With all the fatal avalanches we’ve seen this season, a good chunk of them at resorts, there is renewed awareness that skiing inbounds doesn’t guarantee 100% safety. Patrollers do a great job keeping our resorts controlled, but avalanches don’t play by the rules. And while my ski crew is always safe and takes precautions, getting my AIARE Level 1 avalanche certification was in order so that I could make good decisions when skiing – either in the Bowl or in the backcountry – without relying on others to make those decisions for me.

So I wrote in my backpacking journal on a four-day backpack trip this July in Olympic National Park in Washington (not Greece despite popular belief). The trip was with Summit for Someone, a fundraising climb series benefiting Big City Mountaineers. I had convinced my good friend Lane Keough to take on this adventure with me. After months of fundraising and training, we were finally undertaking what would be my hardest, but most enjoyable, expedition to date.