Meditations
I was running late to the office but wanted to pick up some half-and-half for the morning tea. It was 345am. For almost 25 years I’ve sipped a liter of Earl Grey tea during the morning forecast shift. We share an office with the National Weather Service in downtown
Meditations
Last spring, a keen young backcountry skier asked my wife and me if we’d go out on a ski tour with him. It was his last semester in college. At the top of Gobblers Knob, one of the prominent high peaks along the Mill Creek - Big Cottonwood ridgeline,
Search & Rescue
Not long ago, I was asked this question by another long-time avalanche professional after sitting in one of our annual fall Snow and Avalanche Workshops. In an avalanche accident this winter, I found - what I believe - to be a clear example. First some definitions (these are my definitions)
Meditations
We've just returned from the Heart of the Desert. It's there, just downstream from the Chew Ranch where two great rivers join together. One is brown and wild, the other Green and longing to be wild again. One day. Pool Creek flows past our camp and
Meditations
In winter, many of us rise well before dawn (or work the late shift) and take communion with Orion. But I should say that the hunter has not always been a welcome or warm figure in the avalanche world. When I see him, particularly in the eastern sky, there are
Meditations
Many avalanche professionals view the Japanese poet Matsu Basho as their patron saint, in no small part because of his commitment to simplicity and his commitment to the road. He was an original Japanese dirtbag of the late 17th century. But it may also be because of a winter haiku,
Avalanche
Last week's main question was Is There Bias in the Forecast? It brought about a flurry of responses; my favorite being, "Is This a Trick Question?" And this naturally led to more questions: * What can be done to reduce bias and improve consistency among forecasters? * What
Avalanche
~~~~~~~~ One late spring afternoon in the 1990s, the media came banging on Tom Kimbrough’s door. “There was a big avalanche accident, how could you have called it a MODERATE danger?" Without hesitation, Kimbrough replied, "Would you go into a bar if there was a Moderate danger you’
Meditations
701R, this is Helicopter Hotel X-Ray, how do you copy? This is 701R, I’ve got you loud and clear, go ahead. We have a visual on our two climbers on the south side of the Middle. Just below the dike pinnacle. We plan to land in the south fork
Meditations
In the summer of 1995, I nearly drowned without a lifejacket in Desolation Canyon. On a layover, I walked a few miles upstream to retrieve a shirt I had left behind at our previous camp. Looking for the calmest water, I carefully waded out into the brown silty water at
Meditations
Many years ago, I went through a difficult breakup. You may have experienced the same. And I thought, Woe is me. Now I have no one to love…me. It took me a while to realize that I had it backwards. We are all so full of the capacity to
Meditations
When I was first telling Jed Workman about the book Don Sharaf gave me, he laughed and laughed. (Jed has one of the great laughs in this world.) The book was The Captain Class, by Sam Walker. "Of course he loves that book," he laughed; "Don is