This past week, (April 2020), has sadly brought two avalanche deaths in the Tetons. It is early, and there are conflicting reports, but there is a possibility that both of the individuals who died had avalanche beacons on their bodies, but that neither had been activated. This post is not about arm-chair quarterbacking, judging their …

Introduction This “snow report” is intended to provide the backcountry recreational user with a current view of snow, weather and avalanche conditions in many areas in Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Utah. The graphs are produced from data obtained from backcountrydata.com and are augmented with NOAA point forecasts for 3-day snow totals, (note that for all …

What is it?  The “Recovery Cube”, (RC), represents the personal model that I have developed for recovering from surgeries and trauma.  It represents my 4 primary components of the recovery process. How does it work?  I use the RC to manage my recovery and keep me in balance as I recuperate from surgery.  Basically, I …

July 19, 2019 As I assess my mental and emotional state for the first few days following the THR surgery I believe the following gif sums it up nicely. Almost immediately following the surgery, and continuing for the next 36 hours I was feeling like Wile Coyote just sailing along in my wingsuit, and then …

July 08, 2019: This is the week! Surgery is on Thursday and I’m ready – actually kind of excited. In fact, as the day approaches I find it hard to focus on things like work and day-to-day responsibilities. I haven’t been as diligent as I had planned with my workouts leading up to surgery. I …

In a prior trip report on this website, I discussed my list of the 10 stages of my mental state as I pursue these big ski mountaineering objectives.  Number 3 paraphrased is the, “Why am I here” phase.  This phase alludes to the pain and suffering that one endures in order to achieve some of …