Snow pits and avalanches

Getting ready to dig snow pits.

Making snow angels to keep warm.

The tongue depressors were used to mark each layer found in the snow pack.


Group working in a snow pit.

Today in class we focused on snow science and avalanche safety. After a morning lesson about snow metamorphism and snow crystals we headed up to Towgotee Pass to dig some snow pits and collect snow data.

At -10 degrees, it was a cold expedition. Each group dug a snow pit around 60 cm deep. We were asked to measure the temperature of the snow pack, identify the various levels within the pack, determine snow hardness, and take the density of each layer.

Our evening lecture was about avalanche safety and the different entities to look out for in avalanche territory (aspect, altitude, and angle).

Winter Adaptations

Huddling to keep warm - this decreases the amount of surface area available for heat loss to occur to the surrounding environment.

Foraging for chocolate - I only collected 135 calories, not enough to survive the winter.

Foraging for food.


Our assignment for our first day of winter ecology was to come to class in short and a t-shirt. For those of you who have not been tracking the weather here in Kelly, most nights drop into the negative digits and most days do not go much above fifteen degrees.

Our morning activity was to forage around campus in search of food (in our case chocolate treats.) Each treat was worth a certain number of calories; we needed to collect 200 calories in order to survive the winter and 300 calories in order to survive and reproduce. Every five minutes we were called to a central location in order to have our core and extremity temperature taken. The purpose of the activity was twofold.

First, our instructor wanted to demonstrate the difficulties faced by animals who stay in Wyoming throughout the winter. Their food supply is greatly diminished while their energy expenditure increases. 15% of animals die during the winter in Wyoming for a variety of reasons. As in "real life," there was not enough calories set out around campus for all of the graduate students to survive the winter.

Secondly, our foraging in minimal clothing demonstrated human adaptations (or lack of adaptations) to cold weather. As the minutes ticked on, many of us found our arms going numb and our legs turning shades of red and then blue. This was vasoconstriction at work - blood was being shunted from our extremities to heat our core. My hands, where extremity temperature was taken, dropped to fifty degrees while my core was twenty to thirty degrees more. Despite the below freezing temperatures (it was zero degrees at 9:00 am) we had fun foraging in the snow.

"To know and not to do, is not to know"

Over the past week, the graduate students have been exploring the questions: why school? why education? In order to engage these loaded queries we started by learning about the history of education. We learned about the multiple forces that were at play over the past two centuries that helped shape our current public school system. We noticed a constant tug-of-war between traditional and progressive educators and this dichotomy played out throughout history.

In addition to engaging theory behind public schooling, we were also asked to explore the ways in which people put their beliefs into practice. Today we spent the day making conference calls to educational organizations throughout the country. Our instructor set-up times for us to speak to people he felt were, not only inspirational educators, but had made a difference in the world of education. In different groups, we researched the school/organization and spoke with such organizations as: The Mountain School, The Island School, Summer Search, High Mountain Institute, Star Lane, and The Darrow School, among others.

The process was quite interesting as we came to understand how visions and philosophies of education played out in the "real world." Some of the common themes that came out of these interviews included the following beliefs:

- "We should be teaching students how to think, not what to believe."
- "Education that omits man's role in nature is not education."
- "Students cannot be taught solely in a classroom, in isolation. They need to understand that they are part of a larger world with many invisible pieces working at once."
- "Mentors play of key role in student development."

Additionally, we had the opportunity to listen to Jack Turner and Barry Lopez, two well-known and respected nature writers.

In a spirited, humorous, and at times, morose talk, Jack Turner reminded us of our responsibilities as educators and scientists to the environment and to the American public. He encouraged each of us to inspire wonderment in our students. He emphasized that children who are not connected to their environment will have little incentive to respect and protect it later in life.

Barry Lopez spoke about the need for humankind to take care of each other - to promote intimacy, acceptance, warmth, collaboration, among all humans. He asked us the question: "What are the components of a life worthy of living?" I believe we should take these components and encourage them in our students.

It has been a most interesting week which has stirred an internal dialogue that I will continue to ponder.