Week 6: Pre-trip Post
Week 6-Pre-Trip Blog Spot
This crazy idea of a couple of UNH grad students going up Mount Washington is quickly approaching. I did this once before during the summer season while traveling in a station wagon as a child, but never in the winter in a snow cat. Let the adventure of a lifetime begin!
At WMRHS we hosted two days of inquiry open to all students interested in the outdoors. We explored survival skills in challenging weather, limited supplies and various survival scenarios such as a hiker, skier, and snowmobiler. The inspiration of our survival day for inquiry education week came from my approaching visit to Mt. Washington along with the TV show “Naked and Afraid” where people are trying to survive with only what they have on them.
Students were assigned to work in teams. They were given a grab bag full of an assortment of items such as lint, matches, handkerchief, soda cans, or a flashlight. They investigated and researched their supplies and their outdoor scenarios in the morning, then spent the afternoon making survival shelters and using their supplies to try to make a fire.
We also read the article about the hiker Amy Baker, who was rescued from Mount Washington earlier this year. She made it to the summit but lost her way heading down. The weather on the mountain can change quickly and she had left her snowshoes behind since it was a nice day and the trail seemed packed. When Amy Baker was off the trail the snow was up to her waist and even her rescuers struggled to get to her in the deep snow with snowshoes. Reading about Amy Baker’s experience we tried to explain to our students who feel very confident outdoors that even the most experienced hikers and outdoor activists can lose their way.
This crazy idea of a couple of UNH grad students going up Mount Washington is quickly approaching. I did this once before during the summer season while traveling in a station wagon as a child, but never in the winter in a snow cat. Let the adventure of a lifetime begin!
At WMRHS we hosted two days of inquiry open to all students interested in the outdoors. We explored survival skills in challenging weather, limited supplies and various survival scenarios such as a hiker, skier, and snowmobiler. The inspiration of our survival day for inquiry education week came from my approaching visit to Mt. Washington along with the TV show “Naked and Afraid” where people are trying to survive with only what they have on them.
Students were assigned to work in teams. They were given a grab bag full of an assortment of items such as lint, matches, handkerchief, soda cans, or a flashlight. They investigated and researched their supplies and their outdoor scenarios in the morning, then spent the afternoon making survival shelters and using their supplies to try to make a fire.
We also read the article about the hiker Amy Baker, who was rescued from Mount Washington earlier this year. She made it to the summit but lost her way heading down. The weather on the mountain can change quickly and she had left her snowshoes behind since it was a nice day and the trail seemed packed. When Amy Baker was off the trail the snow was up to her waist and even her rescuers struggled to get to her in the deep snow with snowshoes. Reading about Amy Baker’s experience we tried to explain to our students who feel very confident outdoors that even the most experienced hikers and outdoor activists can lose their way.
-Kim Dorman, White Mountain Regional High School, Whitefield, NH
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