About the Quigloo | Jesse Kumin
The HMI winter expedition was undoubtedly one of the coolest experiences of my life. Skiing out to the first camp, I was excited, but nervous for what was to come. I knew it was going to be hard, but I hoped it would be worth the challenge.
On the third day, the challenge hit like a ton of bricks. I climbed out of my tarp in the morning to find my backpack covered in snow, with more falling all around. We then skinned for three hours uphill to our next campsite, where we dug out quigloos for the next six hours. This brutal day was rewarded the day after with an amazing ski excursion. We found a jump and had a blast. At night, 6 of us kids cooked together in our group kitchen and had hilarious conversations. As for the other two kids, Gable and Tate, they were horribly sick in our quigloo. About the quigloo – that group made for some of the funniest nights I’ve ever had: the night they were sick, quigloo group check ins, bag dinner (eating cozy in our sleeping bags in the quigloo), I could go on forever. At the next campsite, we built an enormous mound in the hopes of a massive quigloo. The next day however, we didn’t feel the same passion for digging, leading to a massive mound with a tiny room inside. That campsite was next to Homestake Mountain, and although breathtaking, it was ridiculously windy. This led to some memorable dinners, such as Sam’s spring rolls, Gable and I’s water pasta and brownie hot chocolate, and the mega veggie scramble cleaned by Sam. Because our group lost three members to injury before we left HMI, we were composed of only four boys and four girls. Because of our small numbers, everyone on our expedition became super close. Each person got their own nickname, usually with a great joke behind it. On the last day before we left, we skinned up a hill near camp and played at the summit before skiing down. At the bottom on Slide Lake, we flew a kite and drank water that did not taste like burnt cheese. As we skied back to HMI, I was ecstatic to be warm, clean, and dry again. Yet I was also sad to leave the magic of the mountains. Through all the challenges, the ups and downs of winter expedition, I truly loved it.
Be Present | Lily Gruhl
Second expedition was one of, if not, the most amazing and challenging adventures I have ever experienced. The whole process leading up to second exped, with learning how to telemark ski, putting skins on for the first time, and knowing I was only about twenty minutes from the trailhead, brought me so much excitement and anticipation. This trip truly exceeded my expectations.
While there were certainly moments of challenge, like skinning over two and a half miles, uphill, through a snow storm, just to get to the quigloo site to dig and dig and dig until after it got dark. But through pushing through those challenges we were rewarded. After falling asleep right as I zipped up my sleeping bag following that taxing day, I woke up, made my way out of the quigloo, and just looked out in awe. From one step out of my quigloo I looked out at all of the freshly snow covered trees, the Mosquito Range and all of Leadville. This moment, and how I felt in this moment really defined the rest of my expedition experience. The immense gratitude and luck I felt to be right there in that moment caused me to take many more of these moments, just to look out and feel grateful that I am here right now. Throughout the rest of the trip I tried to be as present as possible and appreciate the now. Skiing in the back country making fresh tracks every turn. Through the hacky sack sessions where we would fall through the snow past our knees and attempt to scramble to the surface while we would all yell, “Get that shoe out of the ground!” to the whole exped group in the kitchen cooking and laughing, I felt very present during these moments and now, while reflecting, I am so happy I was. Now, back on campus I am carrying this strive to be as present as possible through the rest of my HMI experience.
The Battle of the Stoves | Reese Growdon
I often find the hardest challenge of the day isn’t the steep ski ahead, the snow conditions, it isn’t even the quigloo building. It’s the morning stove troubles that always seem to represent our biggest obstacle of the day. There’s always one cook group that faces the battle of the stoves, and simply put, it takes a lot of pride and willpower to take it on.
I wake up everyday to a lighter that’s too cold to light, a stove that is too frozen to prime, and sometimes an entire kitchen covered in 2 feet of windblown snow. Then the challenge begins. To embark on the act of “fixing” a stove, you must first remove your glove, exposing your freezing cold hands and attempt to warm up the lighter with said hand; very ineffective, believe me I know. Then you must pump the stove at least 500 times before you even attempt to prime it. And even then, you pump more. After that, you’re left with a gigantic flame that’s nearly impossible to control, forcing you to re-prime the stove all over again. And once you finally get it going, don’t get comfortable, because now you have to light a second one.
I have learned 4 lessons from stove maintenance:
- Everything freezes, so sleep with the stove and lighter (very comfy)
- Don’t ever spill your fuel
- Never leave the stove running during evening circle, unless you want to interrupt a very competitive game of Bunny Bunny
- And never have a repeat of these past 3 mistakes, it will be a rough morning for your quig group
Cold days and warm feelings | Wyatt Hawley
Have you ever camped in the snow? It’s, for lack of a better expression, wicked. The outdoors have always been such an amazing place for me, and with an excellent community like the one at HMI as well, It’s a recipe for success.
But, I tell you, the outdoors will never be the same as our second expedition. I’m from Durango, Colorado, so I like to think I’ve seen mountains but I promise, no matter where you’re from, you’ve never seen mountains like these. Alongside this, we got to ski the whole time, we didn’t walk with our gear on even a single time. I could make this whole blog about how fun telemark skiing is, but I won’t divulge into that for now.
If I haven’t sold you already, alongside you, your skis, and your wonderful friends, you get to live in a winter wonderland. A place of your very own design. A lot of the second expedition was carving out everything that we used. I’ll give a brief summary: absolutely huge quigloos, mega kitchens, lazy chairs, arches, monoliths, croquet pits, and anything that you desire, total creative freedom. There was never something not to do; if you’re done building the quigloo, then you could go work on the castle your friends are building. Then, to conclude the day, you can have an appetizer of mozzarella sticks and then cheesy pasta for dinner, watching the sunset on the mountains, unlike any sunset you’ve ever seen.
And you want to know what the crazy part is? This was only 9 days of the 122 days I will spend at HMI. Every single day, I get to experience this amazing community and learn as well as grow with them. Safe to say, I’m stoked.