Greetings All,
OKPIK 2020 came to a surprisingly wondrous end on Sunday about noon. Silver Lake (7200') held almost no snow so after a bit of fussing about, we landed at Woods Lake, elevation 8200'. The expected winds and precipitation did not have much impact. A bit here and there-but nothing sustained. Saturday lunch was a bit breezy and snowy, but not too bad. We expected 14 mph wind chill, 22 mph winds (33 mph gusts) and 2-3 inches of snow upon arrival. None of that appeared.
So..Not Keith Gale weather at all. More like Tom Mattis weather. Snug in his South Lake home.
Even at 8200', snowpack depths were not impressive, about 65-90 cm. Snow trenches (and one snow cave, an even bigger surprise) were created after a steep learning curve. After the individual trenches were completed, we developed a kitchen area using dynamic climbing rope.
We then demonstrated the initial steps of the igloo for about 40 minutes just to understand the process and the precision of each individual block.
The Crew began dinner about 6:00 PM. Boiling a quart of water from snow times varied widely,from 8.5 minutes to 20 minutes. A fire was started under the kitchen tarp for heat and light as well a stronger sense of well being. Sterling then discussed Progressive Failure followed by Chris conducting an OKPIK Quiz discussion.
No takers on dessert or the cracker barrel, so we began the evening stroll about 8 PM. It only lasted 20-25 minutes under an incredibly dramatic cloud-enshrouded moon. There was partial clearing which highlighted some of the terrain as if a full light had illuminated the surface.
Morning came late-folks must have slept comfortably. A spectacular day proceeded-clear skies, warm sun and no winds or precipitation. After breakfast, we again demonstrated more shelter construction. The Hup Special as well as the Quinzee were highlighted. After breaking camp, we headed to Kirkwood Cross Country Center to discuss winter terrain features. Onward to Silver Lake to outline navigation, focusing on UTM Coordinates and how to proceed with nominal visibility.
We finished, as now is the custom, for lunch at Mel's in Jackson.
My pictures are here: https://www.dropbox.
Thanks to everyone, especially my staff, for another wonderful outing.
Keith
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