The Art of Snow Cave Building in the Mt. Baker Wilderness

The Alevin Explorers arrived at Cascades Montessori full of energy and excited about an extended outing in the Mt. Baker Wilderness. Loading up on the bus Steve informed the group this was his second day in a row of snow cave building and the Four Shielders had left a great example of a snow cave that could fit one to two people comfortably where we were headed. The boys were rambunctious on the bus, it was apparent that they had been cooped up all week with homework and class. Driving east we spotted Bald Eagles along the North fork of the Nooksack River and marveled at snow walls that grew ever deeper as we gained elevation up Highway 542.

Arriving at the upper parking lot at the Mt. Mount Baker Ski Area the group was met with 15 mph winds from the south that were quite brisk. Suiting up the group threw snowballs at one another. It was clear that we needed some focus before heading out past the backcountry gate.

In our opening meeting the mentors let the group know that backcountry travel was a lot different than an outing in the frontcountry, and although we would not be venturing out too far from the parking lot it doesn’t take long to be out in the deep winter wilderness.

As we talked droves of snowshoe parties walked pass us. Many of them looked very underprepared with their clothing and orientation to the landscape they were entering. The mentors informed the group that although it seems like the individual parties’ decisions would affect only themselves, search and rescue and ski patrol often has to risk their own lives to save backcountry users that make foolish decisions and are not prepared.

Together we discussed: winter backcountry travel and etiquette, avalanche prone slopes and terrain traps, defined wind loading and visibility, what we knew about the current snow pack, and how to identify tree wells. Feeling oriented we headed out in search of the ideal location to build a snow cave. Trudging along the mentors pointed of some of the prominent peaks as the cloud ceiling dropped and engulfed us in shades of gray and white.

We arrived at the location where the Four Shielders had dug their cave. The boys spent sometime checking it out. The group was fascinated by the amenities of the site. One of the greatest parts about snow is that it’s excellent building material and leads to tons of creative inspiration. We put the group up to a vote and they decided that instead of continuing to excavate the existing snow cave they would like to build their own. This decision matched their adolescent developmental progression perfectly!

Assessing how much snow the last group had moved, the Alevin decided to build their cave on a little steeper of a slope. That way they could pitch the snow off the hillside, which would alleviate the need for a long fire line of shovelers. On a steep Northwestern-facing slope we pulled out an avalanche probe and found the snow depth was roughly 240cm or 7.8 feet. Being careful not to compact the snow the group excavated a four by ten foot section down seven feet before making an entrance to their cave. The mentors cautioned the group that backcountry camping is much different than a snow play day at the ski area. Staying hydrated, taking in the proper amount of calories, and keeping your base layers dry is of the upmost importance for preventative care.

While we worked the wind would gust and the group would crouch down and take shelter from the onslaught of snow whipping by horizontally. Being the wise old mentors that we are, we had oriented the shelter out of the wind so that the more we dug our wall the more we were sheltered. Two of our mottos came up while the group was digging: Slow is Fast and Fast is Slow and Many Hands Make Light Work. The boys excavated the entrance to their snow cave and found they had dug themselves into hole. Refocusing their efforts the boys excavated a path off the hillside so they could easily shovel the snow in a fire line.

During this process we really only had half of our group’s focus. The rest of the boys spent their time sledding, wrestling around in the snow, and goofing off. This was our greatest challenge off the day. With the large task at hand we needed as much help as possible, but with only half of the group working the going was slow. This brought up another issue that Brian and I have been wrestling with within the Alevin’s group dynamic. It seems that a majority of the group is showing up and engaging, but there is another portion of the group that tends to squirrel out and pull energy and focus away from our outings.

It is not as though the Explorers need to learn to be on task every second of our outings. Explorers club is also about having fun, connecting, and decompressing on the land. But there needs to be a certain amount of participant desire to sustain growth and internally motive the participant to be present and engaged. As the Alevin’s seven journeys come to a close at the end of Spring and they are presented with the opportunity to enter into the Four Shields, the mentors would like the boys to really take a look and assess if they would like to be part of the program. The last thing we would want to do as mentors is force them to be part of something that they don’t want to be in or have grown out of. The skills, knowledge, and extended outings presented to the group in the Four Shields program will stress the need for the boys to be present and self-motivated. Brian and I will have more details relating to this as the date draws near. Feel free to send of an email if you would like further clarity or have any questions.

Looking at the time the Alevin could not believe that we had spent half the day doing the prep of getting our site ready to dig the cave. Taking a snow saw the boys cut a three-foot cube into their snow cave, creating the entrance. Three feet in the boys started to dig upwards. Keeping your sleeping platform in the snow cave higher than your entrance will trap the heat inside the cave. Steve told a story of building a snow cave and lighting an emergency candle inside which brought the temperature up to sixty-five degrees! With the southerly gusts and the falling snow the boys could already feel the insulating qualities of the shelter.

Digging the first few feet inside the cave always feels a little claustrophobic but gradually the cave grows more expansive and comfortable. Tracking the group the mentors got some feedback that everyone was feeling cold and tired. With an hour and a half left before we had to be back at the bus, we began to collapse our snow caves. The strength of the consolidated storm slab made collapsing the caves quite a task. Boys called for us to abandon the task and head to the comfort of the lodge, but this would not have been the responsible or LNT thing to do.

With our site in order we packed up and sledded back down to the bus. Once we were inside the bus blood began to return to the boy’s hands and we headed back down the 542. Arriving in Bellingham an hour early we went to Marine Park to debrief our experience. Going around the circle the boys were asked to give some thanks and share one thing that they learned and one thing that humbled them about the experience. The boys were honest and genuine in our circle and for the most part thankful for the opportunity.

Our journey to the mountains was the perfect edge stretcher and adventure for the Alevin. It was powerful to debrief that some of the boys had gotten cold because of their lack of prevention and preparedness, and how we worked together as a group. As a mentor I am humbled every time I travel in the mountains and come away with more understanding and clarity from my experience. Brain and I are thankful for our time spent with the group and to live in a place where we can venture out into an alpine winter wonderland and end our day sitting next to the seashore.

For more pictures from our outing please visit the Alevin’s photo album from the day.

The Alevin Lead the way to Cedar Lake via Chuckanut Mountain

Arriving at the Pine and Cedar Lakes Trailhead the Alevin gathered in circle, ready to get on the trail. Before heading out the mentors called for an opening meeting as they recognized that much of our typical BEC core routines were not practiced the previous outing due to some location logistics. The mentors wanted to hold the group to these routines and encourage the Explorers to formulate a plan for the entire day. Mentors explained that we were willing to drop our plan for the day and follow their inspiration as long as they were actively engaging as a group and with the environment they were in.

We nominated a Tribal Elder and the mentors stepped back to let him lead. After the group came to a consensus the Tribal Elder reported back to the mentors that we were going to hike to Pine Lake and find a place to play Spider’s Web. After the game the group would spend some free time exploring around the lake while some of the group worked on their carving projects. The mentors agreed with the plan and added in a long sit spot at the Lake.

As we hiked up the steep trail the boys immediately peeled off their layers and aligning their mindset for an uphill battle. Pressing on the group started to recall all the different switchbacks along the trail. It is great to see the elder Explorers coming to understand the lay of the land. This would mark their third journey up to the lakes and the boys were excited to look at the Sundew plants that grow on the Sphagnum moss covered logs that float in the lake. These connections represent the deep sense of place the Alevin have for our reoccurring outing locations.

Our boys must have been halfway up the trail before any of them thought to have a sip of water. Staying hydrated on the chilly November explorations is tough, but necessary, for the body’s regulation of its internal core temperature. Luckily none of the group seemed to be struggling with the cold at that moment!

Hiking up the trail the mentors kept checking in with other hikers coming down to see how strong the wind was at the top of the ridge line. The mentors explained to the group that it was important on days where the wind and weather conditions were moderately risky but still manageable for the group to have forethought and awareness toward environmental hazards and recognize changing weather conditions.

After an hour or more of climbing we arrived at the ridgeline and were greeted by an amazing trail map that had been installed over the summer. The Explorers mulled over the map and it was clear that climb took more effort than the boys anticipated. Some members of the group called to amend the plan and hike to Cedar instead of Pine Lake. The Explorers looked to the mentors to solve the decision, but we looked back at the boys and reminded them who was in charge of the plan for the day. Through some collaboration the group decided to go a shorted distance to Cedar Lake and save their energy for exploring.

Hiking along the ridge the group started to get chilly in the wind as the sweat we had worked up cooled rapidly. Arriving at the lake we bundled up and the group immediately ate lunch and transitioned naturally into free exploration. After some decompression time the mentors called the group together and asked the boys how their plan for the day was working out. The group recognized that they had strayed from their plan and wanted to continue their free exploration of the lake. Putting on our mentoring hats we encouraged the boys to set time limits on their free exploration so that we would not have a reiteration of our time spent squirreling out and not focusing on our skills work like the last outing.

Setting a limit the boys got exploring. It was fascinating to observe the group dynamic. The boys spent a majority of their time talking amongst one another and goofing off rather than immersing themselves in the ecology of the location like they had talked about. Reflecting on this recent phenomenon on our outings our mentors feel that the group is in the full fledge of adolescence and have become hyper-aware of their relationships with others, where they fit in in the group, how they’re perceived, and are dissecting and processing their own culture and beliefs. This could explain our struggle as mentors to balance the time for the group to bond and talk with providing skills, activates, challenges, and adventure in which everyone is engaged.

A few minutes before we transitioned out of free exploration the mentors noticed that one of the explorers had made a very concerning symbol out of sticks on the forest floor. The context around the steps leading up to the symbol being made and the motivations behind the making of the symbol is still unknown to the mentors. It could have been an unethical joke, it could have been a careless action, or it could have been the participant’s exposure to the recent publicity in the media from certain extremists groups within our country. No matter the context it was very important at that moment to call the group together to talk about it. 

The symbol that was quickly disassembled by the embarrassed Explorer was one whose history was co-opted from a peaceful symbol into an emblem of violence, hatred, oppression, genocide, and tyranny. We asked the group what the symbol represented and what it would feel like to be someone who experiences daily bigotry, hatred and/or oppression and to see that symbol while out on a hike.

The Alevin looked visibly uncomfortable and responded sheepishly: fearful, disheartened, angry, sad, humiliated, scared, despair, uncared for, targeted, etc.…  The boys learned a few extremely valuable and humbling lessons that day: that symbols and actions that might not hold a lot of meaning or context to them have a very real power to affect others around them and cause harm, that our minds are wilderness and if we let them run wild and compartmentalize and rationalize too frequently we can override our moral compass and ethics, and that we must not run from the shadow side of the world. We must face it, name it, and learn how to overcome, heal, and grow from our experience with it.  

With that heavy debrief the group was ready for a sit spot, but not before reading a poem entitled A Poem for Hope by Wendell Berry. Spreading along the lake’s edge we marveled at the tall stand of Cedar and Doug Fir that outlined its shore. The gust of wind sent ripples out over the lake and we settled into the peace of the place as the brisk temperature set in.

After the sit spot we had a check in and shared what we had contemplated on the sit spot.  Sharing some apples we held of circle of thanks and thought about the first half of our 2016/17 year together. Brian and I are excited to continue the journey with the Alevin this January and would like to thank parents for all the support you provide your Explorers and our organization.

Look for date and locations for the last five outings of the year to be posted on the Alevin’s group page by December 5^th.

For more photos please visit the Alevin’s photo gallery from the day.