March 9
We're ready to head off on our second expedition – this time to the snowy mountains surrounding Leadville. As we write, there is a fresh blanket of powder dusting the peaks – and it is sure to be a wonderful, wintery experience.
On Sunday we put our skins on our skis, layered up, and headed out for our first day in the backcountry. Most of what we did was on relatively flat ground, walking along through the powder in a long line. Most of us started shedding layers quickly, since the skinning was hard work, and it was a toasty 35 degrees outside. We went up a few hills on our skins, then had a chance to take them off and ski down without them. We headed back without our skins, sliding through our old tracks. When we got back to HMI, we were exhausted but felt extremely accomplished. Now we are even more excited for the trip.
This week we also learned several useful winter skills that we will be putting into practice on expedition. Although a few of us shovel every morning as a chore, we will all become expert shovelers by the end of the trip. We shovel to build our quigloos and our kitchens, which will consist of a personal refrigerator, personal shelves, benches, and other creative elements. We will also shovel to stay toasty and warm. Additionally, we learned how to pack the sleds that we will be towing. We also studied the danger of avalanches, and we all know to which types of slopes are the most risky. Finally, we will definitely be making sure to bombproof everything, so we won't lose important personal items to the wind or snow. We will keep our water bottles inside our puffy jackets to prevent them from freezing, we will make sure that we will cook on a solid wooden 1891platform, and we will make sure to keep ourselves and each other warm. We will be sure to change out of our sweaty clothes to prevent hypothermia, and if our feet become cold, we have our friends' nice warm bellies to put them on!
As you can probably already tell, in these past few days leading up to the expedition, everyone has been getting really excited for the winter trip. We can't wait to ski the awesome powder, live in our own mini snow villages, and eat all the time!! During issue, everyone has been planning all sorts of various activities for the expedition - raves, hoedowns, birthdays, and even Pi Day! We've even arranged for each tarp group to plan a party, including an Olympics-themed one. We're also all excited for building our kitchens and seating areas; many of us are planning on building thrones and grand arches for the entrances to our villages. Overall, we can't wait to play in the snow for ten days straight! There will be much skiing, snowing, sledding, shoveling, and shredding. It's going to be AWESOME!
See you in ten days!
By: Daly Montgomery, Ellen Smith, & Maddi Ginsberg