Season's Greetings Shredders. Santa was incredibly good to us this year. After another Silverton based, Avy Rescue and Level One push, my holiday kicked off in earnest on Monday, the 24th. With over a foot of fresh snow above Camp Bird, I was beyond stoked at what was left under (around, and on top of) the tree. After making the 3 mile trek into the Mt Hayden Backcountry Lodge, our team of elves rallied for some of the best powder we've skied in a while. We tee'd up amazing

Jeremy Yanko inspects an intentionally triggered wind slab last week. Conditions continue to be touchy and avalanche prone./ Photo by Stephen Eginoire On the downward slide As avalanche fatalities decline, awareness and education remain priorities by Tracy Chamberlin - 12/20/2018 As one member on the Colorado Avalanche Information Center wrote in the nonprofit’s most recent annual report for the 2016-17 winter season, “Unfortunately Colorado had one avalanche fatality, one fa

Season’s Greetings Snowflakes! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice and Festivus. We’ve been gifted an amazing winter to date here in the San Juans. Although the precipitation momentarily paused this past week, there’s something special under the tree for us this year. I spoke with Santa and he’s guaranteed me we’re due for a Holiday Dump. I hope you’ve been good this year, kids- It’s about to get real the end of December. San Juan Mountain Guides kicked o

Congratulations on completing your SJMG Level One Rec Course. I hope your experience this past weekend serves as a solid foundation upon which you will build a brilliant life in the alpine. But remember, this is only the beginning of your journey in the backcountry! Some Post-Course thoughts to consider: On multi-day ski tours and avalanche courses, we learn and experience a ton. Students are living and traveling at altitude, climbing and touring in alpine terrain, experienci

"Why do I climb for hours for a handful of turns in untracked snow? Why do I grin and dance afterwards? Why is fun such and anemic answer to the question above? Powder snow skiing is not fun. It’s life, fully lived, life lived in a blaze of reality. What we experience in powder is the original human self, which lies deeply inside each of us, still undamaged in spite of what our present culture tries to do to us. Once experienced, this kind of living is recognized as the only

Congratulations on completing your Level One Rec Course. I hope your experience this past weekend serves as a solid foundation upon which you will build a brilliant life in the alpine. But remember, this is only the beginning of your journey in the backcountry! Some Post-Course thoughts to consider: On multi-day ski tours and avalanche courses, we learn and experience a ton. Students are living and traveling at altitude, climbing and touring in alpine terrain, experiencing mo

Congratulations on completing your Avalanche Rescue Course. You’ve made an excellent investment in you and your partners’ safety. But remember, these skills are perishable and you must constantly practice to remain competent and confident in these techniques! In the want to support your ongoing avalanche education journey, I’ve assembled some very important materials below. There are many articles, videos, case studies and websites out there and I’d love to hear about new one

​​ ​It’s o’dark thirty and the thermometer here at home says -2. Yesterday, it was a balmy 3 degrees. Almost two new feet of fresh snow fell on the pass over the last four days. Meteorological, (and real frickin cold and snowy) Winter is solidly in place. Avy danger following this past storm rose quickly. I experienced a really neat rumbling collapse in safe, low angle terrain on Monday. Regardless, always scary when the cracking and whumphing are widespread. Another robust w