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.