The Art of Bailing: Turning Around in the Face of Uncertainty

It’s not easy to bail on a line. Especially one you’ve dreamed about. Harder still to bail on your backup plan. So, Sophia Schwartz reframed her approach to these hard decisions—and left the mountains safe and happy despite turning back.

Hunting for Wind Slab: A custom continuing ed avalanche course

In any Level 1 avalanche course, we learn about the different types of avalanches. Each is its own beast and carries its own unique challenges. Some problems hide deep in the snowpack while others live on the surface. They can be prevalent across big regions or very specific to isolated locations. Yet with such finite time in Level 1 and 2 avalanche courses, it would be cumbersome to truly dive into the nuances of each. After experiencing wind slab so vividly, I wanted to learn how to bring my avalanche knowledge to each specific avalanche problem in hopes that I could more confidently answer that important debrief question: Were we lucky or were we good?

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