The night promised a slight change from the warm snowy day we had, there would be some heavy winds followed by a mean drop in temperature overnight. With winds of 30 km/h and a temperature of -20 C, everyone build up their walls to block the wind and made sure the platforms in the quinzhees were nice and high. Well almost everyone, as some found out, walls that were not high enough were not a great wind block and shelters that didn't have a good enough cold sink were chilly when the temperature dropped.
This led to a number of people hanging out around our fire, as our walls were plenty high and they also had comfy benches build into them. There was also a huddling of many people in the better made quinzhees, as some were just too cold. There was also a few calls home as some used the wonders of the cell phone to call their parents to rescue them. It is too bad that instead of preparing properly, some students were once again able to press the reset button.
Sleeping out in the Canadian wilderness is one of those activities that everyone should try at least once in your lifetime. If you pay attention to the details in building your shelter and you take the time to get the proper gear, it is a night that you will truly enjoy and never forget.
