Today I met with Jon Strand and Jeremy, two of the founders of the organization Friends of the San Juans. We discussed the possible partnership between their organization and San Juan Mountain Tribe.
Today I really began to make strides in my project. I called the Durango Winter Sports Foundation to try to get them on board to advertise San Juan Mountain Tribe to their athletes. I also recently teamed up with Will Berger to be my ambassador to DHS. He went and talked to Dale Garland and was told what to do to start a club at DHS. He then had to leave early to go to Purgatory, so I went and picked up the forms from Dale. Basically, all we need to do to start our club is to draft our by laws and some other clerical busy work. We then turn it into the club coordinator of Student Council who will review and either approve it or not. If it is approved, we attend a meeting with Student Council, and then our club is active.
Sunday: I woke up to the sound of Jeff saying, "Domi! Domi wake up!". I guess I had hot tubbed a little too long the night before. I walked into the kitchen to find English Muffins with ham and cheese melted on top which was a welcome sight for sore eyes. We took morning obs and left the house fairly early, at around 9 AM. We had to pack all of our stuff up however because we would not be coming back to the hut. We said goodbye to our 3 night home and the 2 house dogs followed us all the way back to the cars. Today the guides had given us the responsibility to choose our route for the day and my group had chosen to try and summit McMillin Peak which is right at 12,800 ft. We parked at the now familiar Red Mountain Pass parking lot and put on our gear. Our goal was to get back to the cars at 3:30. We began skinning up at a solid pace. We took occasional breaks for snacks or water or extra sunscreen, but all in all it was an admirable pace. We reached our pre-determined decision point a half an hour ahead of schedule and decided to push for the summit. We traversed through rocky windblown terrain and traveled right next to a small cornice before finally reaching the top; and oh how sweet it was. We stayed on the summit for around 45 minutes, enjoying the bluebird views, and lunch. We took some pictures with the other half of our group who arrived about 30 minutes after us, and then my group began our descent. We chose a fairly conservative route down, but it was none the less a blast. We got to one of the last headwalls before treeline and I decided to show off a little. I dropped in and was carving deeply and majestically when I caught one of my edges in a transition between corn snow to crust. One ski popped off, I flipped, the other ski popped off, I flipped again and finally came to a rest. I did a short mental check for injuries, realized I was ok, and broke into laughter. Everyone else joined in, happy to see I was alright. I then put on the ski that was closest to me and skied down to my other on one leg. Greg gave the group a little lecture on why it was important to stay in control and pay attention to changes in the snow. We skied the rest of the slope, managing the stop-go snow that is so common on warm days and we got back to the cars at 3:27. Perfect timing. We hung out and waited for about 15 minutes as the other group skied down. Once they had arrived we had a little debrief, said our goodbyes, and parted ways. I rode back to Durango with John and a woman named Lis.
All in all, I am so pleased to have been given the opportunity to be a part of this Avy 2 class and I hope I can continue to work for and with San Juan Mountain Guides for many years to come. Saturday: Woke up at 7 again and moved groggily into the kitchen to find two giant pans of scrambled eggs, with my chopped up peppers inside. This was very pleasing so I took a large helping and made myself some hot chocolate with whip cream. We then gathered outside for morning observations or morning obs. This is a series of practices done using a snow kit. One measures the temperature of the snow, the depth of the snow, the wind speed, the weather, the air temperature and a multitude of other things in order to better understand the avalanche danger that day. We then went back in the house for about an hour of powerpoints on how to use these obs to better serve us throughout the day. After finishing the powerpoint it was about 11 and we got our stuff together and drove up to Red Mountain once more. We were going to take a quick tour up to an area known as the backyard. I was in a group with with Greg, Josh and John and about 4 others. We took a low route under some cliff bands and practiced safe route selection. At around 1 PM the snow was really beginning to stick to our skins so we had to apply Glop-Stopper and the problem was mostly resolved. Finally at about 1:45 we reached the top of the backyard and ate lunch. We then dug pits in groups of three with the goal of finding a problem layer from Feb. 22. Instead we found a problem layer at both the Feb 22 layer and the Jan 11 layer in an extended column test. After this we had a fun ski down and got back to the cars at around 4:30. We were expecting a mundane car ride back to the hut, but as we reached the area around the Artist Cabin we saw a large R2D2 wet loose avalanche slide on a SW facing aspect. It was both exhilarating and humbling to see an avalanche in real life so close to you. In many ways it made our learning seem more real. We got home, took PM obs and did a PM debrief which is basically a report of the day's sightings, mistakes, and data. We enjoyed burritos and I donated my tortellini to the group's dinner. Greg then gave us a rundown of what he carries in his pack as a guide which was very useful. I finished off the night with another hour long hot tub and fell asleep around 11.
Friday: We all woke up at 7 and headed down for the deliciously prepared Pancakes and Bacon Gary had cooked up for us. I had some tea and we settled in for a long powerpoint about different kinds of snow crystals and how they interact with other layers to either help or hinder avalanche activity. We also talked about how surface temperature of snow and temperature lower down in the snow pack either create facets or stability within the snowpack. It all has to do with temperature gradients between the ground and the surface. The larger the temperature gradient the more likely an unstable snowpack. At about noon we packed our ski bags and skinned to the cars. We drove up to Red Mountain pass and put the skis back on and skinned for about 20 minutes to an open area of undisturbed snow. We then dug full profile snow pits, which is no small task when they have to be 150cm. by 180cm. wide and another 180cm. deep. I dug with John and Raquel. Greg and Jeff showed us what to do once our pit was dug. We took full density profiles by classifying each layer of the snowpack density: either pencil, one finger, 4 fingers or fist, and then used snow kits to examine each respective layers crystal type and size. After this long process many were very cold and it was already around 5 o'clock. Greg and Jeff gave us examples of how to do extended column tests and then we went back to the cars. We got back to the hut around 6 and skinned up to the front door, only to find an angry Silverton local yelling, "Are you Jeff? Where the f*ck is Jeff?". Jeff arrived and the man told him that there had been a payment agreement and SJMG needed to pay for the hut right now. After a while Jeff and another guide who was shadowing the course named Jim, calmed the man down. He finally let us into the hut telling us he'd be back the next morning for the money. Turns out SJMG had already paid but this man had obviously not gotten that memo. The only repercussion of this mans angry visit was that that night I had to move all my stuff downstairs and sleep on my pad on the floor with the rest of the guides. Once we were inside we hung out for about an hour while dinner was being cooked. I chopped some peppers for the next morning's breakfast and then the heavens shed their light upon us. Burger night. We enjoyed massive cheeseburgers with sides of Mac & Cheese and Asparagus. After dinner 4 other people and I took a nice hour long hot-tub under the little expanse of stars visible from within our valley enclosure and I hit the hay on my exceptionally comfortable pad.
Thursday: I woke up at 5:20 AM with excitement running through my mind and body. Today was the first day of the best part of my internship so far. I was going on a four day Avalanche 2 course. After devouring some cereal and washing it down with a little coffee, I grabbed my two carefully packed backpacks and jumped in the car. The darkness of the morning has always given me inspiration and this day was no different. As we drove towards Ouray we watched the sun slowly light up the tips of the peaks that I would soon be skiing on and I started becoming one with the mountains again. We pulled up to the San Juan Mountain Guides office at around 7 and I unloaded my things. After a few brief words with SJMG employees my dad drove back to Durango, and I realized I was truly in it now. The group of students sat down in a semi circle inside the office and one of our guides named Gary told us to introduce ourselves. Everyone talked about their full lives saying, "I'm originally from New Hampshire, but I moved to Mt. Rainier then to Salt Lake City then to Boulder..." while all I had to say was that I was a Junior in High School who was interning with San Juan Mountain Guides. Now you have to understand that I was by far the the youngest. The next oldest person was a girl named Raquel who was 21, and from there it was an average age of 32. After introductions we piled into various cars and drove over the pass from Ouray to Silverton. We got to the Eureka Hut parking lot at around 10 in the morning and piled out ready to put our boots and skins on. From the parking lot to the hut was about a 10 minute skin. I was sent ahead with the semi-creepy, albeit courteous caretaker Tyler, on the snowmobile to help unpack the guests bags; after all, I am an intern. Being the first to get to the hut I was the first to get to explore it. It was a massive wooden former boarding house/ brothel with 4 stories. It lay in the heart of a massive glacial valley with avalanche paths and frozen waterfalls hanging treacherously on either side. The hut was warm at least, heated by geothermal activity, and had a hot tub, a billiards room, and a full kitchen. I helped unload the gear as the guests arrived. Once everyone had arrived we settled into our rooms. I bunked with two other guys in one of the 17 bedrooms. I was on the bottom bunk. We were then called down for an hour of powerpoints going over basically what we had learned in our Avy 1 course just to refresh our brains. Next we put on our ski stuff, beacons and adhered our skins to our skis. We skinned out into the basin of our valley about 8 minutes and began some beacon exercises. First we tested our range, mine having the furthest. Then we practiced companion rescue with one partner. I partnered with a hilarious semi plump man named Josh. Josh lives in Aspen and had recently broken up with his girlfriend (which he kept reminding himself and everyone else of whenever he had drunk a little too much whisky). We did very well with companion rescue and then moved towards multiple burial rescue. In this drill two backpacks with transmitting beacons were buried and then one person attempted to find both "bodies" by themselves. I did not succeed as much as I would have liked with this drill. I learned I needed to slow down with my point search and really get accurate readings before probing. After this last drill we dug up the backpacks and headed back to the hut. Once back we settled in for another two hours of power points on types of avalanches and what warning signs we can observe before they happen. Throughout the powerpoint, given by our guide Jeff, our other guide Greg was cooking Spaghetti and vegetables in the kitchen. We sat down to a delicious meal as a group and talked. Most of the adults drank a fair amount of whisky as well. After dinner I washed the pots and pans and then played a long and drawn out game of billiards with Josh and a man from Mt. Shasta, California named John. These two would prove to be some of my best friends over the next three days. After playing some piano, joking about the place being haunted and listening to Josh theorize over his ex-girlfriend, I went to my bottom bunk and fell asleep.
Today I put together this little poster on photoshop which I will use next Fall to advertise our ski movie and club.
Frigid tent in the shadow of Molas peak. My Dad and I left the house at around 3 p.m. with the bed of our pickup truck filled with skis, backpacks, and a few bits of camping supplies. We were looking for the kind of adventure only dangerous, semi-irresponsible situations can give you. We were going snow camping. We pulled into the Molas parking lot and pulled out our gear. I noticed some discoloration on the side of my pack and ventured my hand forward for further inspection. Turns out I had put a faulty water bottle lying on its side the whole car ride up. Rushing to minimize further moistening I tightened my mostly empty water bottle and we began our skin up the hill. At around 5:15 p.m. we reached our base camp with a view of all the surrounding high alpine magnificence. Thanks to the time change, the sun was still hanging just barely above the horizon which gave us enough time to stomp out a tent spot in the crusty, week old snow and set up our shelter for the night. A small yellow tent in the midst of a sea of white, green, and grey wilderness. As soon as the sun set, the cold bit into us like a predator and our only defense was the extra layers we had lugged up on our backs. My Dad wandered around outside for a time while I sat in the vestibule of our tent enjoying the view until we decided dinner was nigh. Dad removed his old camp stove from, "back in the golden days" which must have accounted for around a quarter of the weight of his already sizable backpack. We screwed it together and fired it up-- but wait, nothing happened. We tried again and still nothing, the air temperature was to cold for the fuel to remain in a gaseous state. No matter for we had brought along those 20 cent bags of Ramen noodles which are equally inedible both cooked or raw. We enjoyed our crunchy noodle blocks and synthetic chicken powder under the multitude of stars suspended over the bowl of mountains in front of us. Without any hot food, or real warmth of any kind we were definitely cold, so we buried ourselves in our down sleeping bags (my father's filled with an avocado, 3 oranges and the fuel canister in hopes of warming it enough for hot tea the next morning) and we fell into fitful sleep.
The next morning we awoke slowly from a night of cold noses and strange dreams to the sun peaking ever so slightly over the mountains across from us, and it truly was indescribably beautiful. As Dad tried again to light our camp stove and again, did not succeed we put on our frozen ski boots, ate some frozen apple and folded up our frozen tent. Our plan was to ski from the peak closest to us down what looked liked a knife ridge down to our car. All told, it would be a 2,000 foot vertical descent. We knew our packs were too heavy for the skin up so we found a fairly secluded little tree well and dumped all the gear we would not need. From there we began our ascent. All the while I taught my Dad information about route finding, avalanche precautions, safety practices and other various bytes of information I had learned in my Avy 1 course. We were about half way up when we decided to dig snow pits. We each dug our own, no small feat when the snowpack is almost 5 and 1/2 feet deep. We conducted an isolated column concussion test and there was a 2 and 1/2 foot slab that broke off at 23 hits. From this information, I explained to Dad, we would be fairly safe skiing most pitches of a similar aspect provided we stayed to slopes of degrees below 30. From our pits we moved upward seeing only a couple crows and a group of snowmobilers highlining on an opposing face. As we reached the summit the snow beneath us was becoming much like the consistency of grits and began sticking to the bottom of my skins. I advised Dad that we should not stop at the summit for lunch as we had originally intended, and instead should ski right on down in order to avoid further avalanche problems resulting from rapid heating and melting of the snowpack. He agreed and we had an excellent ski down. We found our stashed gear first try and ate sourdough bread covered in avocado slices and finished off a bag of milk chocolate M&M's. Unfortunately, we had to re-weight our bags with all the gear we had stashed and my Dad's pack was equivalent to a man of comparable size to his own, riding on his back for the rest of the way down the mountain. He managed but not without cautious, low angle route finding and more than a couple tumbles. At long last we got back to our car and begrudgingly rejoined society. Lucky for me, my internship will take me on a similar trip, for 4 days, starting this Thursday. Obviously, i'm stoked! Today I sent out out a slew of emails to those who I would like to be involved in my project. I contacted Dale Garland at DHS about the possibility of san Juan Mountain Guides and I presenting at one of DHS's all school assemblies. This proved fruitless but we may be able to announce over the intercom or host some other way of raising awareness. I also contacted about 5 teachers at DHS who I knew were avid skiers. I approached them as to the possibility of hosting or chaperoning the club (which I have decided to call "San Juan Mountain Tribe") in their rooms every once and a while. Finally, I contacted Friends of the San Juans about becoming members of this club and possibly offering scholarships exclusive to members of this club. They responded eagerly and this aspect of my project looks to be working out for the best.
Today I bought a camera bag from a thrift store for $8 which will protect my camera from the harsh environments bound to occur over my internship. I then took my new purchases on a little adventure up to the above cave and got some fairly amazing shots. After that, Andrew and I talked on the phone about the specifics of my project and i began drafting the sales pitch I will use to try to convince 9-r and Purgatory why they should team up with us.
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Domi FridegerFor my LINK I am interning with San Juan Mountain Guides |