Avalanche
When I heard the collapse, I thought, No problem. But this was before I understood avalanches as well as I do now. The slope fractured like a pane of glass and even though I was on a 22° degree pitch at the top of the slope, it was as if
Avalanche
What is it about these two profound words that you hear with any decision of consequence? You’re looking over the tips of your skis down onto the Bobsled, a perfect white canvas on the north side of Gobblers Knob*. Shadows of blue pierce the canvas, but that's
Avalanche
Who was it that said, "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the other ones." Mark Twain? Rather, Winston Churchill, just after the war, and it's likely he borrowed it from someone else. (Perhaps Twain, again.) I think it's the same
Avalanche
by Laura Maguire How we perceive risk and make decisions can be subject to flawed thinking and dangerous biases, but this is only one small dimension of a much broader understanding of what constitutes expert performance in uncertain, changing environments. This article will describe the conditions that makes snow safety
Avalanche
Years ago, I worked for a rancher in northeast Utah named James Gunn. Wranglers, boots, cowboy hat, the full deal. Hard saying if he was a philosopher on horseback or a cowboy who just contemplated life as is. One thing's for sure. James never missed an opportunity to
Avalanche
This is a continuation from the Blue Ice avalanche from January 2019. You can find the accident report and my introduction “Low Danger – Chapter 1” in the essays. Thanks so much to Jackie for sharing her story. These stories need to be told - As told by Jackie - On
Avalanche
This is a continuation from the Blue Ice avalanche from January 2019. You can find the accident report and my introduction "Low Danger - Chapter 1" in the essays. Thanks so much to Vlad for sharing his story. These stories need to be told - As told by
Avalanche
by Derek DeBruin We’d been home just long enough to say hello to my wife and son and then unload the car from a few days of winter mixed climbing in Utah’s west desert. With both work and personal outings coming up in the next week, I was
Avalanche
On Saturday, January 5th, I issued what turned out to be the most blown avalanche forecast of my 20-year career. And not by a little. My forecast stated that the avalanche danger in the backcountry was LOW. By the end of the day, we heard about eight skier-triggered avalanches with
Avalanche
Mike Hattrup skiing the Idaho Express, GFT. photo: Doug Workman Two winters ago, my partner and I headed toward the Pine Hollow area in upper American Fork Canyon to access the north side of Timpanogos. It may be one of my favorite places in the entire Wasatch Range. We got
Avalanche
Tom Kimbrough in the easy chair. Lupine Meadows, Grand Teton National Park It was my first season as an avalanche forecaster and I felt our basal depth hoar had finally gone dormant. I forecast a Low avalanche danger. It was February 19th, 2000. By early evening, I heard about the
Avalanche
Avalanche travel decisions are about risk vs rewards and penalties – we use an assessment of hazard to choose how to satisfy our desires without realizing our fears. The traditional focus is on assessment and management of the risk side of the process and assumes that the reward side is a