2009 was unbelievably fine

We took 43 students to Saint Helens this year and it was really comforting to see that our numbers were consistent, not a blip in a pattern from the previous years. Bourget was offering two geology classes and I was offering two geography classes (back when we had substantial numbers of grade 12 students at Vanier) so we had a fairly large group of students to draw from. Nikki Baird came along with us as our female chaperone this year and this year was quite special (for the students and for the three science teachers involved). The Mount Saint Helens Institute is a private, non-profit organization devoted to helping people understand and protect the volcano (http://www.mshinstitute.org/welcome.html) and in 2009 they ran their annual fundraiser called "It's a Blast!". This year they had a special guest at their fundraiser, Bill Nye. Now for the students the chance to meet their childhood television hero "Bill Nye the Science Guy" - yes they remembered watching the show in elementary school and both Bourget and I showed it in our classes - was a huge draw. I remember Nye from "Almost Live" (a sketch comedy show on King 5 in Seattle featuring "Mind Your Manners, with Billy Quan", the "High-Fivin' White Guys", "What’s Weak This Week" and "The John Report") where he got his nickname "The Science Guy". The three science teachers were just as excited as the students were. The problem was that we had no way to ask if Bill Nye could come meet the students (and teachers).

Bourget to the rescue! When Bill Nye was off leading a private walk through the hummocks trail with donors, Bourget was in the JRO frantically negotiating with MSHI staff saying things like, "do you know how far we've come to meet this guy?" We waited for what seemed like forever (basking in the early spring sunshine) when Bourget's efforts paid off. Nye actually was late (delayed) for his keynote speech because of the hummocks walk but he personally made the effort to come out and greet us, shake many hands and allow us to take photos with him. He was gregarious and accommodating and the day was made so much better because of his kindness and Bourget's tenacity. When we got back to school, news of the visit with Nye flew around quickly (remember this is the early days of social media and texting) and the list of sign ups for next year exploded.

All hail the hero of the day, Bourget!

Significantly less snow than the previous year but similar heat

Last year set the precedent and the Ape Headquarters group shot became another one of the staples of our expedition

I love the anticipation that exists before we descend into the caves. Often the students know what to expect but are still fascinated when confronted by the reality of entering them

Lots of snow tends to mean a little wet hike

Lots of smiling faces

Our bus driver lost his head

We certainly had some adventurous students this year. For the first time we had a group take the entire upper cave route...of course we hadn't planned on that, they were excited troopers and left Bourget and I to follow (Baird headed to the bus to consolidate the group) as we couldn't let them go

Really cool examples of fluid basaltic Pahoehoe flows in the upper Ape Caves

"Skylight" in the upper Ape Caves

So we learned to place some parameters on the upper Ape Cave exploration...lesson learned

Having said that we got a great view of the south side of the mountain from the exit at the top of the upper Ape Caves

Blue bird Saint Helens days

Our 2009 group at the JRO

Ms. Baird was really happy to be a part of this expedition

We made the effort to hike on the Trail of Destruction (really to delay our time so we could meet Bill Nye) and it then became a staple of our expedition