Going Nordic with Dead Bugs, Wedges, Cold Solos -- and Lots of Laughs

We at Explorer West are ever more amazed at how adept 7^th graders are at cross-country skiing. They have the perfect blend of budding coordination; let’s “just do it” hunger for learning, and a whatever attitude about falling.

This seventh grade is setting a high mark with their quick progress. Despite crunchy (icy and hard) conditions for the first two weeks, they are moving quickly through the basics of Dead Bug (rotating while on your back to get your skis downhill and under you after a fall), diagonal striding (the classic kick and glide), and a variety of turns (step, kick, wedge).

Their prowess at gaining skills quickly lets us get right to the real business of backcountry travel. They are heading out snowy tracks around Mount Catherine to log miles, take in snowy beauty, share a trail lunch, have council talks, and sit solo.

Explorer West borrowed the council talk from Native Americans. All students speak to a meaningful topic or question, but one at a time. Everyone else listens. No interruptions. Explorer West students never fail with their honesty and insights.

The solo sit is also a fixture in our backpacking program, where students will sit (safely monitored at a distance by adult trip leaders) to journal (or not) and think (or not). The idea is to be quiet and alone in nature, humbled by our wee spot in the universe – and glad to be there. A solo snow sit has the added value of the profound silence offered by sound dampening crystals. Plus, there is the confidence that you can get yourself there and back, safe and warm.

Congrats to Kirt, our Outdoor Ed director, for his careful communications with the avalanche beset Summit Nordic Center, for helping to formalize our Nordic skills and learning sequence, and for bringing in Morgan Miller, instructor extraordinaire.

We are grateful for the assistance of all the EW parents who joined us for our Nordic days. Special thanks to Karl “Knut” Guntheroth, an alumni parent and expert skier. Knut knows the snow, and knows that fun in the snow is a combo of adequate skill and plenty of laughs.

That’s how we roll in the snow.

Bjorn (Ben)