Tag Archives: Avalanche

I was 23 when I first lost a friend to the mountains. His name was Paul. He was a school teacher in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, loved telemark skiing, his wife, Jess, and their dog, Mica. He wore a Hawaiian shirt to his wedding shortly before dying in an avalanche in the Tetons on March 10th, 2007, just before his 25th …

It was time, I suppose, for a revitalized sense of humility: not meekness or servility, exactly, but more a respectful modesty about abilities, beliefs, understandings. The basics: a late-winter backcountry ski tour with friends in familiar terrain. There were four of us. I was the one with the most backcountry experience, the most local knowledge, the most specific avalanche training, …