Building Quinzhees for the Winter Overnight Kept Everyone Sheltered from the Cold. Written by Changemakers and Senior CAP Instructor Erin Angel.

Changemakers met at the crack of dawn to beat ski traffic to the Colorado Outward Bound School (COBS) in Leadville for our winter overnight trip. We snowshoed to our site and got to diggin’ and piling up snow for our quinzhees. We ate a late ramen lunch and relaxed in the sun for a bit while the quinzhees sintered. The big quinzhee dig-out commenced, and it didn’t actually take as long as we thought. We layered up in waterproof layers, dug our shelters, and set up our sleeping areas. We were ready to eat our chili dinner just after dark. Woohoo!

We enjoyed the chili that Cooper had made ahead of time and drank hot drinks with homemade marshmallows while we debriefed the day. With wet socks and hoods full of snow, we admired our work and the beautiful sliver of moon above our shelters. Everyone was tired, so we went to bed fairly early. We settled in the quinzhee for a warm, yet slightly claustrophobic snooze for the night.

After breakfast, Alex the Destroyer headed up the quinzhee destruction. The best part of building a quinzhee is destroying a quinzhee! However, we left a couple of the quinzhees standing for COBS staff to use. Then we headed to Get Outdoors Leadville for cross-country skiing. Using trails at Colorado Mountain College, we spent a few hours learning how to cross-country ski, exploring the trails and being immersed in nature. By the time we got back to the van, we were exhausted and starving. We went to downtown Leadville to watch the skijoring while we ate pita pizzas. It was fabulous!

Unfortunately, there was some dreaded ski traffic on the way home. Changemakers made the most of it by starting impromptu Paper, Rock, Scissors games with other vehicles stuck in traffic. It was awesome! It brightened the day of almost everyone on the highway, and there were no road rage incidents just because of us!

A big thanks to the funders and supporters that make the Changemaker Program possible, including: Larrk Foundation, Great Outdoors Colorado, Thorne Nature Experience, and Tony Grampsas Youth Services Program.

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