Avalanche control at Mission Ridge usually consists of getting up at 4 a.m., riding in or on a snow cat or wind blown chairlift in the dark, and arriving at the top frozen stiff. Fortunately, we are blessed to have a new patrol shack which was built with money raised from the annual Steve Burchett Memorial golf tournament. Steve was a patroller who died in an avalanche while doing his job. I never knew Steve, but his memory lives on. I think of him every time I go out to do my job, and sometimes my route takes me next to a cross placed on a rock near where he died. It's a sobbering experience every time. The shack is warm and roomy, and has a tremendous view, except at 6 a.m in the winter. We assemble our packs and charges, discuss the weather conditions leading up to the current morning, and then go do our job. Some days the wind is blowing 30, 40, 50 miles per hour with temps in the low teens. Some mornings are clear and calm. Either way, I love it. We can see the lights of Wenatchee twinkling throught the cold clear air almost 600 feet below us, and I think of my wife and kids still sleeping soundly while I prepare my fist charge. Sometimes it seems almost surreal. The sunrise, the view, the beauty of where I am and what I am doing. It seems even wierder when I get back to my day job at the office and mix in with the rest of the normal world. I usually grin all day long. Not too many people get to start the day like this.
No comments:
Post a Comment