was on! Awesome. We headed up to Caribou. The weather was pretty mild for Caribou. We did last minute prep, split into groups of two, and then had a brief of the plan. Headed in on the trail, which had a few bare spots. Made it to an area with lots of wind, and lots of drifts. There was a discussion about survival; priorities, where we would make shelter (pros/cons of snow, woods, etc.) Then we started working on our snow shelters.
We used an avalanche probe to check out our intended shelter area. It was more than 8 feet deep in all the directions we tried. A perfect spot. Jake was my buddy, and he was already dressed in his Gore-tex, so he started digging. (I would overheat if I wore Gore-tex on the way in, so I would need to change.) We worked well as a team. I cleared all the snow as he was digging, and made the inside seating area. He dug the entry and the main sleeping area. I set up a wall as a wind break while moving the snow. It was an awesome snow shelter; quite luxurious. You could stand up in our entry area, which had a seating area and a platform where we could put our packs. The upper sleeping area was elevated, so the cold would run down to the floor near the seating area. It definitely wasn't the most efficient for being able to heat with our ambient body heat (it was too big), but it would definitely be warm enough.
Others had made their shelters too; and ranged from very minimal, to pretty sizable. Heather, Christie and Daryn were digging a shelter big enough for three. Unfortunately, quite a bit of it collapsed. We pitched in to try to repair it. It turns out that it would be easier to turn it into a single person shelter, and we dug into our seating and storage area farther and made a space for two more to sleep. We had enough room up top in our sleeping area for three; but Daryn decided to sleep in their original shelter; so we had ample room for Jake and I as well as our packs.
We then went out and talked about fires in the winter, and the special considerations such as wind and making a platform so the fire doesn't sink into the snow too fast. Kevin made a fire, and we all gathered around it for a bit. It got dark; so the temperature dropped and the winds picked up. Time to get into our shelters. We had plenty of space in our sleeping area, so we cooked dinner inside the shelter. The two gals down in our lower level made a great dinner, and the wonderful chicken curry aroma wafted up to our area. They were nice enough to share some. We offered some of ours, as well as hot chocolate and candies.
Slept pretty well. Was definitely warm enough, almost too warm. Had to peel off some layers just before going to bed to make sure I wouldn't get sweaty over the night. Last year, I had gone pretty minimal, and had slept in an open trench. Played it more like a survival case last year. This year, I was going to sleep in an open trench again, but I brought warmer gear. Since I ended up pairing up with Jake, and was in the luxurious snow shelter, I definitely had much more gear than I needed. I let Kevin know that I had extra stuff if anyone needed it.
Sunday 2/21:
Woke up and started on breakfast. The roof was definitely lower than yesterday. Yesterday we were able to sit up easily and had ample head room. Today, there were only a couple spots that we could sit up. Still made breakfast inside, and then went outside to survey the shelter. The roof had definitely sunk in, you could see a dip in the snow mound. We checked the depth with the avy probe; and the minimum thickness was still 14" or usually more. Turns out that the gal's area sank down some too. Maybe from the instability of the snowpack, maybe the cooking and warmth from our bodies contributed; at least it didn't collapse.
Went around and took a look at everyone's shelters. Some folks didn't sleep very well, and they were going to head out early. Everyone packed up, and then we buried Dan so the avalanche dogs from Front Range Rescue Dogs could get some practice. After they successfully found him, we dug him back out. From here, the second group of RMR folks were starting to head in. We broke up into groups, and practiced making a fire. While we were making the fires, the second wave of folks showed up, some with snowmobiles. We extinguished our fires, and started the second day's practice.
We practiced many snow techniques. Went over different snow anchors; deadmen, pickets, as well as different orientations. We did many anchor setups and tested them by pulling on them. The highlight was a deadman that held all of us pulling; and even held a snowmobile pulling on it going downhill. Bomber. We also practiced lowering the litter on snow. The folks that were on skis also got to do ski jouring; which is being pulled behind a snowmobile while on skis. That was my first time doing that, and it was pretty fun. I think I did pretty well, only had one wipeout. I was on an upslope side, and then there was a steep uphill. My tips buried and I went forward. Probably looked pretty funny. We finished up the practice, and then the snowmobiles towed the skiers out, and then went back to give the snowshoe folks a lift.
Went back to the Cage and unpacked all the gear from the weekend. It was an awesome time.
Hope you enjoy the pics!
A.J.
Photos: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=275415566/a=38054161/t_=38054161
Group Room (multiple albums): http://ajoutdoors.snapfish.com/snapfish