RMS XVII

12/12/2006
12/05/2006
11/20/2006
10/31/2006
10/24/2006
10/17/2006
10/10/2006
9/26/2006
9/19/2006
9/12/2006
8/25/2006

12/12/2006
Photo: Brittney pulls into the third aid station on mile seven of the Fun Run.

Inspired by Read’s energy-saving home (a cool fact: his only bill is a phone bill; he generates all of his own electricity), we soon began working on our Science presentations about sustainable technology. In English, our study of sustainability continued: we read about Gaviotas, a self-sustaining community in the middle of a barren wasteland in Columbia. We also watched some of An Inconvenient Truth, and discussed how, as writers, we can compel people instead of pushing them away in the way that much radical writing does. Katie then assigned us an article in which we had to persuade people to make an ecological, social, or personal change. In History, we worked on our research papers. The assignment was to create a thesis of your choice related to the American West. The thesis is the first step in the process of writing a six page analytical paper. A variety of topics were chosen, including the Beat Movement, tourism, and the Dustbowl.

Tuesday we had our last 6 mile run before the Fun Run. Afternoon activities included building a quigloo out of the snow piling up around HMI, and doing yurt yoga. Wednesday in English we critiqued each other’s writing and discussed what we thought about each other’s papers. In Spanish we continued to perfect our speaking and reading comprehension.

Last Friday and Saturday ended our last full week of classes at HMI. On Friday we had our final P & P class and discussed the reading we had due for that day. It was an environmentally based discussion about William Cronan’s controversial wilderness article, and it really interesting. History classes continued working on their end-of-semester research paper. In English class, we looked at different wilderness magazines and catalogues, and also watched part of the movie Cliffhanger to discuss different kinds of persuasion and stereotypes used. It was, overall, a really fun and interesting class.

Saturday morning we started the day off with History and language classes, and then had lunch at noon as always. After lunch, we had time to go into town to do laundry and just wander around Leadville. We were also given time to begin packing boxes in order to ship our extra stuff home. Saturday night activity was a lot of fun. We went to the local Leadville High School to see two world class jugglers while Ben’s advisory group had a Harry Potter movie marathon sleepover in the Upper Classroom. The jugglers were awesome and really fun to watch. Friday and Saturday were a great end to the week.

Last Sunday was the day of the infamous “10 mile Fun Run”--a goal we’ve been working towards since the beginning of the semester. We woke up at 10 a.m. for a late breakfast of carbs, carbs, and more carbs. At 12 p.m. teachers, apprentices, and students all loaded into the three vans and drove 10 miles from HMI. We got in line at the start, and, at Karl’s cue, the run began. There were three rest stops along the way where runners could get water and sometimes M&Ms for energy. Kit ran the whole way with bronchitis and wouldn’t stop talking about it for days afterward! Everyone finished in less that two and a quarter hours, and all were met with great cheers at the finsih line. We had decided to dedicate the run to Casey, our classmate who was sick, and there were many murmurs of “remember Casey” throughout the run.

And Tuesday? Our very last day of classes. So as the clock of Who’s Hall displayed 9 o’ clock, students began rushing to class in semi-formal apparel. Teachers seemed perplexed at first to see a few ties, dresses, and coats instead of T-shirts, khakis, and fleeces. But RMS 17 students wanted to end our first semester of 11th grade in style. The end of classes brought both excitement and regret; finally, we do not have to worry about essays, field studies, homework, and tests. However, as the clock of Who’s Hall displays 5:30 p.m., we will be one step closer to the end of HMI and our last views of Leadville on Sunday morning.

The past two days students have completed essays about western history, read stories about the environment, and done presentations on eco-sustainability. I am sure that as we leave HMI, many of us will work to be more environmentally friendly.

Imagine this: at least one of us may, someday, be standing in front of important government officials wearing formal apparel-- not to be goofy on the last day of classes, but in an effort to make our world a better place to live.

That’s all from RMS 17. Thanks for reading, everyone.

By: Liza Paterson, Sammy Icaza Milson, Brittney Haynes, Clay Contee

12/05/2006
Photo: RMS students share a smile at the square dance.

As we arrived at the Denver airport back from Thanksgiving break, we realized what a relief it was to get back to the place that 35 of us have learned to call home. Unlike meeting in the airport in August, all faces were familiar. It was Movie Night when we got back to HMI. We watched One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest and Donnie Darko. The next morning, a number of us went to the Breckenridge Recreational Center to go swimming while some stayed behind for a day to catch up on schoolwork. That night, we all dressed up in our best cowboy/cowgirl wear for a real Western square dance. The faculty all showed up, including Molly and Christophers two kids, Porter and Jack, both dressed in full western gear. We all laughed about as hard as we could as we danced around the floor, enjoying being together again after the break.

Our first week back on campus flew by. We came back to the middle of winter in Leadville! Everything is beautiful, glistening and covered with snow. Some mornings it was too cold to do AMX outside, so our morning exercises were improvised (salsa dancing with Ben and skiing exercises with Steven. Salsa was especially funny. After moving all the tables to the edges of Who’s Hall, we partnered up and tried to keep the three-count rhythm, all at 7:30 in the morning!

Classes continued through the week. In P&P, we discussed the difference between consumerism and the natural world, as highlighted in Flight Maps, the book we read over the third expedition and Thanksgiving Break. The Civil War was the topic in history classes. We finished reading Gore Vidal’s novel Lincoln and watched parts of The Civil War by Ken Burns. In French we talked about the upcoming French elections. It was really interesting to discuss them with Christina, the French teacher. She grew up in Europe and has an unique perspective on the elections. In the evenings, Molly Barnes welcomed another round of students to her house for a dinner with her family. Every week, a different group heads to Molly’s for a pasta dinner. It’s a great chance to hang out, get to know, and laugh with our Head of School in a relaxed setting. It’s another one of the amazing things about the RMS.

Finally Cabin inspection competition has heated up, as the final week of inspection is coming up. Cabins 1 and 4 are neck and neck as Cabin 4 attempts to become the first boys’ cabin in the history of the RMS to take the semester crown. Cabin 4 took the week, but Cabin 1 remains slightly ahead overall.

This weekend the RMS 17 traveled in three vans full to the Leadville movie theater to see the 7:00 showing of Santa Clause 3. It was truly an awful movie, but we were all surprised how much we enjoyed laughing and making fun of it together. We still thank Danny everyday for scheduling such a wonderful movie!

Sunday more than made up for the awful movie, however. We left HMI at around 8:00 in order to get first tracks at Ski Cooper, the local ski mountain. Many of us rented telemark equipment and tried a new sport. We received great pointers from the teachers and most were able to connect their turns by the end of the day. Skiing through the fresh Colorado powder was incredibly fun, and we are still walking around with smiles on our faces!

On Monday, we all piled in the vans for Monday’s science lab and headed down south to Buena Vista, where we visited “Read’s Retreat,” an environmentally friendly house. Reed’s walls are made of rammed earth and the house is situated such that the south side, where there is more sun in the winter and less in the summer, has all the windows. In this way, he is able to use passive solar heating to heat his house. He showed us his well and told us about his water system and also told us about how he gets his energy. The combination of ten solar panels, a windmill, and a hydroelectric set up gives him the power he needs to light his small house. It was a very interesting house, and it was very interesting to talk to a person who had obviously spent a lot of time thinking about how to lessen his impact on the environment. It gave us much food for thought as we prepare to leave HMI and head back to our own homes.

By: Alli Reid, Dana Leonard, John Harwood, and Emily Cohen

11/20/2006
Photo: Auri and Alli point out 1,000 year old Anasazi reunions in Grand Gulch.

As we drove farther and farther away from HMI, Utah welcomed our three vans warmly with beautiful buttes, mesas, natural arches, and the most spectacular and vivid sunset we had ever seen. Many of us had never been to Utah before or seen such land formations, so the eight hour van ride was not as boring as we all had expected it to be.

The ooo’s and ah’s continued through to the next morning with a gorgeous sunrise. The red, orange, and pink lights reflected off the clouds, making them look like different flavors of cotton candy. It was clear to us all that Utah was beautiful state, and we hadn’t even descended into the canyons yet.

The first day’s hike was one of the best. As we approached the edge of the canyon, the suspense built up; we did not know what to expect. We finally looked over the edge, and suddenly the landforms, plants, and canyons that we had learned so much about in our science classes became a reality. Hiking down the trail to the wide drainage at the bottom of the canyon, we could point out yucca, prickly pear cacti, sagebrush, and many other wild plants. We made sure to be careful not to step on the beloved cryptobiotic soil, a very fragile, slow growing, living organism which grows on soil to prevent erosion.

Entering the drainage, the environment suddenly changed. We started to see more cottonwood trees, tall grasses, shade, and water. Between the six girls in my group we decided it looked like a mix of Africa, Vietnam (though none of us have ever been), California, and Egypt. When we arrived at our X, my tarp mates and I found the most beautiful site in this acoustic amphitheater. We were really excited about it until Steven, our expedition leader, met up with the group to teach us about campsite location. Apparently, our tarp was right smack-dab the middle of the flash flood zone, and it was also subject to rock fall. After that, we stuck to highly elevated platforms far from the walls of the canyon.

Later that night, our group cuddled together in our warm, brightly colored puffies under the stars. The warmth from the sun earlier that day had totally disappeared by now and we could almost see our breath. We suddenly felt a great feeling of peace. All the stresses of classes were left behind and it was just us and our amazing groups on our own in the canyons for ten days of fun and exploration.

During the expedition, our expedition leaders taught us facts about the Anasazi Indians who lived in the canyons hundreds of years ago. Our homework during the expedition included a reading by Terry Tempest Williams that discussed the effects of the atomic bomb tests that took place over Utah and one by Edward Abbey that discussed his years as a park ranger in Utah. These readings triggered conversations about what the canyons meant to us after spending ten days exploring and experiencing them.

On the third or the fourth day, the teachers stepped back and we were let free to travel the canyons on our own. Many groups had had an opportunity to travel independently on the second expedition, but on this expedition we traveled and camped independently for days on end, only seeing the teachers once or twice a day. This independent student travel (or ‘IST’ as we call it, true to our ‘HMI’ and ‘RMS’ roots) was a great platform for us to demonstrate what we had learned over the past two expeditions about traveling in the backcountry. While our days were still filled with the normal homework, tarp construction, and cooking, these activities were now done with a different attitude. We were now doing these activities for ourselves because the trip was ours.

Taking this rare opportunity by the horns, we started cooking better meals, setting up better tarps, and packing our packs better than we ever had before. By living on our own in our best style, we showed ourselves that we had achieved what we had been striving for since day one: no longer was living in the backcountry something that we had to endure; instead, it was something that we were able to truly enjoy.

Our groups saw ruins, explored through side canyons, napped in the sun, identified plants and animals, gazed for shooting stars and had an amazing time while doing it. We can’t wait to go back, and already have our next backpacking trips planned out in our heads.

After walking through all the ruins and traces of the people who lived there, and spending 10 days enclosed in a unique rock world, we decided that Molly Barnes had put it well when she told us you don’t have to be a spiritual person to have a spiritual experience in the canyons.

By: Alli Reid, Peter Wilson, and Susanna McMillan

10/31/2006
Photo: Carrie takes notes during a class at the Arkansas River.

Hello all.

Last Tuesday was our first full day back on campus after Parents’ Weekend. We were sad to see our parents go, but at the same time we were glad to be reunited with our second family. After a somewhat relaxed day of classes, we enjoyed our first dinner back in Whos Hall after the long weekend. On Wednesday, we woke up at 7:25 for an AMX game of Superball. Superball is similar to soccer in the sense that you have to get a ball in a net, but otherwise is pretty much a free-for-all.

We began Thursday with three games of knockout. We had a lot of fun cheering on the contestants after we had been knocked-out. After breakfast, we all left to do our chores and go to class. In French class, we learned the grammatical tense of pass simple because we were reading a book that contained that tense. We debated issues, such as the National Bank and nullification, during the time when Andrew Jackson was president in history class and reviewed for the test in Spanish. Activities on Thursday consisted of either Halloween cookie making, an elementary school visit with Karl, or pottery painting in Leadville.

On Friday morning, everyone woke up at different times and left HMI between 6:30 and 7:15 for our six mile run around the loop. We have all run this distance a few times before Friday, so we were all prepared for the challenge it holds. Everyone made it and arrived back at HMI to eat muffins and yogurt for breakfast. After chores we headed to our P&P class. DJ Sneakypants (Ben) showed up we debated issues of Deep Ecology with him. MJ Slickslack (Cooper) arrived a little later and debated along with DJ Sneakypants. We all had a laugh and considered major issues in the environmental movement before going to our next classes. Cook Crew had fun preparing dinner of beef, potatoes, and spinach with a specially prepared seasoning invented by the cook crew. After dinner, we enjoyed ice cream for desert! After everyone had their share, we all headed off to study hall and then to bed.

Saturday began with the usual morning stroll with Cooper. We had our favorite breakfast waiting for us upon our return: cold cereal. Like every Saturday, we did our morning chores followed by our two Saturday class periods. These classes flew by in anticipation of Saturdays evening activity. After classes and lunch, Danny did his weekly cabin inspection. The boys in Cabin 4 took the victory, although the Cabin 1 girls still won for the month. After lunch, we divided into three groups and headed into town for laundry. The laundromat, which is becoming a second home, was unusually empty this Saturday, which was a nice change. After all the groups finished laundry and wood chopping, we ate quickly and dressed in our best costumes in preparation for Leadville’s famous haunted house. The infamous haunted house was one of the scariest things many of us had seen. People popped out of every corner and the haunted journey ended with a chainsaw man chasing after us! When we got back to campus, the Halloween dance began and the hopping party didnt stop until Club 4 closed down at the late hour of 9:45. We had an awesome time celebrating Halloween together!

On Sunday some of us visited the hot springs in Buena Vista! It was certainly an adventure. At the RMS, everything becomes a fun trip because we are so excited to be somewhere else besides campus! We arrived in sunny and warm Buena Vista (no snow!) and immediately changed into swimsuits. There were multiple springs of varying warmth to choose from and we proceeded to visit all of them within the two-hour period. Dave jumped in the icy river nearby and then proceeded to jump into the hottest spring (way to go, Dave!). Zack and Chris also proceeded to dunk Kit multiple times in the medium warm spring while playing “Cereal.” After all that time in the hot water, we were all relaxed beyond relief and made our way back to HMI, singing along to our favorite songs in the van.

Monday was the beginning of another academic week. In science, we are studying stream morphology and took a 15-minute ride to the Arkansas River to test the speed with which the river moves in different sections (pinecones, tape measures, and timers were the tools of choice). Monday also saw an activity period (a walk in the woods, pastry making, and recycling with Danny) and a yummy Mexican dinner of green chili and tortillas. The day ended with the usual study hall, which was off course filled with work as this is our last academic week before our final expedition.

By: Claire Maggiotto, Reid Pierce, Erica Wineland-Thompson, and Kit Sheridan

10/24/2006
Photo: Reid and his mom share a laugh during Parents’ Weekend.

Hello all! Parents’ Weekend is over, and we are back in the swing of academics.

In addition to plenty of school work, we spent much of last week preparing for Parents’ Weekend. On Wednesday, we continued working on our Parents’ Weekend poems in English and reading Norman Maclean’s novella “A River Runs Through It.” We discussed family and the trinity of fly fishing, storytelling, and religious themes in the book. In our other classes, we tried to stay on task with our work while struggling against the anticipation for Parents’ Weekend. In history, we focused on the Jeffersonian era and its role in shaping modern America. In Spanish, Ben covered grammar, culture, and the vocabulary of native Spanish speakers. We also had a unit test in math. Additionally, Cheff Matt spent hours in the kitchen with any of us who had time to help him make Parents’ Weekend stand out even more.

Thursday contained a full day of classes. In History, we continued through Jefferson’s presidency to the Era of Good Feeling. The other history class prepared for their mock trial of Alexander Hamilton by interviewing witnesses (Thomas Jefferson, a small farmer, a supporter of an alliance with England, etc.). We continued to study geology in Science, focusing on plate tectonics. Nancy read sections from Frank McCourt’s books during community meeting in order to get us thinking about our relationship with our parents. That evening, Cabin 3, more commonly known as C 3, shattered the previous record for the hottest cabin, which had stood at 104 degrees, by getting the wood stove to heat the cabin up to 132.8 degrees!

Friday the 20th started very early. It was our first day running the 6 mile “loop road” for morning exercise. The run was a very challenging, but in the end was very rewarding. On Friday afternoon, our parents started to arrive! We were so excited about the activities planned for that night that it was very hard to concentrate in classes. After final preparations for all the classes the parents would be attending the next day, it was finally time to meet the parents. We all piled into the vans and headed off to Molly’s house where our parents were waiting. After all the greetings, we headed out with our parents to all the different restaurants in Leadville for dinner and to catch up on the last three months. After dinner everyone came back to HMI for a campfire with readings, poems, music, hot chocolate, and s’mores. Overall the night was a lot of fun, and everyone went to bed excited to spend another day with their parents on Saturday.

We began Saturday with a gorgeous snowy walk to the beaver ponds; a great turn-out of parents joined us for AMX. When we were refreshed and energized from our walk, we came back to a delicious breakfast that included bagels, fresh fruit, polenta, eggs, and all sorts of breads. After breakfast, we rushed to do chores, but they were not so bad because we had done them twice on Friday! Then it was off to classes with our parents. During the day, we did interpretive dances of geological phenomena in science, we sang in Spanish class, put Alexander Hamilton on trial for violating the spirit of 1776 in history, read the poems to our parents that we had written in English, and placed our parents on the leadership grid in P&P. Christopher calls the P&P exercise “family therapy,” and, joking aside, it was fun and interesting to consider how we interact with our parents and vice-versa.

Throughout the day, we got to meet with our advisors and parents to discuss grades and overall performances in classes. At 6:00, everyone settled in for dinner. Dinner was your choice of either maple-glazed salmon or grilled steak. Once we finished eating, we played versions of wah, yee-haw, and the vegetable game with our parents, and they mainly laughed at us all for being so engaged in the games. After a slide show of our memories to date, we piled into our parents’ cars for two free days in Colorado.

By: PG Heffernan, Brittney Haynes, and Zach Gulla

10/17/2006
Photo: RMS students walk to their science class at Twin Lakes.

Hello all!

On Wednesday, classes started up again as if we had never gone on expedition. In US History, we were studying the American colonies and their increasing tensions with England, and on Wednesday we discussed whether the colonies should revolt and separate from England. We each read a document written by a person from the Revolutionary era and came to class prepared to defend and promote our character’s point of view. It was a fun and heated debate, and the class time flew by. Everyone was in good spirits, and happy to be reunited with the rest of the semester.

In addition to regular classes, Thursday was filled with really cool activities. Activity period happens three times in our six day academic week and is simply a brief break from academics. This time the faculty offered fly fishing, book making, a trip to the Leadville Mining Museum, and a chance to volunteer at the soup kitchen. The weather was beautiful and clear, and appeared especially so because we had just gotten back from the snowy second expedition. The school day was busy as always. In French we discussed French influences in Louisiana while practicing the conditional tense. In Spanish, Ben led us through a discussion of All the Pretty Horses, and we researched Chicano artists while practicing narrating in the past tense. Many of us were extremely tired by bed time; we normally were in bed by 8:30 on the expedition!

Although this past Fridays date happened to fall on the superstitious Friday the 13th, it was far from ominous and nothing horrible happened on the HMI campus. All Friday, we buzzed with excitement for the upcoming weekend, but somehow managed to get through our classes. Friday is the day we have our Practices and Principles class. We discussed environmental ethics and the reading assigned from the night before, The Sand County Almanac, a seminal work in environmental writing. Right before dinner, the Friday night cook crew had a small competition for table order: a dance off! All representatives did fabulously, and it was very difficult for us to decide who won, but magical Dave ended up stealing the dance floor and wowing us all!

Finally Saturday has arrived! Per usual we had our two classes in the morning and a quick lunch before either chopping wood or heading to town to do laundry. We all chopped wood and kindling for winter nights to come. Everyone was antsy with excitement about our evening at Breck Rec, the recreational center in Breckenridge. After the 45 minute ride, we pulled up to activity heaven! There were so many activities to choose from. We swam, slid down an amazing waterslide, hit the two Jacuzzis, used the climbing wall, lifted in the weight room, played in the gymnasium, and also played tennis and squash at their courts. By the end of the night everyone was as tired as could be, and the van ride home was pretty peaceful.

We had a late wake up on Sunday. We woke up to a 10:00 mouthwatering breakfast which included warm delicious cinnamon rolls, sauced with Eves famous frosting, and delectable sausage; hands down, it was the best breakfast ever. The meal got us ready for a day full of relaxing and watching movies or going for an energetic rock climb in Buena Vista. Climbing at Turtle Rock was a lot of fun and surprisingly very warm. Back on campus, the majority of us enjoyed a sluggish Sunday full of relaxation and catching up on homework.

Monday started off with the weekly two mile walk to the Beaver Ponds. During our science lab at Twin Lakes, we learned about glaciers. The best part about the class was that Twin Lakes is a glacial site; everything we were learning about was right in front of us! With Mt. Elbert to our North, the moraines to our left, and the lakes right in front of us, science lab was a great way to start a new week.

Waking up at HMI is something that you have to experience to understand. Each morning, the promise of breakfast outweighs the instinct to hit the snooze button, so you roll out of bed and trundle up to the main building. On this particular Tuesday morning, however, we instead promptly embarked on a four mile run! The runs are fun, beautiful, and rewarding. But warm? Not quite. On Tuesday morning, however, we were graced by a picture perfect sunrise. As the sun slowly rose above the silhouetted mountains, the rays warmed our tingling faces as we completed our longest run yet. Classes continued, and we all began to get ready for Parents’ Weekend!

By: Lily Grosz, Molly Dougherty, Noah Strouse, and Izzy de Laperouse

10/10/2006
Photo: Gordon and Claire share a laugh and a hug during their summit attempt of Mt. Elbert.

We have just arrived back on the HMI campus after 10 days on our second expedition!

The trip was fun and fast. It began with three days of service work on the trails up Mts. Elbert and Massive, the two tallest peaks in Colorado. We moved rocks, dug ditches, and replaced vegetation in an effort to minimize erosion on the trails. The work days were hard but fun, and they gave us a chance to give back to the land and environment that we have grown to love over the last two months. None of us will ever look at a trail in the same way.

Our reward for service work was the opportunity to try a summit of Elbert or Massive. Groups awoke as early as 3:30 AM and started hiking by head lamp by 4:45. By 7:00, as the stars faded away to a brilliant sunrise some of us had made it above tree line. Soon after sunrise, weather moved in, hitting us with snow and thirty mile an hour winds! The climb proved to be burlier than expected, for we had to walk through a foot of snow on the mountain, yet it was all the more exciting to kick steps in. For many of us, the fact that we were on a mountain at all, and having a blast doing it, was a testament to how much we have learned about ourselves and the wilderness this semester! Some groups reached their summits, and some had to turn back because of the weather, but our efforts felt like a success all the same, and a true accomplishment.

After our summit attempts, it was time to begin hiking. We have improved so much over the two expeditions that the faculty thought we were ready to begin hiking on our own. They prepared us for IST (Independent Student Travel), during which they trail us on trail by several hours. We first thought that the idea of hiking without the faculty supervising us was intimidating, but we were completely wrong. The days were AMAZING. We hiked through thick forests and alpine meadows, over multiple streams, and down trails in snowstorms, and we loved it. The greatest part of IST days was that we were able to utilize all that we have learned over the past two months. It really made us realize how much we know! We knew how to do first aid if need be, we knew how to navigate with a topographical map and a compass, and we knew how to have fun while doing it. The IST days were really rewarding, and we are really proud of ourselves.

The academic classes we have in the backcountry are one of the cooler and more interesting things about the RMS. We are at the base of Mount Elbert or Mount Massive, and come back from a hard day of trail work, and then, hey, it’s time for history class! In US History, we discussed Fredrick Jackson Turner’s famous 1893 thesis about the West and the closing of the American frontier. Eve taught science on a hillside near treeline at Heart-Shaped Lake. We discussed krummhotlzes, which are growth patterns commonly seen in Engelmann Spruce trees near treeline. They grow crooked because of the harsh conditions that they face constantly. We had English under a tarp on a cold, rainy day and discussed several poems types before writing a few of our own. One of the themes we talked about was silence, and it was really neat to sit there under the tarp, holding hot water bottles and listening to the rain while writing poems about our interpretation of silence. The classes and homework were sometimes difficult in the cold and wet weather, but when we step back and think about it, it’s so awesome to think that this is school! Where else but the wilderness can you see and learn about so many things that are equally important as an academic education while having science class on the side of Mt. Massive and actually seeing and walking through what you are learning about?

During the expedition, we also had several P&P classes, the most memorable being the leadership grid class taught by Christopher Barnes. Christopher set up a giant grid on the ground, using hiking poles to cut the area into four quadrants. He then proceeded to explain the four preferred positions of leadership,: Driver, Analyst/Architect, Relationship Master, and Spontaneous Motivator. We placed ourselves on the quadrant based on our preferred style of leadership. Danny then told us to use our student leader days to lead from a quadrant in which we felt less comfortable to consider how different leadership styles yield different results. The lesson gave us a clear understanding of what aspects of leadership to work on.

Overall, our second expedition was a great success!

By: Henry Stanislaw, Dave Lembke, Anna Ramsey, and Auri East

9/26/2006
Photo: Noah, Susanna, Liz, and Anna enjoy the meal during the Sunday formal dinner.

Hello everyone! We are in the midst of our last academic class before the expedition. We are up to our eyebrows with work and fun adventures!

Last Tuesday started with a jog to the clubhouse and back. The 3 mile run was our longest thus far. We continued talking about fire ecology in science and watched “Stagecoach” in English. Mini golf at the ranch down the road from HMI broke up the day and provided plenty of opportunities for the winning team to gloat! Danny took his advisee group to his house for a little dinner on Tuesday evening. (Each advisee group has three opportunities per semester to have dinner with their advisors.) We had gnocchi, bread, and ice cream and re-lived the expedition while having a great time off-campus. After a long night of homework, classes began on Wednesday with History. We broke into groups and designed advertising campaigns to attract people to the different American colonies.

Thursday was a pretty relaxing day. In the morning we had field games; we played crazy games to get our blood flowing and wake us up a little bit. Field games are always a great time! English was our first class after AMX. We discussed Stagecoach, and really learned a lot about analyzing film from different time periods. After English came Algebra II, which is always a fun class because Nancy is the teacher. Katie, the English teacher, led a yoga activity after lunch. It was really relaxing and exciting to learn different yoga moves. The rest of the day was free, and there was time to chill out and finish up some homework.

Fridays are always the best. In the morning, for AMX, we did a nice run, probably about 3 miles. Its always a refreshing activity, especially when there is cereal for breakfast! After breakfast and morning chores came P&P class. We discussed a reading on efficiently and effectively leading people. History, Algebra, and English classes followed, which all went well. It was a really enjoyable and relaxing Friday evening, with study hall and some free time.

We had a chance to leave Leadville and attend the Vail Harvest Festival on Sunday! Vail is a really big vacation town, and the drive there is beautiful. We saw a real ghost town, Gilman, which was abandoned almost overnight because of water quality issues. There was some pretty good live entertainment: a group that played Bob Marley, Hank Williams, and some Jerry Garcia. There were also face painting and picture painting booths in addition to stands with food, jewelry, art, and more. We really enjoyed ourselves!

We also had our first formal dinner on Sunday night. Seeing everyone in their formal outfits was so great! The dinner (corned beef and cabbage) was really good. After the formal dinner, we went to the church downtown for a concert. We saw Storyhill, and they played awesome music.

Monday began with the best breakfast ever (scrambled eggs and hash browns!!). Science lab came after lunch. We went to the Leadville Fish Hatchery and studied animal scat. Learning about animal droppings was actually really fun, which surprised many of us! After the lab, we came back to campus and worked on our mammal projects, which include studying beavers and porcupines. In History, we talked about the American colonies and their trouble with England. Dinner was chili with cornbread; it was delicious, as usual, and fortunately the clean up was really easy. Monday night we chose cabin representatives. Claire, Gordon, P.G., and Ali will bring our proposals to faculty meetings and generally represent our interests.

All in all, Monday was a great start to the week. Once we turn in all our papers and complete taking all our tests, things will be even better!

By: Dan Corman, Liza Paterson, Amie Salter, and Clay Contee

9/19/2006
Photo: Eve teaches fire ecology at a lodgepole pine burn site near HMI. Experiential education at its best!

Hello all! The leaves have turned in Leadville; fall has begun, and the semester is in full swing.

The first weekend after we returned from our expedition we all took a Wilderness First Aid class (WFA). This class will allow us to hike independently during our last two expeditions. Instructors from the Wilderness Medicine Institute taught us how to deal with everything from dehydration to a rolled ankle to spinal injuries. With the help of fake blood and bruises, we learned how to assess and deal with all kinds of injuries and sicknesses while in the wilderness. We built splints out of the materials we would be likely to carry in our backpacks, for example. The simulations, where the fake blood came into play, helped us apply what we had discussed in the classroom. The simulations also left us with fake, but realistic, bruises and blood in random places on our bodies. It was disconcerting to see so many people with abrasions on their foreheads walking into Who’s Hall for lunch. The many hours of classroom work and the seemingly endless simulations paid off; we are now all WFA certified. The funny part is that we do not plan on having to use any of our skills on the next expedition!

Last Monday was an abrupt entrance back into the school scene after getting back from our first expedition and Wilderness First Aid. The jump back into the academic world started with Cooper taking our science class into an aspen grove and teaching us about different adaptations in everything around us. Danny’s history class continued to discuss bias in history with a game of historical telephone. Then we worked to refine our discussion skills while analyzing Barry Lopez’s The Rediscovery of North America. Monday’s activity, during which we went over to the field to play a 6 on 6 soccer game, provided a welcome break from the day. In English, we discussed the idea of femine roles and continued on the topic of the “Wild West.” Katie had us play a game of cowboys and Indians as a way to make us confront stereotypical views of these western characters.

We awoke on Saturday morning to flurries coming down all over campus the first real snow we have seen at HMI! As we got dressed, the snow began falling harder, but we put on out coats and hats and ventured out into the paths of Leadville for a brisk morning walk. Coming back snowy and wet, we were excited to sit down to a delicious breakfast of cinnamon rolls. Cabin 4 (a boys’ cabin!) won cabin inspection, yet again, and is on track for a pizza party. In Spanish, Ben and Lola made us tamales in honor of Mexican Independence Day. The rest of the day was busy, as we attended two classes in the morning, learned how to chop wood for the first time, did our laundry, and got to wander the town of Leadville for the first time. The day was fun yet hectic, and we all awaited the big night ahead of us: 1980s “jazzercise” bowling night. After a quick dinner, all students returned to their cabins to find the most ridiculous 1980s attire they could find, which consisted of colored sport jackets, hair scrunchies, and knee socks. The night was full of energy and bright colors, and ended with an extra half-hour of free time in which everyone looked over the digital pictures documenting our bizarre outfits and lively behavior. The night was definitely one that we will not forget!

Sunday was a relaxing and great ending to a busy week on campus. After brunch, we took a leisurely train to the Continental Divideride amid the changing aspens. We were very lucky as Molly and her two young children, Jack and Porter, came with us. It was a scenic ride, made especially fun with the company of the family Barnes. After the train ride, students relaxed on campus before going to dinner and study hall. Monday began as the last week had. Cooper and Eve took the science classes to a site of a controlled burn in the lodgepole flats. There, we learned about succession and fire as a disturbance. The science labs keep reminding us of just how complicated nature is, and are something we would never have a chance to experience at home. It was a terrific beginning to another week at the RMS!

By: Alli Reid, Dana Leonard, John Harwood, and Emily Cohen

9/12/2006
Photo: John completes his English journal with the Sawatch Range in the background.

Hello everyone! We are back from our first expedition!

The first expedition of RMS 17 was amazing. Each group hiked up to the north summit of Mt. Massive and the top of the Continental Divide, and rock climbed for a day with Justin. For many, summiting the 14,300 foot Mt. Massive was the best experience of our lives! As each of us reached the summit, those already there crowded around our new arrivals, cheering them on! At the top, one group had a sentimental circle. During the circle, each of us dedicated the hike up Mt Massive to someone important to us.

The toughest day of our trip was hiking up to the Continental Divide. We had to climb up a mile-long, very steep chute using not only our feet, but hands as well. It was a challenge that made us all rise to the occasion.

Rock climbing was also a blast. Everyone in the group, including those of us who had never climbed before, made it up a climb and had a blast doing it! The trip was a challenge, but a challenge that brought each of us closer to one another.

Although many of us are completely new to the backcountry, those of us with some experience know that its not very difficult for a group of friends to have a great time in the mountains. What separates the RMS from other outdoors programs we have done is the fact that the faculty did not settle for us just having a good time. We, of course, had fun, but the trip also consisted of classes about everything from wilderness skills to leadership styles. Some of our classes included conflict resolution, goal setting, leave no trace camping, and map reading. In almost everything we did, the faculty helped teach us how the environment affects our lives and vica versa.

We went through a lot in our expedition groups, such as learning the boot dance to keep us warm in the rain (in-step, in-step, out side, out side, if you were wondering) or experiencing the difference between the brownie mix and the cocoa powder in a hot water bottle. The expedition groups consisted of 3 to 4 faculty and 7 to 10 students. We slept and ate in tarp groups of 3 to 4 people, and hiked in groups of four. Each day the hiking groups would change, which made us constantly switch (and therefore practice) different leadership positions in the group. Because of the small divisions, we were able to get to know everyone in our expedition much better than we might have in larger groups. All the shifting paid off in the end when we learned how to be efficient and travel in style in the backcountry.

Of course, the RMS is a school, and plenty of class work took up our time. The academic classes we took in the backcountry consisted of English, History, Science and P&P. Our English discussion took place in the first couple of days of the expedition. Katie had assigned us a packet full of children’s animal stories and articles about animals. We then discussed the role these stories play in the way we think about animals. The readings led to an intense discussion about how humans and animals should share Earth. In history, we read an essay by Howard Zinn called “The Use and Abuse of History.” One group met at Timberline Lake to discuss our opinions about whether Zinn’s common man-oriented method of learning history could work. The discussion was very interesting. Our last academic class was Science. We learned about different Colorado ecosystems, such as grasslands, riparian ecosystems, and sub alpine forests. We also learned how to identify different kinds of trees, such as lodge pole pines and sub alpine firs. After the science classes, we took our science journals and observed a specific area in order to complete our species accounts and a field study. It has been very wet in Colorado this summer, and mushrooms grew like crazy all summer. Since they are unusually active in the mountains this summer, they were a favorite topic for Cooper’s field study. Overall, all the classes were very hands-on and thought provoking. It was also incredibly enriching to have classes with mountains and beautiful lakes all around us!

The excellent trip made us excited for school to begin on campus!

For samples of student expedition journals, click here: Journal Excerpts

By: Peter Wilson, Jack Fields, Casey Beaupre, and Leah Heal

8/25/2006
Photo: Chris arrives at the Denver Airport, trunk in hand, ready to begin the semester.

Hello everyone! Our first week at HMI is drawing to a close. We are packed and ready for our first expedition, and already the happy sounds coming from Who’s Hall make it seem as if we have been in Leadville for much longer than a week!

School started on Monday. As soon as we saw Cooper (the science teacher) and Ben (the Spanish teacher) holding up the HMI sign in the Denver Airport, it hit us that we had finally arrived at the place we had been thinking about for months. At the airport, the students who flew to Colorado from all over the country introduced themselves and helped each other find their bags. Once we found all the bags, we packed up the three HMI vans and headed to the mountains. The drive seemed long, and we were all feeling the effects of the high altitude, but we still managed to laugh and get to know each other. Looking back a week later, it is amazing how quickly we have bonded! After about two hours, we arrived at HMI where excited faculty and students greeted us at the door. Molly Barnes gave us our cabin assignments (we live in 4 cabins with about 10 students in each), and we situated ourselves. After an hour of unpacking, we met in Whos Hall for a delicious dinner of chili and corn bread prepared by the faculty and the magnificent Chef Matt. After dinner, the group had its first circle in the yurt. We passed around a rock (the power object) that Molly and Christopher had used at the very first circle after founding HMI. With the passing of the power object, we introduced ourselves and talked about our feelings about being at the RMS. We then went off to our cabins for the night already feeling close as a community.

As we settled in to our new homes, it began to dawn upon us that the super neat hiking and beautiful atmosphere were not the sole reason we came to the RMS. Academic classes were also part of the ruggedly wholesome lifestyle that the RMS students lead. All week, we assembled in the RMS classrooms for introductory classes that explained what we are to learn this semester. More importantly, however, we were assigned homework for the first expedition. However lengthy the assignments (and some seem very long!), we left these first classes with high hopes and expectations for the academic side of the RMS. Science was a great example. Many of us were puzzled at the idea of going outside to study, but Cooper’s class ended up being an educational experience as he introduced us the local plants and animals that surround HMI.

In addition to classes, other activities have filled our schedule. On Tuesday, we had a bonfire, and Molly briefly talked to us about some big community issues before we moved on to s’mores. Everyone gathered around telling jokes, debating whether marshmallows should be toasted golden brown or lit aflame to give them a crunchy black shell. Wednesday night we hiked up to Turquoise Lake; the scenery was gorgeous. The lake was beautiful, and the Rocky Mountains made a perfect backdrop. The hike was good practice for our first expedition that begins Friday. It also made the whole semester seem even more exciting, because it was another chance for us to realize how amazing the scenery and people are!

All students, apprentices, and faculty met in their respective expedition groups to prepare for the oncoming two weeks in the mountains on Friday. Each one of the four groups took turns packing and distributing food, renting gear, packing clothes, and learning about how to properly conduct ourselves in the Colorado backcountry. Circulating through, we all learned about our luxurious accommodations (tarps), our culinary equipment (Whisperlite Stoves), and our bathing/hydration facilities (water bladders, Nalgenes, and iodine). All that is left before we are prepared to start our expeditions is to load our packs into the vans and head off to the trailheads. Armed with more cheese, flour, and pasta then we know what to do with, we are off on our first big adventure of the RMS!

By: Robbie Stone, Susanna McMillan, Gordon Mattewson, and Katie George