I have had a few visitors this summer. This month I had my nephew up for about ten days. His visit coincided with the three week visit of a Japanese graduate student I am hosting until the end of the month. She is studying ice algae, or 'red snow' as we commonly call it. I planned some epic algae hunting adventures for us, but we tried our luck and skills on Byron glacier first. I have been doing research here since fall of 2009, mostly on the avalanche cones we are walking up to. I almost always stop there, but couldn't really tell if that would be adaquate for Megumi's work, so we all pressed on to the toe of the glacier. Except my nephew; he opted to play on the rocks instead.
Not only do I usually work at the avalanche cones, I usually work alone. Sometimes I bring my dogs. This was my first view of the toe. The point at which I decided we would have to hope for red snow in those lower patches because I did not bring a rope, crampons, or ice screws with me and did not want to try my luck with the rocks next to the ice with an inexperienced mountaineer. This is the point at which I began to totally rethink the plan I had developed for her stay. It was evident that she was not comfortable, but I could not tell at that time what I would learn a lot more about later.
Things you don't think to ask people from other places: have you ever walked on snow? have you ever walked on rocks? have you ever walked off a trail? have you ever walked on a steep slope? None of these? Well! Let me change that for you in one fell swoop!
Super glad I gave Kyle the camera, he captured some great shots on this trip and several other days. I would gladly take him anywhere. Just wish he could have told me at this point how far behind me she was and how slowly she was moving. It took me a while to notice and fully comprehend. The adjustment was painful for me, but has ultimately ended in success - no visits to the hospital or rescue by my SAR group.
I have had a few visitors this summer. This month I had my nephew up for about ten days. His visit coincided with the three week visit of a Japanese graduate student I am hosting until the end of the month. She is studying ice algae, or 'red snow' as we commonly call it. I planned some epic algae hunting adventures for us, but we tried our luck and skills on Byron glacier first. I have been doing research here since fall of 2009, mostly on the avalanche cones we are walking up to. I almost always stop there, but couldn't really tell if that would be adaquate for Megumi's work, so we all pressed on to the toe of the glacier. Except my nephew; he opted to play on the rocks instead.
Not only do I usually work at the avalanche cones, I usually work alone. Sometimes I bring my dogs. This was my first view of the toe. The point at which I decided we would have to hope for red snow in those lower patches because I did not bring a rope, crampons, or ice screws with me and did not want to try my luck with the rocks next to the ice with an inexperienced mountaineer. This is the point at which I began to totally rethink the plan I had developed for her stay. It was evident that she was not comfortable, but I could not tell at that time what I would learn a lot more about later.
Things you don't think to ask people from other places: have you ever walked on snow? have you ever walked on rocks? have you ever walked off a trail? have you ever walked on a steep slope? None of these? Well! Let me change that for you in one fell swoop!
Super glad I gave Kyle the camera, he captured some great shots on this trip and several other days. I would gladly take him anywhere. Just wish he could have told me at this point how far behind me she was and how slowly she was moving. It took me a while to notice and fully comprehend. The adjustment was painful for me, but has ultimately ended in success - no visits to the hospital or rescue by my SAR group.
