What is Mountain Lessons?
Mountain Lessons is a growing collection of articles and photographs that chronicle what the mountains can teach us. Mountains are the guide, the mirror, and the judge, and there is much to be learned from them.
Over time the goal of the blog has evolved, and now features tech tips/gear notes for moving fast in the mountains, documentation of recent adventures, route resources, and more.
About Patrick Fink
I am an adventure athlete specializing in mountain running, skimo racing, and ski mountaineering. I invest my time in traveling through great and improbable spaces by human-powered means. I take lessons learned in competition and expand them in the mountains, and I take the durability discovered in the hills and use it in competition.
Professional: I am currently located in Salt Lake City, UT. I am an Emergency Medicine physician with specialization in Wilderness Medicine. I enjoy working closely with outdoors professionals including guides, ski patrols, and SAR services. I am also a medical director for EMS education.
Sport: I am a recreational mountain runner who occasionally competes in vertical/skyrunning type races to hone the edge. In the winter, I race skimo, am a member of the Utah SkiMo organization and USSMA High Performance group, and spend the rest of my time seeking steep, stable snow.
Family: My wife is my adventure partner and we have one beautiful and aspiring-adventurer daughter.
Lists:
Selective and not exhaustive
Running:
- Speedgoat Short Course 28k, 2019, 2nd.
- Wahsatch Steeplechase 2019, 10th.
- Standhope 60k, 2019 5th.
- Cirque Series Snowbird 2019, Exp Div, 4th.
- Complete Enchantments Core Loop, 2016.
- Timberline Trail Mt Hood Circumnavigation, 40 mi. 2014.
- Wildwood Trail Run, 31 mi. 2014.
- Trail Factor 50k March 2013, 5:06:07.
SkiMo:
- Wasatch Powderkeg Individual 2018, Elite, 11th.
- Wasatch Powderkeg Teams 2018, 8th.
- Patrouilles des Glaciers 2018
- Vertfest Alpental 2016, Elite, 1st.
- GoreTex Grand Reverse 2014, 41 mi, 8000′.
- Wasatch Powderkeg 2014 N. American Skimo Championships, raced sprint, individual, teams races.
- Vertfest Mt Bachelor 2014, 3rd place Elite division.
- Mt St Helens Speed Ski Jan. 2014, 5500′, 11.3 mi, 3:37:01 car to car.
Backcountry Skiing:
- Ongoing quest through the Chuting Gallery
- Winter Haute Route, Fra->Sui,
- Ortler Circuit, IT, 2018.
- Bomber Traverse, AK, 2016.
- Hokkaido, Japan, 2016.
- Dalvik, Northern Iceland, 2015.
- Crater Lake Ski Circumnavigation, 2014, 33 mi, 8000′.
Thank You
I very much appreciate you, my reader, for choosing to consume what I’ve created. I welcome your feedback, comments, or even your submissions, which I will gladly share if the submission aligns with the purpose of this publication. Most of all, travel in the mountains, and perhaps I’ll meet you there.