It has been a difficult month for our family, and especially for Christina as she struggles to put her world back together after Chad's fatal accident just two days before their wedding. There are no words to express our heartbreak as we witnessed Christina's joy and excitement turn to utter despair. The family gathered to support Christina and love her during those first difficult days. We all helped as Chad's family planted a tree in his honor, even the little children worked to dig the hole and then water the tree so it would grow up to beautify and shade the home and people that Chad loved so much. Coming home and returning to work was difficult for me but I accepted the fact that 
Christina needed time to herself. We all left our hearts with Christina when it was time to us to return to our homes, forever changed. 
Kind expressions of love and comfort have come from family, friends & neighbors, and we have felt their compassion and support for our family and especially for Christina. Christina is working and getting ready to go back to school, starting the spring semester at Montana State in Bozeman. She is surrounded by good friends, and Chad's family, as well as the love of her own family. It is a road we could never imagine that we would take, but we will take it together.
I returned to work after being away for almost two weeks. My co-workers had really pulled together to cover my responsibilities during my extended absence but there was plenty of things for me to catch up on. We are beginning to hire for the winter season. The CEO of Snowbird called a meeting of the managers to give some direction during this time of economic challenges. That changed some of our hiring, with budget cuts everyone is working 
harder and getting along with less, and the managers are looking at needs instead of wants when hiring new employees. But it isn't all work. After our staff meeting last Wednesday we had the opportunity to go on a mine tour. Little Cottonwood Canyon was heavily mined for silver and other minerals from the 1860's through the 1930's and both Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood Canyons are honey combed with miles of mine tunnels. We first went in to the Wasatch Drain Tunnel where Snowbird has capped the tunnel in order to store and treat the water used by the resort. Millions of gallons of water filter through the rock from the snow melt and from connecting 
mile tunnels to be stored behind the 'plug' to be used at the resort for the hotels and buildings as well as for snowmaking. Part of the water is released into Little Cottonwood Creek and flows down into the Salt Lake Valley. Then we moved on to Alta and entered the Bay City Mine. I will admit that I was really nervous about walking into a cold, dark mine shaft with only my hard hat and lamp .. and a flash light in my hand. There were enough of us that with all our head lamps the tunnel didn't seem so dark, it was just that you couldn't see ahead of the first person more than about 10-15 feet. We walked along the old rails, the walls and ceilings dripped water and there were several inches of water on the floor in many places. I was very thankful for my hard hat, I would be watching the floor to see where to put my feet and suddenly the roof would suddenly dip down and I would hit my hat on the rock above me. I tried to look up and down at the same time but it just doesn't work out that way. There is a lot of old equipment left behind in the mines, and tunnels 
go off in every direction. We were thankful our guide knew his way, it would be so easy to become lost and fall into a mine shaft. There is also some interesting graffiti left behind by the miners who left their names and the date painted on the wall with the black soot from their own lamps. At one point he stopped us to let us know we were now in Big Cottonwood Canyon, 1400 feet below the surface. The town of Alta uses one old mine elevator shafts to store it's water, it goes down about 300 feet. Then we went into another part of the mine that connects with the Emma Mine. That is when things got a little more exciting. We climbed up a mine shaft, about 50 + feet, it was about a 70 degree slope and it was my first rock climbing experience. I should have waited further down the line until Pete had climbed to the next level and tied off the rope..but no, I was about 4th in line and so I followed them up about 2/3 of the way before they threw down the rope to those last few at the end of the line. I didn't know my legs could stretch so far, that I could grip with my hands so tightly and balance my toes on little ledges and rock outcrops to pull myself u
p into the darkness. We had to climb over fallen wooden platforms that were slick with water, I kept asking myself how I was going to climb up from here, but I made it and I was VERY proud of myself. Yes, there was some social pressure involved, being a good 20 years older than most of the group..I would never have believed I would even attempt it, let alone be successful... of course that was before I had to go back down!!! I was positive I would have blisters from holding onto the rope, and going down is a lot harder because you have NO idea where you are going to put your feet.. you can't see 
where you could put your feet anyway because looking down doesn't do much good so you hold on to the rope and hope for the best. I asked the girls from the office to sign an affidavit saying that I had done it and returned just a little worse for wear but in one piece because no one would ever believe me. I am still sore, my knees and shoulder muscles really got a work out! By the time we came back out of the mine I was wet and dirty but so glad that I had had that experience! It was so interesting, and very fun. Am I going rock climbing again soon? Unlikely.
harder and getting along with less, and the managers are looking at needs instead of wants when hiring new employees. But it isn't all work. After our staff meeting last Wednesday we had the opportunity to go on a mine tour. Little Cottonwood Canyon was heavily mined for silver and other minerals from the 1860's through the 1930's and both Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood Canyons are honey combed with miles of mine tunnels. We first went in to the Wasatch Drain Tunnel where Snowbird has capped the tunnel in order to store and treat the water used by the resort. Millions of gallons of water filter through the rock from the snow melt and from connecting 
mile tunnels to be stored behind the 'plug' to be used at the resort for the hotels and buildings as well as for snowmaking. Part of the water is released into Little Cottonwood Creek and flows down into the Salt Lake Valley. Then we moved on to Alta and entered the Bay City Mine. I will admit that I was really nervous about walking into a cold, dark mine shaft with only my hard hat and lamp .. and a flash light in my hand. There were enough of us that with all our head lamps the tunnel didn't seem so dark, it was just that you couldn't see ahead of the first person more than about 10-15 feet. We walked along the old rails, the walls and ceilings dripped water and there were several inches of water on the floor in many places. I was very thankful for my hard hat, I would be watching the floor to see where to put my feet and suddenly the roof would suddenly dip down and I would hit my hat on the rock above me. I tried to look up and down at the same time but it just doesn't work out that way. There is a lot of old equipment left behind in the mines, and tunnels 
go off in every direction. We were thankful our guide knew his way, it would be so easy to become lost and fall into a mine shaft. There is also some interesting graffiti left behind by the miners who left their names and the date painted on the wall with the black soot from their own lamps. At one point he stopped us to let us know we were now in Big Cottonwood Canyon, 1400 feet below the surface. The town of Alta uses one old mine elevator shafts to store it's water, it goes down about 300 feet. Then we went into another part of the mine that connects with the Emma Mine. That is when things got a little more exciting. We climbed up a mine shaft, about 50 + feet, it was about a 70 degree slope and it was my first rock climbing experience. I should have waited further down the line until Pete had climbed to the next level and tied off the rope..but no, I was about 4th in line and so I followed them up about 2/3 of the way before they threw down the rope to those last few at the end of the line. I didn't know my legs could stretch so far, that I could grip with my hands so tightly and balance my toes on little ledges and rock outcrops to pull myself u
p into the darkness. We had to climb over fallen wooden platforms that were slick with water, I kept asking myself how I was going to climb up from here, but I made it and I was VERY proud of myself. Yes, there was some social pressure involved, being a good 20 years older than most of the group..I would never have believed I would even attempt it, let alone be successful... of course that was before I had to go back down!!! I was positive I would have blisters from holding onto the rope, and going down is a lot harder because you have NO idea where you are going to put your feet.. you can't see 
where you could put your feet anyway because looking down doesn't do much good so you hold on to the rope and hope for the best. I asked the girls from the office to sign an affidavit saying that I had done it and returned just a little worse for wear but in one piece because no one would ever believe me. I am still sore, my knees and shoulder muscles really got a work out! By the time we came back out of the mine I was wet and dirty but so glad that I had had that experience! It was so interesting, and very fun. Am I going rock climbing again soon? Unlikely.
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