Group of Students and Staff Summit Mt. Blustry

This past weekend, a small group of students and staff summited Mt. Blustry, a 7600 ft. mountain just  a few kilometres north of the school. It's possibly the first time in many years that Fountainview students have hiked to the top of this beautiful mountain, the highest in the Clear Range.

"We made sure we were well prepared with GPS navigators and warm clothing.  Four amateur radio operators were on the trip: NA7CW, KF7TJT, KJ6TKN, and KK4DSL.
With their small handheld radios they took advantage of the impressive "line of sight" at the summit and made contact with other operators, some as far as 200 miles away. 

When we arrived at the summit, the thermometer read 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The wind chill was probably below freezing. The views were amazing and we were able to see the hills surrounding Kelowna, approximately 120 miles away. To stay out of the wind, we hunkered down behind a pile of rocks and enjoyed the stunning scenery. On our descent, we decided we had the appropriate gear and made the decision to spend the night at a lower elevation (our original plan was only for a day hike.). After descending to 5800 feet we built a lean-to shelter and a fire in the woods.  We ate a delicious dinner of spaghetti, beans, cinnamon rolls, and pita chips. Without sleeping bags, we insulated our shelter with pine boughs and any other materials we could find. At about 7:15 the next morning, we packed our gear and hiked back to the truck. Despite the cool temperatures that night, it was an amazing trip that's totally worth doing again!"

-Christian W. (Grade 11)