Mountains

At the southern tail of the Rocky Mountains the mornings have turned crisp and leaves are starting to turn gold. It isn't winter, but we can feel it coming. Here's a little ski stoke for your Autumnal Equinox.

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Pep Fujas

Tordrillo Mountains

High on the list of exotic places I haven't been yet, but would love to see are Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan, the countries of the Tibetan Plateau. One of the best living symbols of "The Roof of the World" is the Snow Leopard. Due to poaching, loss of prey, and habitat degradation, the snow leopard is listed as endangered by the IUCN.

The earth spins around the sun, solstices pass, seasons advance and memories fade. Recording events remind us of the details that otherwise disappear. Taking one photo can crystalize memory. Taking many photos becomes a document. Channing Huser has photographed a specific place in the Sangre de Cristo mountains each March over the last four years. She plans to continue photographing this place as long as she can. See Water Over Mountain, a documentary, in person if you can.

I love exploring the mountains and there are more peaks than I could ever hope to see in my lifetime. Of course the Seven Summits are on my list but, I haven't even summited one of them yet. So, what is a frustrated, wannabe mountaineer to do? You can start exploring any of the Seven Summits with StreetView in Google Maps. Go to maps.google.com, type in the name of the peak, zoom in to the street view level and start planning your approach from base camp.

At first this headline sounds bizarre, but the explanation is pretty simple. More CO2 leads to warmer air which holds more moisture which can produce larger rain and snow storms. While these larger blizzards are more frequent, they don't make up for reduced overall snowfall. This trend is already underway with reduced spring snow cover across the Northern Hemisphere. More blizzards in exchange for fewer snow days is a poor tradeoff whether you ski or not.

On February 19, 2012 a group of expert skiers were caught in an avalanche at Tunnel Creek, just outside the Stevens Pass ski resort. Three skiers, Johnny Brenan, Jim Jack, and Chris Rudolph died in that avalanche. Unfortunately, skiers getting caught in an avalanche isn't unique or extraordinary. But, understanding how and why this group of skiers were caught is very important for any backcountry skier to understand.

As I write, the first winter storm in weeks is forecast for our area. I look up at the mountains and see only thin streaks of white where snow should cover the ground. Snow sports depend heavily on natural snowfall which is becoming less reliable. The environmental shifts from climate change are now having an economic effect.