Don't duck the rope in a snowstorm.

With all the snow the rockies have been getting this week, skiers and snowboarders (including me) have been psyched. Conditions at the local areas have been excellent. I've been using all that powder to hone my tele skills for future backcountry days. I look forward to it, but I'm in no hurry to rush it. Neither is Katie, she and Matt wisely chose Monarch over the backcountry the other day when high winds and abundant snow loaded up the mountain ridges here with hair trigger slabs. I myself have only had an informal class in avalanche safety, and have read some of the literature, but it has been enough to give me a very, very conservative attitude towards snow travel. Especially when the C.A.I.C. map is flashing red over 90% of the state.
Sadly, a skier in Vail didn't live to learn that lesson. He and his two friends were properly equipped, but just as in rock climbing, your gear should be your last line of defense. The first line is caution, knowledge, and careful decision making. Of course, it's easy to second guess someone else's decisions from afar, and after the fact. I just hope that the two surviving friends do not give up their passion for snowsports. They will be wiser after this harsh lesson.
When wearing their winter countenance, Mother Nature and The Old Man Mountain do not allow much forbearance for the ill-prepared or impetuous. Two snowboarders are still missing at Wolf Creek after they went out of bounds on Saturday. We can hope, but it's been five days...

Now, all this is quite the buzzkill, especially since I just posted a video commemorating a really great weekend at Monarch. But the motivation for this post is a notice I just received through the myspace grapevine. A couple of snowboarders, Rachael Fehl and Adam Putnam were rescued by helicopter on Tuesday after being lost in a storm for four days near Ski Sante Fe. That's good news for sure, but I'm especially happy to hear it; Rachael graduated with me from Seneca Valley. I was pretty introverted in high school, and I didn't have too many friends, but she and I were acquaintances, and I recall a climbing trip to McConnell's Mill that was pretty fun. One of those friends from school that you wonder what has become of. I'm very relieved to hear that her and Adam's story is "To be Continued..."