Overheard at the monastery between the novice and the master - I once asked you why you were doing something and you replied that it was important to occasionally sharpen the pencil. But the thing for me - I keep breaking the lead point of my pencil. A bunch of
It was just before midnight, 1974, when the devil - Scratch - appeared to Charlie McCarthy. McCarthy had just written Child of God (a book on loneliness, madness, depravity and other acts unfit for this polite audience) and Scratch saw some potential. He offered McCarthy the opportunity to be the
Dusk in the mountains. Boy sleeps on his mother’s arm. I‘ll live forever. Had a few 'technical difficulties' this morning, but I hope they are ironed out. Thanks again to Laurel Hunter for coming to the rescue. Thanks for subscribing to the Meditations. You'll
When I heard the collapse, I thought, No problem. But this was before I understood avalanches as well as I do now. The slope fractured like a pane of glass and even though I was on a 22° degree pitch at the top of the slope, it was as if
...and he said that it was good that God kept the truths of life from the young as they were starting out or else they'd have no heart to start at all. McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I know this isn’t really part of the genre, but
Did you hear the one about the lion tamer who followed the directions by the book and in the end, the lion ate him anyway?
What is it about these two profound words that you hear with any decision of consequence? You’re looking over the tips of your skis down onto the Bobsled, a perfect white canvas on the north side of Gobblers Knob*. Shadows of blue pierce the canvas, but that's
Japanese Enso. Fairly well represents my view from the seat of the car, although the circle became nearly all black by the end. Read on... Hip surgery last Tuesday. Unreliable narrator. My wife and I leave surgery at 4pm. We head to the Bengal Smiths and park in the shade.
It’s early January. Old depth hoar at the base of the snowpack. He peers down the slope. Steep and north facing. V1: Pascal believes it’s stable and skis the slope. The best run of his life. V2: Pascal believes it’s stable and skis the slope. It shatters
A few thoughts on perception, decision making, and action. Knowledge and Knowing. Knowing and Acting. A few weeks ago, I sat down to chat with Ian McCammon at a coffee shop. Ian has been a driving force in helping us better understand avalanche mechanics and behavioural science as it relates
Even Georgia O'Keeffe would blush at this American Beauty I suspect Ms O'Keeffe would never consent to paint a rose, preferring instead her Sacred Datura (Jimson Weed). * Her Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 (1932) sold for more than $44M in 2014. Georgia O'Keeffe
A few years ago, one of my best friends was caught in an avalanche somewhere north of here. The avalanche was triggered from above – another skier on the slope – and he suffered the onslaught of the avalanche. Deep within the belly of the whale, he pulled the trigger on his