Mt. Baker Snow Day-- 2/21/16

At one point in the day, Laura and I looked at each other and said, "This is our job!"....But I'm getting ahead of the story.

We boarded Moose (our trusty Wild Whatcom bus) and were driving away from Bellingham at 8:08 AM.  Shout out to all the parents for being so prompt.  Loaded with sleds, backpacks full of hot cocoa and hand warmers, it was east on 542 to our gem of a winter playground.  The girls were very excited but still able to have a couple of important conversations.  Laura led the girls in creating the community they wanted to have for the day; and what each girl was committed to bringing.  As Mt. Baker came into view the discussion shifted to forecasting.  This would become a touchstone for later conversations.  The excitement built as we drove the final few miles, flanked on either side by tall banks of snow.  Once we parked, the girls pulled on jackets, hats and mittens, grabbed sleds and headed for the first snowbank.

No time wasted!  By the time I got myself all put together they were well into the joys of sledding.  I asked if anyone had thought to S.T.O.P. the activity. "Of course, we need to be aware of cars!" Mindset in a good place.

We set off to the south, into the sidecountry.  At the ski area boundary ropes we stopped to have a talk about transitions, and the seriousness of traveling "out of bounds".  Mindset ready; and we were off to find a base camp.

As we hiked along talking about weather (and observing this weather on our bare-skinned faces) the girls had the task of selecting a camp.  Laura had presented a few important tidbits about snow conditions, and avalanche terrain and I had started a conversation about the ways we lose heat in the cold weather.  We had also been discussing what activities they wanted to do, so that was a part of the selection process.  They found a great spot that was somewhat protected from the wind, had some good terrain for snow cave building, and of course, more sledding.  Again, no time wasted!  Soon a sledding hill was being designed, snow caves were being built and a living area dug out.

Snow cave production area!

Lulu digging out seating in the living room.

A good hour or more was spent designing and refining snow caves.  There were good lessons learned when failures happened; as when a roof collapsed because it was too thin.  Near the end of our day we all looked at each cave, tried them out, asked questions and gave the builders feedback on functionality and creativity.

Amelia snuggling in her snow cave.

There was eating of course too and everyone was happy to have the cool seating...but not TOO cool as we talked about heat loss through conduction.  Yay for sleds and camp chairs and pads to sit on.

Opal and Kat enjoying some lunch.

Luna cozy in the snow.

Laura gave a lesson on reading the story of snow layers and the girls were super into this.  They asked great questions about different colors and touched and poked to try to figure out what they layers meant.  

And yes, there was lots of sledding!  They probably talked about that part...

We had such a fun day.  There was a lot of information and I invite you to ask about any of the following:  forecasting, snow layers and other avalanche signs, heat loss in the winter, how to build a snow cave, how to build a living room, how to get along!, and any other lessons they may have learned.

To see all the photos, view our photo album here!