Mietzke's POST Holden Adventure

They came,
First one child then the other
To the box with the candle in it
The Youngest knelt, head down
As the candle illuminated her face
A small tear made its slow trek
Down one cheek

The older came
Then stood behind the younger
Standing at the edge of the light
She stretched out her hand
Resting it on her sisters shoulder
Together they were held in stillness
Illuminated
Each child separate in her thoughts
Yet together moved

The older one then knelt down
She began to pick out the pebbles
That lay in the box of sand
She began creating a labyrinth in the box with the stones
The younger lit a candle and placed it
In the center of the path of stones
Then the older took her sisters hand

Together they traced the path to light
And the one lone tear dropped to the floor

Our friends Keith Karen and our God daughter Lyla are here to visit, and it is so good to be with them. Today while the girls were in school we hiked behind the village up to the avalanche shoot, which I never would have done last year because of obvious danger, but the shoot had already slid and we have not had so much as a snowflake in two weeks. The valley was beautiful from up there! We could see far into Copper Basin and we got up there right as the sun came out from behind Buckskin Mountain. In the Shoot above the village the waterfall is running again something that only happened in late spring last year. The snow was hard with about half an inch of hoar frost growing on it. It was fun to be with the three of them taking in the beauty. Lyla was making ”snow” angles in the hoar frost and enjoyed sliding down the steep spots on her bum. I love to see how much she has grown.
Lyla is a live wire at three, I am convinced that she will be the queen of the world at some point in the near future. This afternoon she had control of the whole elementary class who did whatever she told them for close to two hours. She was in hog heaven. Karen and I hung out this evening and helped the girls with homework and chatted while Dave and Keith were off doing boy stuff. Keith hung out for awhile this evening and snuffed me out in Backgammon. It is so great to have them here!

Today the whole village gathered in Koinonia to listen to the inauguration speech. There was an uproar of joy when Bush handed over power! I almost can't believe it. There are so many amazingly powerful things about this election, but I realized that one of the most powerful things for me was the immense feeling of relief from knowing that the Bush administration is not in power anymore. Something that struck me as amazing is our countries ability to grow. We may not all agree on certain political viewpoints, but in electing Obama we said no to Racism in a way that we have never said no before. Last week in honor of Martin Luther King we listened to his "I Have a Dream" speech, I have been in thought about all of the hard work and sacrifice it took at that time in History to face injustice with non-violence,and all of the people that sacrificed to make today possible. Listening to Obama today I felt hopeful about the potential for active change, and the possibility facing hardship and moving through it with some semblance of unity. We have the opportunity to come out on the other side of struggle with a bit more truth in our pockets if we face adversity together, and are willing to take responsibility for our past mistakes. I feel so lucky to be here at this point in History and to be a part of the potential.

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.

The girls had a sleep over with their class at the school last night. Tom, one of the directors at Holden came and told the class the story of the monkey bears as given to him by his grandfather, and how Monkey bear falls in the village came by its name. Tom is a magical story teller and held the children captive with the tale. After the monkey bear story, Rachel taught the kids a chair game which led to fits of giggles and silliness. We had a fun time with the games and then played hide and seek in the dark. Each of the children took turns and each spent time trying to scare each other. The scariest thing happened right as we were finishing the last round of hide and seek. The high school kids snuck into the basement and began to make noise first just rattling and shaking then rumbling. At first the elementary children thought a martin had gotten into the basement and were nervous about it when the high school kids began to make a bunch of noise that caused all of the elementary children to set to screaming and hiding behind the teachers and I, but after a moment they began to voice the suspicions that the tormentors were the high school kids, and then Teacher Steve led them into the basement for discovery. Then we all had hot coco and cookies and settled into sleeping bags and listened to a story. It was a good night. I left after our evening prayers and headed up the hill to sleep peaceably in my own bed. Dave had been home watching movies and getting some time to himself, which is a hard thing to get in this village sometimes. The whole elementary class, all six of them came up to our chalet in the morning after the sleepover and spent the day playing. It is amazing to me how well all of them get along!

It's been a zoo for the last couple of weeks. The weather has been warm and rainy, everything is melting and icy.

On New Year's Eve we were going to have a bonfire, well the burn pile was huge and under three feet of snow. We tried to separate the pile into two but it wasn't having it. I started the fire at seven, hoping that it would be nice and big by ten, when it was on the schedule. I went back out at ten and it was still just barely burning. We came back to the village and went to one of the parties; at about twelve thirty we walked back up to our chalet, and could see a glow through the trees. At about one thirty I looked out the living room window and could see flames over the trees. I went back out to the fire and it was spectacular! It was burning so hot that it was vaporizing the snow. At one point it burned under the snow and came out of a hole at the end of the pile. I watched it until five in the morning, I don't think I would have stayed out that long if I had had my watch on but it was really amazing to see. I managed to get it to burn from the center of the pile to the west and not the east, by shoveling the snow off of the first few feet to the west. It just took off that way when it was still smallish and kept going. In the time that I was watching it, it went twenty five feet to the west and only three or four to the east.

Last Monday (a week ago today) the J-termers came in there are only thirty of them this year. They're a great bunch; so far they seem very earnest and energetic. A big change from last years group, not that they were bad, it just feels like this group immediately became part of the village and last year never quite did.

Tuesday we had a plow crew down working on the road, we knew the avalanche danger was going to be pretty extreme once it started raining, so we were trying to get the crew back before the rain really started, but they kept running into problems, and when they finally got back to the narrows on their way back there was a big avalanche across the road so they had to spend the night in the A-frame at the lake. They and another crew from the village worked all morning to clear the road, and when we finally got it clear there were only four people coming into the village, all staff. Once it started raining Tuesday it didn't stop until early Thursday morning. Then it dropped into the twenties in Friday and Saturday nights and made a fine mess of everything. I understand that the road is in pretty good shape once you leave the village, but in the village it's a solid sheet of ice with melt water on top.

It is beautiful
This village silent and illuminated
With a veil of moonlight dreams
And the mountains stately and tall
Coated in blue and silver
A thin veil of spirit
Weaving magic
In our midst
How many sleep, enfolded in this nighttime bliss
While I, awake, try to hold all the magic
In my broken cup
And watch as each drop of moonlight
Spills quietly to the floor

The college students are back for a month of study, bringing with them such beautiful energy. They are so earnest in their striving and willing to be a part of everything. They jumped right into volunteering for worship and are so open to receiving. They are filled with passion and hope and their vitality fills me with the sense of possibility! This is a really great group and the professors that are here teaching them are the very best sort. Adventurous and respectful with reverence for all that this mountain living holds. It is so fun to see the dining hall full at all hours of the day and night. The third night they were here they organized a swing dance and invited the village. It was a lot of fun! They have been hard at work organizing a service of prayer for Israel and Palestine for Monday and I am amazed at how many are involved. I just get to sit back and they are doing all of the work. Tonight we had an open Mic night. It was a hoot. Many of the staff offered a medley of music, and a few of the college kids participated with poetry and a piano solo. Marta and Rolf played a Joni Mitchell tune and it brought tears to my eyes watching the Father/daughter team perform together. I am a sappy sort of person that way. I will try to be better about posting. It got so busy during the Holiday rush that I hardly had time to think yet alone write.

The moon shines regardless of my mood
Brightly pulling me out of my evening sulk
Out into the light of the divine
I want to hold onto my discontent
To sink under the cover of my own mask
And hide away from the blue light cascading over snow and ice
As much as I like my woes
I can’t seem to hold onto them
When even of a sliver of silver light
Comes through the cracks in my curtain
Beckoning me out into the night
To be amazed at the tops of mountains
And dance in the shadows that play across the path
At a point I find myself without my worries
Without loneliness and to my surprise
I have become heaven to myself
Basked in light and mystery
Forgetting the consumption of fear
And turning my face upward towards light
And still the moon shines regardless of my mood

It has been a while since I have written mostly because this place has been hopping! Last week we held the Holden Winter Olympic Games starting with the torch relay that went from the Garage to the top of Chalet Hill where the eternal flame was lighted. Anyone who wanted could participate in the relay and both Jordyn and Nyrie carried the torch proudly down the road. It was quite a procession that grew along the way. The flame lighter name was drawn from a hat and we commenced the ceremony with ABBA which was a lot of fun.
In the morning the Holden games began with a competitive game of broom ball in the main road followed by sled dog races in which villagers and guests alike were both dogs and mushers. There was the Holden drag and Hoist where children were put into clean compost barrels and Adults had to drag the barrels (while in drag) down the hill put it onto a sled without dumping the “compost” and pull the sled to the Garbage truck where they had to lift the compost kids into the truck. The contestants got points for costumes and technique, and fun and laughs were had by all especially when a guy named Chris came decked out in Gold with heals and fabulous red and black tight fitting pants and a gold handbag. He had red tails off of his outfit and a gold matching handbag and he managed to run through snow in heals only breaking one of them.
He won for best dress and got an award for the best posture while running through snow in heals.
There were bob sled races which Dave and Jordyn won by getting down the hill in 24 seconds. They had great technique and lots of fun. There was the synchronized snow Angle competition and the Coffee girls did the Macarena laying down in the snow it was a hoot! The kid toss was next. Dan and Nyrie got the Distance and height award. Nyrie flew over seven feet high and 13 feet of distance. There was snow tunneling which proved to be more difficult than anyone anticipated. Then of course there was the full contact sledding and know one really knows who won that it was a jumble of bodies wrestling and stealing sleds from each other. It was fun to watch! My friend Rachel and I participated in the snow sculpture with three penguins piled one on top of the other carved by Rachel and two whales outlining the penguins that I made. The penguins were masterpieces! There was a three legged snowshoe races and a long distance cross country ski. Last but not least was the candle relay which was a nice meditative way to spend the last even of the day. Team Mietzke and Espan made the best time and mostly just had a lot of fun!
It was a much needed day of fun and frolic, that ended up waking everyone up and setting the tone for New Years day.