Sad to see that Dan Walker, the lost backcountry snowshoe trekker on Grand Mesa in Colorado, is probably gone forever. If you haven’t been tracking this backcountry epic, it’s been several days since Walker and his family got lost while on a winter backcountry trip. Walker gave most of his extra clothing to his wife and daughter, then set out to find help. Wife and daughter were found alive and in good shape. There is NO greater thing than a person sacrificing his or her self for friends or family — God bless you Dan.
Local backcountry skiing avalanche seminar tonight, our family will attend. We’ll see how much they talk about decision making vs rescue. More today and tomorrow.
(2015, all our links to the Dan Walker story went defunct, but Google will find you the info, just Google something like Dan Walker Grand Mesa. It’s a sad but instructive story.)
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
