D Sunday Night
y College Night
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U Dining Hours; 5pm until 11pm >U| yA^SBpA |A k
M [30 % off your meal]
■ I with student LD. f ^
n|Soppy! No Alcohol J Ji
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Photos by Anthony Caskey/DN
(Above) BRAD MARTIN, the UNL
Outdoor Adventures graduate
assistant, demonstrates how to
ellnb the Big Thompson Ice Jan. 6
In Rocky Mountain National Park.
(Right) MATT BAUMEISTER, a UNL
freshman,climbs Hidden Falls
while a belayer and a backup
belayer control b& top rope Jan.
7 in Rocky Mountain National
Park. ’ / v
i 3 brave
i in falls
| IGE from page 1
35 feet over a ledge a third of the way
down.
The alumnus who had the slow
start climbing the day before re
deemed himself on Hidden Falls. He
climbed it four times, anddangled
V i
groin the safety at £ scary height.
The participants^iaid.leaders did
65 total repetitions on^hcae dtfferent
waterfalls and seVenJKferent top
ropes — anchored ropes attached to
the climber’s harness that go up and
through a metal loop'(called a
carabiner). i*
One night, when the group wasn’t
climbing or attending snow school,
they slept in tents and sleeping bags
in zero-degree weather at an eleva
tion of 10,000 feet. |
Instead of sleeping ig a tent,
Marshall Mahler, 27; another UNL
alumnus, built a snow cave complete
with indoor plumbing, which he de
scribed as, “building a mound of
snow and digging a hole in the middle
of it.”
Because it was so cold that
night, Mahler and his friend did not
leave the snow cave to use the
restroom.
The snow acts as a natural plumb
ing system, Mahler said. After using
an area a climber designates as his
own, the surface can be covered with
snow, which eventually freezes in
place.
“That’s the beauty of the system,”
he said.
During snow school, the seminar
participants learned how to climb
snow slopes and to recover if they
fell.
Tim Epp, a student staff mem
ber at Outdoor Adventures and a
forestry, fisheries and wildlife ma
jor at UNL, explained how to safely
dig an ice axe into a snow slope to
stop a fall without impaling oneself
on the axe.
All the participants learned how
to stop, or self-arrest, while sliding
backward feetfirst and headfirst while
on their stomachs and backs.
The participants had to snowshoe
about three miles with packs weigh
ing 40 pounds or more to reach the
snow school site.
After snow school, the group
hiked to the Lock, a large frozen lake
at the base of several glaciers.
“I almost cried, it was so beauti
ful,” one participant said.
Nature’s splendor made the trip
for Mahler, he said.
“Half the fun is to be able to see
66
Half the fun is to be
able to see what
God created. It sure
beats the architec
ture in New York
Marshall Mahler
UNL alumnus
what God created,” he said. “It sure
beats the architecture in New York City.”
Many of the participants, including
Mahler, said they did not think ice climb
ing was dangerous.
Ice chips and larger chunks — some
the size of footballs — fall as climbers
scale frozen waterfalls. Climbers take
precautions, such as wearing safety hel
mets.
Martin, the graduate assistant at
Outdoor Adventures, said exposure to
extreme temperatures was another dan
ger.
“All these dangers come from lack
of preparation and lack of experience,”
he said.
Outdoor Adventures tries to teach
people with no experience how to be
competent, which minimizes risk.”
The participants and leaders in the
seminar said they participate for the
experience, not the danger.
“I get a feeling of self-accomplish
ment from stretching my personal lim
its,” said Nicole Cuffey, a student staff
member at Outdoor Adventures and an
anthropology and environmental stud
ies major.
“Going back to the basics puts you
in a different perspective,” Cuffey said.
“When you go back to everyday life, you
realize that there are more important
things than petty details.
“At least you have shelter, food, ba
sic necessities. Also, when you’re in a
group like this, you are more dependent
on each other so you leam to adjust to
other people.”
