audio, stills, text and or video: Go to zReportage.com to see more - Nestled in remote hills 1,300 feet above the Big Sur, California coastline, the New Camaldoli Hermitage has been a popular retreat for world-weary visitors in need of solitude since it was founded in 1958. That changed in early 2017 after a series of powerful winter storms called ''atmospheric rivers'' - which climate scientists predict will worsen if climate change accelerates - dumped over 100 inches of rain on coastal California, stirring up landslides and damaging bridges along the famous Highway 1. One especially massive slide on May 21st added 13 acres of land to the California coastline and is expected to keep the southern route closed for at least one year. Now cut off from the outside world, a small handful of monks and staff persist at the Hermitage, carrying on in their austere lifestyles devoted to prayer and contemplation while depending on regular food drops from helicopters and rationed propane. The monastery has been unable to receive the stream of visitors they normally depend on for income and have started a GoFundMe to help raise money to survive. The damage has cost the monastery an estimated $300,000 since hospitality is their main source of income.
© Elijah Hurwitz/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

March 3, 2017 - Big Sur, California, U.S. - Dust kicks up on a stretch of damaged road on Highway 1.
© Elijah Hurwitz/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

March 3, 2017 - Big Sur, California, U.S. - Father ISAIAH TEICHERT has lived at the Hermitage since 1978. Regarding the road closures and lack of guests, he said, 'I miss that rhythm, and their input. They sort of keep to their side of the wall and we keep to our side but very often they want to talk and they're curious, we have them in for lunch on Sunday. On the other hand it's a chance to go deeper into our contemplation and prayer. I see it as an opportunity. The immediate worry is propane and fuel, and in the longer haul how soon will we be able to connect with our guests and get back to our ordinary life given the roads. But we've been through hard times before and the Lord always seems to get us back on our feet one way or another. If I were God I'd want to keep this place going.'
© Elijah Hurwitz/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

March 3, 2017 - Big Sur, California, U.S. - The Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge north of Big Sur is seen with a large buckling section a few weeks before it was destroyed to make way for a new bridge. The closed bridge was on Feb 15th and its closure has bifurcated the popular tourist route along Highway 1.
© Elijah Hurwitz/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

March 4, 2017 - Big Sur, California, U.S. - The monks chant in the rotunda of their monastery in Big Sur. Only seven 'holdout' monks and a handful of staff remain on the property after several decided to leave as soon as construction crews cleared rockslides. On March 5th, one of the eldest monks, Brother Emmanuel Wasinger, passed away from heart attack complications after being airlifted by helicopter off the Hermitage just a few days earlier. He was a fixture at the Hermitage and lived there since 1965.
© Elijah Hurwitz/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

March 3, 2017 - Big Sur, California, U.S. - Local firefighters and volunteers receive a food drop from a helicopter at the Post Ranch Inn. The coastal communities surrounding Big Sur have been isolated from severe road damage to Highway 1.
© Elijah Hurwitz/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

March 4, 2017 - Big Sur, California, U.S. - BROTHER TIMOTHY looks towards the church from the 'Ranch' house where guests and workers stay on the Hermitage...''Life around here has been rather unsettled since this weather drama set in. We've lost phones for the longest time; internet was spotty; and propane got more scarce. We are feeling the loss of the income and I have recognized just how important faith is and how sustaining. I have found that the absence of guests and being cut off from regular flow through the bookstore and opportunity to spend more time alone in my cell with God. I've worked in my little garden, learning patience from the plants I've put in, watching the birds and squirrels and looking at our remarkable sky, both day and night. Because no one is around, the stillness has its own voice, and I listen. I do miss the interaction with guests in the bookstore where I work a few days a week, but it doesn't keep me up at night! They will return when it is time. The main purpose for being here is prayer, and I'm soaking that up.
© Elijah Hurwitz/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

tourism. The Hermitage has been closed to guests since January and started a GoFundMe to help raise money to cover expenses.
© Elijah Hurwitz/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

March 3, 2017 - Big Sur, California, U.S. - RICH VEUM tends a beehive named 'Eve' on the monastery grounds. Rich, the bookstore and business manager, says ''the monks help remind me to stay in the present and not worry so much about the future. Right now, I could get caught up in the fact that we're down 200 or 300 thousand dollars this month, but I try to stay positive. You know there's that saying, in the end everything will be alright, and if things aren't alright then it's not the end.
© Elijah Hurwitz/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

March 5, 2017 - Big Sur, California, U.S. - BROTHER MICHAEL HARRINGTON poses for a portrait in his robes after evening prayers. He moved to New Calmodoli in 1989 after two years in divorce court. Before becoming a monk, he was an engineer at defense contractor Pratt & Whitney. 'Growing up I was told if I'm not a manager then I'm a failure. I'm an introvert so all the hobnobbing of business didn't fit for me. In the sense of who God made you, you know. An introvert draws energy from within so being a monk is a perfect match,' he said. While many of the monks are very socially liberal by religious standards, Michael has a more traditional view. He has only checked the news 'maybe two or three times' in the last year. 'I have my own values and can't support abortion or Hillary. But I try to focus and keep God in front of my eyes. We're all on different spiritual paths.'
© Elijah Hurwitz/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

March 5, 2017 - Big Sur, California, U.S. - FATHER ISAIAH TEICHERT, who has lived at New Camaldoli since 1978, sits next to a statue of the Virgin Mary inside the hollow stump of the 'Womb Tree', a hollow oak tree that nearly burnt down in a fire several years ago. Regarding their current plight, he said, 'I miss that rhythm, and their input. They sort of keep to their side of the wall and we keep to our side but very often they want to talk and they're curious, we have them in for lunch on Sunday. On the other hand it's a chance to go deeper into our contemplation and prayer. I see it as an opportunity. The immediate worry is propane and fuel, and in the longer haul how soon will we be able to connect with our guests and get back to our ordinary life given the roads. But we've been through hard times before and the Lord always seems to get us back on our feet one way or another. If I were God I'd want to keep this place going.
© Elijah Hurwitz/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire