Avalanche, thy name is wolverine
Between a wolverine and the elements is a stubborn tenacity and drive to move and... well... that’s it. Me, I’m trapped behind stuff: three layers of clothes, absurdly cushioned boots, a large, bumblebee-colored backpack filled with even more clothes, tools, and horribly stinky beaver lure which I pray to not break in transit.
I need pounds of gear and specialized training to face landscapes like this. Wolverines know it and conquer it instinctually and fearlessly.
A wolverine is mostly a furnace of fur on large, clawed feet. Me, on the other hand, I’m slow coals burning. A simple day in the mountains involves a long time planning, and in winter, the toughest season, a trip to the mountains involves a weird mixture of excitement and dread.
Between a wolverine and the elements is a stubborn tenacity and a drive to move and...well...that’s it. Me, I’m trapped behind stuff: three layers of clothes of high-tech plastics and wool; absurdly cushioned waterproof boots warm to -40°; a large, bumblebee-colored backpack filled with even more clothes; tools; and--for the winter tracking I do of wolverines--horribly stinky beaver lure which I pray won't break in transit.
Wolverines thrive in winter snows and avalanche terrain. Me, I needed to take an avalanche class to figure out this snow that wolverines know instinctively. Not the safe, fun snow you knew as a kid in your back yard. No, the "mean" snow that haunts mountaineers at night. Siren snow that lures skiers and haunts their spouses. Mountain snow.
Maybe mountain snow lures and haunts us in turn because of its other: The avalanche. If an avalanche were an animal it would be a wolverine. Powerful and unforgiving, both demand respect. One day I hope I’m privy to the relationship between the two. I’d like to know what deals they’ve worked out. All I know is a good place for avalanches is a good place for wolverines. A cocky mountain goat and inviting avalanche terrain usually means a free meal. Neither the avalanche nor the wolverine, to take a line from Douglas Chadwick, “deal in half-truths.”
I’ve sat watching wet slabs coming off of Table Mountain on an eerily blue bird day, and realized both wolverines and avalanches force you to look at yourself in the same way.
Mountain ecosystems are full of species hardier and more "badass" than any of us. Whether it's a snag-topped subalpine fir that is hundreds of years old, the tiny herbaceous layers of mountain flowers waiting dormant under all those tons of snow, mountain goats that can climb sheer walls, or the wolverines that haunt them-- they can be up here as themselves, no high tech fibers, no electronics, no fear.
When I go looking for wolverines, I feel humble because I know I can’t stay, nor will I ever be as tough as the any of these creatures that survive in the mountains.
The adventure continues in Part 2, in which Randall heads high and sets traps.
Randall interns with the Cascades Citizens Wildlife Monitoring Project, with a special focus on tracking wolverines in the North Cascades. He and other intrepid volunteers--like Justin, pictured below--head into the mountains in all sorts of snow to document the presence of rare animals. See more photos from his journeys on our Facebook page photos.
