Meditations
The Weight
I'll be out of town next week, so I'm sending this out early. We're headed to the Book Cliffs and then down to Ruby Ranch to float Labyrinth Canyon. It's a long way from Denali National Park, where NPS climbing ranger Travis
Latest
Avalanche
Three Card Monte
Have you ever played Three Card Monte? It’s a card game commonly found on some of the more, uh, lively streets of big cities. There’s a dealer with three cards and a very light card table. The three cards are generally a red queen (often the queen of
Meditations
After the Fall
(for ES and LE) He leans back, the anchor settles and then it pulls. The route is 90’ high and it’s just over 2 seconds before he hits the ground. Less time than it takes to read these first two sentences. What do you think about in those 2.
Meditations
The Meaning of Experience
War endures because young men love it and old men love it in them.....And so begins Judge Holden’s* discourse on the subject. Let’s continue. Every child knows that the worth or merit of a game is not inherent in the game itself but rather in the value
Meditations
A Mentor Gives the Wrong Advice
Earlier this winter, I got a call from an avalanche colleague in California. “Drew, I haven’t been sleeping well. My ulcer has flared again.” “Tell me.” “Six weeks ago, I was out alone and was caught in an avalanche. I lost gear but I’m fine. I haven’t
Meditations
Good Habits are Hard to Break
When I moved to Japan in the early 1990s, my ‘handler’ Stacy guided me around for much of the first month. He had me chauffeur him through town and country so I could get the lay of the land and learn to drive on the opposite side of the road.
Meditations
Deus ex Machina
It's been quite the winter. Feast or famine. The climate change forecasters told us it would be like this. Coincidence, I'm sure. In this newsletter, I want to explore survival, the power of the mind, and the Hand of God. The two pieces below may have
Meditations
The Heart of the Desert
Years ago, Edward Abbey concluded that the desert had no heart. I wonder if he just didn't look upstream.
Search & Rescue
Mountain Rescues
When I worked as a Jenny Lake climbing ranger in Grand Teton National Park, I would often take my dinner over to the west porch of the rescue cache. Our cabins were nestled along Cottonwood Creek on the east side of Lupine Meadows and from my evening vantage, I could
Meditations
Meditations on Suffering
Not long ago, I was in the upper reaches of Bells Canyon in the Wasatch Range and came across an older man grimacing as he sat awkwardly next to his pack. I've broken my fibula, I believe, he said. I'm a retired orthopedic surgeon. I don&
Avalanche
The Power of Belief
There is a lone Engelmann spruce that stands near the bottom of the Hogum Fork drainage in Little Cottonwood Canyon that is often referred to as The Medicine Tree. Hogum Fork is difficult to reach in winter and perhaps even more so in summer. But the tree. She must be
Meditations
Swimming with the Perseids
My good friend Miles completed the Teton picnic a couple of weeks ago. This was a good outing for the 20 year old....but what made it mind-bending was that he was swimming across Jenny Lake at 3am during the Perseid meteor shower. Imagine swimming in 65° degree water