A Happy Birthday from the Selkirk Mountain Range

By Desmond Steinke

I turned 15 on the glacier carved slabs of granite below Mt. Nautilus last summer. After blowing out the candles on my cake, the size of my grin reminded the rest of the group how much younger I was than they were. There was no one at my “birthday party” that I had known a year earlier. But here I was on one of Post 58’s most spectacular trips, the Canada Trip! I was the youngest of the group by 2 years but still felt very included and a part of the team.

This escapade took a group of Postees and I to the remote region of British Columbia, Canada, called the Selkirk mountain range. To get there we drove to BC and helicoptered into the mountain range. The moment I stepped out of the helicopter I had entered a new world of rocky slopes and massive glaciers. When we arrived at the summit of our first peak was when I realized just how remote and disconnected from society we were. There was no technology, no school, no parents, no jobs, we could just enjoy time outside, without the worries of things back at home.

Throughout the trip, we summited four mountains in total, peaks that hadn't been summited in years! Every single day throughout the trip contained numerous opportunities to learn about glacier movement, crevasses, crevasse rescue, rope team travel, and weather… So much about weather! Although I did learn a lot about mountaineering, I feel that the most important things I have learned, that have stayed with me the most since the trip, was how to work together as a team, taking responsibility for things that need to get done, being able to ask other people to help, and offering to contribute to a group. This trip had a lasting impact on my life and has taught me values that will stick with me.

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