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Couloir Hunting in the Kokanee Mountains
In May 2016, I was lucky to be whisked away in my first helicopter to the Kokanee Glacier Cabin deep in the heart of the Kokanee Mountains. There, I spent 7-days with my new best friends exploring the beauty of British Columbia. The weather was HOT but the beers were...
Turns All Year: Month 63
January was a good month to chase turns all year. Deep, light, fluffy pow was abundant early, then cold temps assured our snow would stay light before the rain came mid-January and squashed our powder dreams. The rain slab made for scary conditions in the backcountry...
The Transformative Power of Words
Earlier this week, The Mountaineers hosted a speaking event with the iconic father-son duo: Jim and Leif Whittaker. I was honored to introduce the Whittakers to our audience, and even more grateful to experience their presentation full of brand new, never-before-seen...
Owning My White Privilege to Support a More Diverse Outdoors
This week Backpacker Magazine posted an article about diversity in the outdoors. In "How Do We Make The National Parks More Diverse?", author Ted Alvarez presented four perspectives from experts discussing ways in which we can help break down barriers and increase...
Turns All Year: Month 62
Winter has been good in the Pacific Northwest so far this season. Early on we had an abundance of snow, most of which was relatively stable in the backcountry until recently. Better still, it was light, fluffy, and playful powder. None of that 'cascade cement'...
Happy New Year!
The holidays are a complicated time. While some people enjoy huge celebrations with loving families, many spend them alone with little fanfare. I was one of the lucky ones. I grew up decorating locally-acquired, "Charlie Brown" Christmas trees, hanging stockings on...
Why We Go
I recently joined the board of the Northwest Avalanche Center (NWAC) - our local avalanche forecast and education center - and I'm really excited to learn more about the nonprofit and its mission. When I started backcountry skiing 5-years ago, I had no idea of the...
Colors of The Mountain
My friend is a real Dick. I had the audacity to post a photo of me with "Rollercoaster Face" in the mountains, and he decided to respond with a rewrite of "Colors of the Wind" from the not-at-all racist, highly popular Disney film Pocahontas. I loved it. I made some...
Turns All Year: Month 61
For November turns this year - the first official turns of the season - I revisited the place from October and wow, did it look different! I went with the Sippel Sisters, a pair of real-life twins and the born-into owners of one of the best potential band names...
