Well known avalanche expert and author Jill Fredston had an op-ed published in the New York Times yesterday. That’s quite an honor for an outdoors writer, and something that should help Jill with sales of her excellent book, “Snowstruck: In the Grip of Avalanches.”
In the op-ed, Fredston continues the theme of her book. She writes:
“The good news is that there are usually obvious, redundant clues indicating potential instability. The bad news is that even if we take note of avalanches on similar slopes, or heavy amounts of new or drifted snow, or arcing cracks around us, we often allow ourselves to become so distracted by our own agendas that we don’t listen to the message. ”
Now, if we can all just live up to the idea. I’m trying.
(Thanks goes to blog reader Heidi for the heads-up on this.)
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.