Snow School

July 22, 2018

Kat and I stayed at the Kicking Horse Lodge in Golden and despite sharing a room with five other people, had a very silent night. We met the group for breakfast and then piled into a small bus for a 2 hour ride down rough logging roads to the staging area. Not too long after arriving, we heard the chopper overhead as it flew into camp to pickup the first group from week two on their way home. A few minutes later, the machine was expertly landed at our feet and the pilot shut down to give the mandatory safety talk. Kat and I went up in the first load, she managing to secure the shotgun position, while I rode in the back with a four others, including Pierre the camp manager for this week. About a ten minute flight ensued taking us over some beautiful ridges, valleys, and glaciers, terminating at the camp which was nestled along a rushing creek fed by a small glacier filling the cirque above. Four more flights had the others into camp along with all our gear and food for a week. Pierre gave an introduction to the camp logistics and then we all headed up onto the glacier for "snow school", or a basic refresher on glacier travel, crampon walking technique, and self arrest. This was well known by most everyone here, but it gave us a good leg stretcher anyway as we climbed up to the top of the ice field. What made the day really worth it was a dramatic demonstration by nature on our way down. My rope team was in the lead, and Tim, our guide at the back of the rope warned us to avoid a pile of blocky morraine at the toe of the glacier because these rocks were likely unstable. As we walked by, right on queue, a refrigerator sized block tumbled off of the stack with a loud crash. The lesson could not have been reinforced in any better way, and the resulting grin on Tim's face was priceless. Back at camp, a huge cheese platter was served for a pre-dinner appetizer, and the rest of the afternoon was spent socializing. It looks like this is going to be a good group of people, with twelve clients, five guides/leaders, and two staff in the kitchen.

Our taxi has arrived.

Home for the next week.

Playground for our afternoon.

Returning to camp.

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