Learning Without Limits
How SnowSchool Helped Bring Winter Education to Deaf and Blind Students
July 1, 2026 — What happens when you remove barriers instead of lowering expectations? This spring, fifteen students from the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind discovered that winter can be one of the greatest classrooms of all during a SnowSchool adventure.
Photo Credits Throughout: Jodie Hamilton
This March, WWA’s longtime SnowSchool site the Environmental Resource Center (ERC) partnered with Higher Ground and the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind (IESDB) to host an unforgettable three-night winter camping experience at Cathedral Pines, just north of Ketchum, Idaho.
For years, ERC has worked alongside IESDB students through a variety of outdoor education programs. But this was the first time they ventured into winter camping together, and it opened the door to entirely new ways for students to connect with their local winter landscapes.
Fifteen middle and high school students spent three days immersed in SnowSchool lessons, discovering winter’s classroom. Throughout the trip, students strapped on snowshoes and ventured into quiet forests, many for the very first time. They learned to cross-country ski on local trails, examined the intricate shapes of snow crystals, and dug snow pits to uncover the hidden layers beneath the snowpack. Using microscopes, they explored snow crystals up close.
The group also explored avalanche topics, discussing how avalanches form, practicing with beacons, shovels, and probes, and even observing small wet-loose avalanches that naturally occurred during the trip.
Perhaps the biggest highlight began on day one. Students set out to build quinzees and snow caves with an ambitious goal: sleep inside them on the final night.
Over the next several days, nearly every free moment was spent digging, shaping, and reinforcing the structures. By the last evening, the students had constructed one of the largest snow caves the educators had ever seen—large enough to sleep seven people—along with two additional snow caves. That night, ten students chose to sleep in snow caves they had built with their own hands.
The experience helped build confidence, curiosity, teamwork, and a sense of ownership over the outdoor spaces around them.
One of the most meaningful takeaways for educators was how little the SnowSchool curriculum itself needed to change to accommodate students with disabilities. With support from skilled interpreters provided by IESDB and Higher Ground, students were able to fully engage with the same hands-on lessons that make SnowSchool so impactful. The experience reinforced that creating the right environment where every student has the opportunity to participate, explore, and discover, is paramount.
By the end of the trip, every participant had spent meaningful time outside, challenged themselves in new ways, and left wanting to continue exploring the winter world around them.
We’re grateful to the Environmental Resource Center, Higher Ground, the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind, and everyone who made this remarkable experience possible.
