A Wintery Return to the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center
While there were hints of winter prior to our holiday break, there is no question now that winter has arrived at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. Graduate M.Ed. students who live on campus returned today to find drifts of snow reaching the heights of their roof, carefully avoiding the ‘roofalanche’ zones that we were warned of in our winter safety training. Thick down jackets, gloves, hats, scarves, boots and yaktraks are the uniform on campus now. The high today was 15 degrees with expected sunshine for the rest of the week. Sun somehow makes these freezing temperatures a bit more bearable as it is such a rarity these days. Taking its time to rise over the mountains that surround Diablo Lake, it isn’t seen until sometime after 10am and then disappears behind Pyramid Peak only a few hours later.
The inevitable cycles of nature have also shifted the energy around campus. In the fall there is a lively, vibrant spiritedness from families and children participating in programs or Mountain School. Now it has been replaced by the quiet, undisturbed stillness of winter. I feel this every day on my drive from Marblemount. Cascades that gave motion to the mountainsides are now walls of ice; the constant flow of traffic and caravans of motorhomes coming over the pass has ceased and trickled down to seeing just a car or two over the entire 21 mile drive up Highway 20.
Despite the restful nature of winter, there is still life to be found at the ELC! Graduate students continue their studies and a new season of conference and retreats begins shortly. The following photos were taken today as we settle back into our home in the North Cascades.
Title photograph of Sourdough Creek, looking out towards Diablo Lake and Pyramid Peak. All photos courtesy of Angela Burlile.
Angela Burlile is a graduate student of North Cascades Institute and Western Washington University’s M.Ed. program and the current web resource editor graduate assistant. Growing up in Alaska, Angela feels most at home surrounded by mountains, glaciers, and turquoise rivers, making the North Cascades Institute a perfect fit. In her free time, Angela enjoys exploring the world, meeting its many inhabitants, sharing cups of coffee, climbing mountains and catching the sunrise.