“I feel like if you put the word ‘Alpine’ before anything, it immediately sounds cooler” –Someone on our team

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Today was the big start of our trip. After breakfast at 7, we loaded our packs into the back of the van & took off to the Paradise parking lot(a 45 minute drive), where we were shown how to rig sleds & wear snowshoes.  With everything rigged, we set out around 10 AM, initially going downhill along a snow-covered road. The trailblazing started after about 20 minutes, when we began climbing up steep wooded mountainside. Going up this with sleds was particularly interesting as they’d get stuck in the trees or fall into sinkholes if you weren’t careful. While towing the sleds, a path adjustment was required to avoid obstacles.

 

 

 

 

 

We broke for lunch after clearing the steep terrain(trail mix, and some delicious Tillamook cheddar for us), and talked about reading terrain & wind direction using cues such as snowdrifts & the direction of tree growth.

 

 

Once we got to a suitable site for Camp One, we graded the ground by shoveling snow & stomping around with our snowshoes, & set up our tents. Something we’d never done before was to dig a sunken vestibule area into the snow for our gear. It created much-needed space & served as a nice bench, while protecting our packs from the elements. After setting up camp, we had dinner inside the cook tent – a marvel of snow engineering. The guides dug several feet into the snow, creating a center table & a circular bench for us to sit. It’s pretty amazing what you can do with snow & a few shovels!

 

As what would become our routine over the next few days, we recapped everything we’d learned that day, and talked about the itinerary for the next day. Tomorrow calls for snow & wind, so we’ve decided to push off our move to Camp Two, and instead use the day to practice avalanche rescue skills.

Continue to Day 2