Picture this: The peaceful silence of snow-capped mountains towering above a vast blanket of white…WHOOOSH! The silence changes quickly into peals of laughter as 11 pairs of boot-donned feet trample quickly out of range of the next onslaught of snowballs.

For Cottonwood Institute, an early snowfall doesn’t hinder survival courses; in fact, they just become more exciting. On a late October day, a group of Lakewood High School students and their teachers headed to Conifer for a day of survival skills and snowballs. While most focused their efforts building a quinzhee shelter by piling up massive amounts of snow and then digging out the inside, a few remained dedicated to the constant snowball fights that kept everyone entertained throughout the course.

The quinzhee did take up most of the course, but there was still time to work on fire skills, discuss survival scenarios, and enjoy a hearty lunch under the bright blue Colorado sky. All in all, it was a successful day as evidenced by the amazing quinzhee shelter built and the few snores that accompanied the bus ride home.

A special thanks goes out to Wildland Awareness Educational Institute for use of their land outside of beautiful Conifer, CO!