Two Nights In a Snow Cave!

Thank you to Karoline W., one of our students, for writing about the Grade 9 winter trip:

“There was definitely a mixture of excitement and nervousness on the bus Wednesday morning as we were driving up to Bogus Basin. Our stomachs were full from the Pastry Perfection donuts we had eaten earlier and our minds were open to wander over what we were getting ourselves into. Even though we had all packed our bags with the essentials; snow boots, five pairs of socks and 20 hand warmers, we still were afraid of getting cold. Although once our class was on the mountain and put our backpacks and snowshoes on, all that seemed to disappear. Every person was eager to get this trip started and once Ben Brock gave us the okay, we were on our way.

Our energy was still high when we arrived at the campsite, which was merely 50 yards off of the Nordic Trail. It was still early but we took a lunch break before we would begin building our snow caves. We built the caves by piling snow up into a giant mound about 10 feet in high and then carving it out to create a dome-like inside. No one was really looking forward to spending two whole nights in snow, but as we were burrowing into the snow pile you could feel the excitement building. Everyone wanted to contribute his or her part to our new home for the next few days. It felt like that magical feeling when you would build a fort as a kid and fill it with all your stuffed animals. We all were probably just as excited when we had finished as when we were building it. Constructing our new home was time consuming but it was worth it in the end. All the caves were spacious and comfortable; with enough room to sit up and they were warm. It was a great experience for us all and we all ended up enjoying our caves.

This trip was very special for my class and I, we became closer to each other and everyone took something different away from it. Marie H learned how to build a snow cave and that she loves to jump off of rocks into piles of snow. Kaitlyn C said that she learned that you can get really cold when your gear gets wet, especially your feet and toes. Overall though, on this trip we learned responsibility when it comes to potentially dangerous situations like being stuck in the snowy wilderness. But for the class, the most important and memorable thing from this trip was how much closer we got. It happens every trip where you are stuck with the same people for almost a week, but this one was better. We got to spend a whole day together talking, sledding, playing games and even singing. I speak for the whole 9th grade class when I say, this was one of the best Riverstone trips we have been on, and I know we all are looking forward to another one in the future.

Thank you so much to Ben Brock, Aaron Olswanger, Eleri Roberts and Ryan Hoffman for leading this trip; it wouldn’t have been the same without you all!”