12:06 am
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Solo, pt.2
More on the subject.
I feel good about skiing alone. Compared to being in a group it puts me more in tune with the environment, I think more about conditions and what the terrain is doing by being on high alert. I also do not push it. The entire “group thinking” factor is non-existent – and this is what I believe to be one of the most dangerous elements for backcountry skiers. Alone, I have backed off many a climb and opted to ski much safer lines in stellar looking bowls. These decisions do not come as a result of stopping to dig pits, study crystals or any other methodical thinking, it is just a sense based on experience and a little probing around. Will I ever get into trouble? Maybe, but I’ll take my chances. With 20 years skiing in the mountains, I feel I make good choices, probably even better ones when I am solo. Crossing my tips and hearing tearing sounds concerns me far more than avalanches or falls.
Last season I set a goal to get a bunch of my friends out in the snow with kids for easy and non-demanding Nordic touring (that is, a variation of the cross-country skiing off the resort in the backcountry that did not involve any substantial climbing and downhill). I was planning for two outings. It took me about a month to get them on the first trip, and the second one never happened. On other occasions, a few times I just didn't sync with partners, and once the consensus of the group I was a part of was not to use avalanche gear on a moderate danger day on a trip crossing obvious avalanche path with pretty nasty terrain traps.
I guess, before one successfully pulls 20 seasons without incidents, venturing into the backcountry does include digging pits and studying crystals, measuring angles and keeping track of the weather for long before you set out. And you should always be paranoid about using the transceiver, "on in the car, off in the bar".
But this line of thinking resonates with me pretty deeply. At the very least the very perspective of getting into trouble in the middle of nowhere gets one's mind to work out gory details and making plans B, C, D, and on. Straightening up your mind is good, meticulous planning is good, realizing one's own limitations before you leave home is good, working through safety rituals is even better.
Chris McCandless' dying words were "Happiness is only real when shared". Working your way through the backcountry to bring a good story is a darn good incentive to making every trip a roundtrip.
Current Music: White Ward -- Love Exchange Failure Tags: avy, backcountry, chronicles, rant
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