Why do we do crazy things? Why do we push ourselves? Why would anyone in their right mind go atop a 10,000 ft mountain, one which the Utes called "Thunder Mountain", in the middle of winter and camp? Why? Why would anyone shovel snow for five straight hours, in a place that is constantly snowing and has a 12 ft snow base? ..And by the way would snow for another 24hrs straight. Finally, why would anyone then sleep in the snow that they had been shoveling for those many hours?
Because we can, that's why! To see if were alive, that's why!
...and that's exactly what we did. We went up to the what the Spanish called "Mesa Grande", a 10,000 ft mountain that has over 300 lakes, has had 8,000 yrs of habitation and is the largest flattop mountain in the world. And we did this in February. Without tents. With our shovels and a dream. Because we can.
This pic is of the sign, "Mesa Lakes" being covered by the drifting snow. Just to show you how deep the snow is. Now do you believe me?
The following is a series of photos taken while constructing our "snow cave." And yes, we did sleep in it that very night, the three of us; Me (Dan) and my buddies Mike Bench and Sean Buddeke. While the temperature outside was a snowy/windy 16*, it was a comfortable 35* inside our enclosed cave.
1. We picked our spot, a nice solid snow bank with the face out of the wind.
2. We began digging out the hallway and entranceway.
3. Slowly excavating a ton of snow! After the initial opening, we started the main room.
4. The main room was a big dome in this case. We would be sleeping 3. We made 3 bunks with what we call a "cold air trench" going down the middle. This lets the cold air settle below us.
5. We made several air holes using a ski pole and then finished off the inside. Then, we sealed off the door using masonry snow as shown below. And let it set up for several hours. In the pic of me below, you can hardly tell there is a huge snow cave directly behind me.
6. After the set up period, we re-carved our new smaller doorway and then got in to escape the snow and wind.
We worked very hard and were very proud of our labors. And there you have...our snow cave.
1 comment:
OH-MY-GOODNESS!!! Words cannot express my amazement. This is precisely what I love about men...you would never find women up there making an igloo!! The interesting thing to me about men is how well they do things when they put their minds to it. You guys didn't just throw together a crude snow cave (like I might have) you made it amazing and you even made blocks of snow and a cold air channel, or whatever. The precision and perfection is what amazes me!! That is awesome...good job!!!!!
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