Quid Pro Quo Couloir
I’ve been doing a lot of staring out of the trauma office window this month. On a clear day, Mt Olympus and the Salt Lake Twins fill the frame. With binoculars, maps, and satellite images, I’ve been piecing together a…
Mt Aire East Face
January for me means time on the trauma service at the other big hospital in town besides the University, Intermountain Medical Center. A lot of folks in town call it The Death Star. Not sure why, except that it’s the…
Goodbye, 2019
2019 was a hell of a year. While there are a lot of things that make me want to give 2019 the finger, like an orange-haired clown who dominates the media cycle, backwards-moving climate policies, and meth-heads breaking into our…
Summer Racing 2019
It’s been rather quiet over here at Mountain Lessons, dear reader, because something happened. We had a kid! Our little girl was born on June 4th and since then we’ve had less sleep, lots of fun ‘firsts’, plenty to write…
Apollo Couloir
I’m skipping a TR that I should have written first, but this quick mission is fresh on my mind. Our education morning was cancelled this week so that senior residents could go to a conference, but I’ll be damned if…
Dromedary Peak, North Ridge
I haven’t figured out how to ski Spring snow in the Wasatch. In the Pacific Northwest, spring skiing is easy. The spring season is long, the snowpack is deep, the nights bring a strong refreeze, and the days a predictable…
Spring Transition
It is now spring. Earl, the god of weather, announced this 3 days ago with a bout of rain. Thankfully, Taylor and I managed to sneak in some great days of April powder skiing before the rain came. She’s 7+…
Pfeifferhorn Northwest Couloir and North Couloir
Some routes weigh on my mind. They’re aesthetic, achievable, yet a bit scary. They require a big day with the right partner in the right conditions. And they require a bit of luck. Thankfully, prerequisites fell into place today. I…
Cardiff Ridge Chutelets
When life gives you lemons, and you’ve been starving for lemons, you squeeze the *$^% out of them. I had a day off (scarce these days) and the weather report said that it had snowed. The avalanche forecast reported 6″…
Kessler Peak Triple Feature
I’m in a dark place at the moment. “Rotationally, not psychologically”. Residency has ups and downs and the schedule factors into that fluctuation significantly. This month I’m on trauma surgery– it has its perks, like taking care of really sick…