Mietzke's POST Holden Adventure

Today I went on a hike with my friend Rachel. She came up at about ten and we started out towards Heart Lake. It was a beautiful day, clear and sunny and crisp. We hiked and stopped on multiple occasions to take in the golden light which was edging its way down the snow covered slopes. We hiked and talked and I was so happy to be out moving and enjoying the day! The light was amazing and there were patches of low lying fog that clung to the trees on the other side of the valley. Where the fog hung in the trees the forest floor was this eerie blue, it was as if everything in those patches were held frozen in time. As we walked further down the valley the sun began to stream through the big creek valley reflecting a golden light on Buckskin Mountain making it stand ominously above the grey blue of the lower valley. We had to stop often and take in the amazing beauty of this place! We brought our snow shoes but never once needed them because the ground was solid. The hoar frost has grown over the banks of snow long and feathery. When we brush it with hands and feet it sounds like shards of glass tumbling. It is beautiful, each individual piece sculpted perfectly like crystals sparkling in the light.
Most of the avalanche shoots have released their load and because we haven’t had any new snow in weeks avalanche danger is really low right now. We walked to the edge of the avalanche field and then in amongst the aspen that line the valley path. As we walked into the open we were amazed by the mountains towering above us glowing golden in the sun. We walked and could see evidence of avalanches all around the valley. I had never seen the avalanche run out up close and as we continued on we came upon the end of a huge avalanche. The first finger we came across was about five feet tall and ten feet wide. It had torn several trees out of the ground and we could see chunks of tree and rocks sticking out of the pack of snow and ice. We went around the base of the run off and began walking along the path. Then we came upon a fifteen foot tall wall of ice. It reminded me of what hot lava looks like when it cools tall and solid and menacing. We found our way up the side of it and I was amazed at how far it stretched out before us. It was at lease a city block long and crossed the valley floor almost al the way down to the creek. It had let loose from a shoot up to our right which didn’t look at all like it had the capacity to create all of that snow and ice. Where did it all come from, and how did it travel so far. The trails going to be a complete mess in the spring because the avalanche looked like it pulled half of the mountain down with it and took out a whole aspen grove. We sat up on the bulk and surveyed the damage and then sat down and ate our lunch in the sun. It was such a good day and I am still astounded at the power of that avalanche. We have had some avalanche training at Holden Village, but it wasn’t until I saw this one that I really understood the power of them.