Winter section

Wind River Range, Wyoming

2 weeks
cross country and downhill backcountry skiing
Cert. Avalanche Awareness.

This is the crew.

This is a survival shelter. This is a simple form of one they can actually become very complex using snow quarrying techniques.

Here is a Quigloo, it is a mixture of a igloo and a snow cave. We are in about 15+ feet of snow, we would sleep with our shovels because at night the room shrinks and sometimes the opening either gets snowed in or caved in. They hope you were not claustrophobic.

This is a top of a quinzy, a different type of shelter. the ski poles sticking out are used as guides to let us know how deep on the inside we were digging.

Digging out the entrance to a quigloo.

We had class almost everyday, no matter what the temperature (sub zero) or weather, we would dig out wind barriers and benches but they only did so much for our comfort level.

This is an avalanche awareness class where we dug test pits.

Studying ice crystals during one of the avalanche classes.

Travel day, we carry sleds and backpacks with all our belongings. We travel using telemark skis, a type of ski adapted for cross country and downhill skiing.

Breaking trail is difficult and time consuming work because fresh backcountry powder is very difficult to plow through. I made the mistake during a break in stepping off of my ski and I sunk into the snow to where my hands could barely reach the surface.

All of us on the move

Shredding some Nar on some fresh powder miles away from civilization.

After 2 days of blizzards we finally found a beautiful day to go summit lookout mountain

SUMMIT!