Ian and Lucas invited me to go snow caving with them on Friday afternoon/night at Mount Baker, along with some other boys and their fathers from church.  In all the years I was involved in scouting, I never took the opportunity to dig a snow cave and then spend the night sleeping inside.  It has always been on my bucket list, right alongside with wrestling a wild cougar and slow dancing with a porcupine.  I can now check snow caving off my list.

Arriving at Mount Baker we previewed the area in which to dig our cave, identified a suitable location, and with a bit of enthusiasm began excavating.  Our entry tunnel extended down six feet, then horizontal six feet more, and then up and back hollowing out our three person sleeping chamber. 

Our eagerness diminished as we soon realized the magnitude of the task before us.  Reality set in as it was abundantly clear digging a snow cave was going to take a good deal of time and manual effort.  Once the entry passage was hollowed out, Ian shoveled snow to the opening and I would reach down with my shovel, scoop up the snow, pull it up and then discard it to the side.  Lucas helped in the effort where he could.  After three to four hours we had excavated 8 to 9 yards of snow.  Ian’s back was hurting, my arms and shoulders were aching.

Once the excavation was complete we placed tarps and plastic on our snow platforms which would be used as our beds.  Then pads and sleeping bags were added on top.    

Snow caves are supposed to work well because snow is a natural insulator. The inside of the cave is warmed by body heat (and a small candle) and protects the occupants against the cold air and blowing snow outside.  But, there is an art to building and outfitting the inside of a snow cave.  We were both naive and unprepared for the night to come.

After a hot dinner with the troop we warmed ourselves by the fire.  Soon the three of us called it a day, retired from the crowd, and made our way to our snow cave.  Once inside, the challenge was to remove ones wet clothes, get into your night attire,  and then into our sleeping bags without touching the side walls or ceiling.  To do so meant getting wet again.  The application of a few good yoga maneuvers kept you dry.

It’s important to have a thicker than normal pad to sleep on.  The thicker the better when sleeping on snow.  Ours were, well, what’s a good word?  “Pathetic” would be a good description of our sleeping pads.  They simply were not thick enough to insulate you from the snow you were sleeping on.  Ian’s air mattress deflated within thirty minutes and he found himself with no insulation other than the bag he was sleeping in.

We were told we should keep a small candle lit at night.  This would increase the temperature inside the cave, making it more comfortable.  Lucas sleeps with a nightlight, but I’m used to sleeping in the dark.  With the candle lit Lucas was soon asleep.  After three hours of no sleep I blew out the candle.  Before long Lucas was awake, asking his dad why it was so dark.  The candle was lit once again.

Sometime during the night the temperature inside our snow cave elevated above freezing and the snow that formed the ceiling above began to melt.  At first it was just a few drops here and there.  Eventually it became a rain shower.  Ian placed a solar blanket over him attempting to keep his bag from getting wet, but moisture from his breathing formed on the underside of the blanket.  In addition, the water from the melting snow made its way onto the plastic and then migrated under our sleeping bags making us more cold and wet.

When Ian was packing for the trip he was unable to find his sleeping bag.  I loaned him my sleeping bag and I ended up taking and sleeping in Lisa’s bag.  Lisa’s sleeping bag turned out to be a little small for me and I could not get completely wrapped up in the bag.  My neck an shoulders were exposed and could never get warm. 

For some reason, cold and snow seem to accelerate ones biological urges.  Neither Ian nor I wanted to get dressed and go outside in the middle of the night to relieve ourselves.  We simply continued to lie in bed and suffer.

At 5:00am we had all had enough of our snow caving experience.  We got dressed in our wet clothes, got on all fours and made our way out the cave through our tunnel, hiked through a blizzard and 12” of new snow that had fallen during the night, unlocked the doors to the truck, crawled in and turned on the heat.  We slept for the next few hours with the truck engine running.

Following breakfast in a snow storm we cleaned out our cave and headed home.  Our snow caving adventure has made it clear that snow caving should be reserved for survival situations only.  There is little fun in the activity, other than the male bonding time it brings.  I can now say I spent the night in a snow cave.  I can’t say I slept in one.

I was reading in bed last Tuesday night at 10:00 when I heard a blood curdling scream from Lisa. She was witnessing vandals desecrating our front porch.  It was hideous act which totally disfigured the beauty of our entry.  Who would do such a thing?  Kaylene, Lucas, and Kimber.  Caught red handed!

Happy Valentines Day Lisa

One of the simple pleasures of walking the Washington Park loop in the late afternoon and evening is witnessing a wide assortment of sunsets.  You never know what the walk will bring.  Somedays good, somedays not so good.  When we encounter a sunset we consider to be rather breathtaking, we take a picture, as in the two recent ones above.