After a long winter dry spell, our snowpack is about 25% of normal for this time of year. I worried that the snowpack wouldn't be very interesting for the avalanche class field trip. However, a massive snowstorm was predicted to arrive a day or so before the trip. Yay, I think.
Randy and I drove the camper up to the Mountaineers Lodge parking lot at the Mt. Baker ski area Friday night. Snow covered the road on the way up but getting there was easy enough. We parked and started to get settled, noticing the wind howling outside mostly because the camper would rattle and shake violently with each big gust. Unfortunately each gust blew out matches, lighters, torches that I attempted to light the furnace. We had a Mr. Heater for a little while, until the propane emptied. Turning the camper around to avoid the wind was impractical (impossible) because a car double-parked directly behind us and our heads would be downhill.
Feeling rather demoralized we went to bed, only to be awakened every 5 seconds from a giant rattling gust of wind. For a while I dreamt I was on a boat in high seas. Morning arrived; the camper warmed somewhat when we turned on the burner to make coffee.
We met our student groups and lead instructors. We spent as much of the morning indoors as possible reviewing the plan for the day, emergency procedures, the weather and avalanche forecast (snowy, windy, high avalanche danger), and gear. Mid-morning we went out to check the battery power and range of our avalanche beacons. As much as possible we found places sheltered from the wind to practice companion rescue. Still, most of us wore 4-5 layers, 2 pairs of gloves, 2-3 pants, goggles, a helmet or hat and hood. Mostly our noses were out.
Poor visibility dictated our distance from each other and the wind stole our words. Foggy goggles and driving snow hid dips and even big terrain features, causing several of us to fall when our skies fell out from under us. Three guys were blown over by gusts of wind. And then it was time to go in and reunite with the rest of the class.
The wind died down so Randy got the furnace lit. Oh happy day! Suddenly everything seemed easier, there was magically more room in the camper, our gear would dry. We went back to the lodge for an hour or so to help our student groups prepare the next days' ski tour plan. It was really warm in the camper but we didn't want to turn off the furnace for fear of not getting it lit in the morning. I slept on top of my bag and rather well.
Overnight and the last couple days 2-3' of new snow fell. Avalanche danger was still high but our group agreed to avoid avalanche terrain and stay on slopes 20 degrees or less. It was less windy but no less snowy. We spent the day practicing observations relevant to avalanche danger, navigation in low visibility conditions, staying warm and hydrated, traveling uphill as a group, digging snow pits to look at the different snow layers, and finally traveling downhill as a group. I discovered that my skis needed waxing when I could ski uphill without skins on the bottom
We closed out the course with only a couple minor injuries but no one quit in spite of the very challenging conditions. Everyone stayed to help dig out the cars and push the stuck ones over the snow humps. It ended up being a fun weekend with a great group of people.
There are no pictures as I did not want to deglove. The photos would've been a blur of white anyway.