When I was a young guide and aspiring ski mountaineer, a mentor handed me a copy of Jack Turner’s Teewinot and told me it was required reading. If I were to meet my younger self tomorrow, I’d add Louis Dawson’s memoir, Avalanche Dreams, to that list. Dawson’s story is a relatable with insight into what it means to not just go into the mountains but grow in them.
Dawson is known as the founder of the website WildSnow.com, author of the book Wild Snow, which covers the history of ski mountaineering in North America, and author of several notable Colorado guidebooks. His eighth book and memoir gets there eventually, but it starts in an unexpected place for a legendary ski mountaineer: Texas.
Originally from the Lone Star state, Dawson’s father—a 10th Mountain Division deserter—packed up the family to Aspen, Colorado, in 1966. A youth mountaineering program taught by a local climber showed a young Dawson his calling in life: climbing mountains. Eventually, he becomes the first to ski all 54 of Colorado’s 14ers, but there are bumps along the way. Wasting away in a snow cave on Denali, breaking his leg while skiing out a backcountry gate, failed relationships, substance abuse and eventually a life-changing avalanche. Dawson takes lessons from each of these, combining them with what he learns from his stints in outdoor education and time spent climbing and skiing with some of the most recognizable names from the era. And it’s all told in Dawson’s blunt-yet-humorous writing style.
I found myself relating to many of the ups and downs of Dawson’s career. During his time working for NOLS in the early ’70s, he looks around at his older co-instructors and wonders, “Will I ever be the mountain guide some other instructors were?” The same insecurities plagued me throughout my early 20s. Reading one of the greats of our sport think the same thing made me realize that those guides I looked up to were probably thinking the same thing in their youth.
Dawson is also forward with his mistakes—something that is still a rarity. Through shiver bivies (“How many had it been?” he wondered while stopping for an unexpected night on the side of Yosemite’s El Cap) and avalanches, Dawson becomes the mountaineer that he looked up to during his NOLS days. His examination of risk tolerance throughout his career made me step back and reexamine my own hazardous endeavors over the years through a fresh lens.
This coming-of-age story is spread over 50 years. Dawson tracks his growth from single-minded, Colorado wild child with a strong physique, a pair of skis and, at times, too much ego to a well-rounded backcountry skier, author of eight books and family man who can balance life in and out of the mountains. It’s a reminder that maturing in the backcountry takes time—decades, in fact. And that growing up doesn’t mean growing out of a life in the mountains. It means finding balance.
Overall, Avalanche Dreams is a must-read for any backcountry skier. Whether you’re looking for guidance while entering the sport, considering a career in guiding, planning your first expedition or trying to balance family with adventure, you’ll learn something from Louis Dawson’s life.
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