On March 10 – 12 the Acwsalcta Outdoor Education class spent three days and two nights winter camping in Tweedsmuir Park. From the East Branch parking lot, the group snowshoed into the newly built cabin with all of their gear on their back.
The group, which was comprised of students from grade 8-12, used the overnight cabin as home base and everyone was amazed at how nice, warm, and comfortable it was. The students did a great job jumping into their responsibilities - stoking the fire, melting water, and making meals.
After getting acquainted with the area on day one, we ventured off to the ski hill on day two and spent most of the day snowboarding, skiing, or sliding down hill one way or another. The weather was great and the snow was fresh! Despite a few a good crashes, many first timers were able to link a few turns together and feel the wind in their hair…. just before eating a pile of snow.
Among all the action, we also spent some time discussing proper backcountry traveling methods and avalanche safety. After much fun and little sleep, day three came quickly and we packed up and hiked back out to the parking lot to head back to civilization.
The trip was a great success and all participants felt challenged, learned some new skills and were excited about winter activities. The Outdoor Education class would like to send a big thanks to Acwsalcta School for supporting the Outdoor Education Program, Marshall Hans who donated his time to drive our equipment to and from East Branch, BC Parks Area Supervisor Steve Hodgson who assisted with transporting gear into the cabin and the Tweedsmuir Ski Club.
The participating students were Dorian Mack, Keara Snow, Carlos Edgar, Faavae Vaa, Jaidn Elkins, Duncan Edgar, Regina Mack, Lori Saunders, Cortez Mack, Brendan Pootlass and the teachers were Candice Wilson and Geoff Gericke.