A Message to Skiers After a Deadly Month of Avalanches

Dear POWDER Readers,

In the last week, I’ve written five articles about avalanche-related deaths.

I’ve seen social media posts about the individuals from friends of friends and avalanche centers, and I have felt a collective sadness for those lost through my local ski community. It’s devastating to hear about people dying in the mountains, especially so many in a row, but I also won’t pretend that writing so many iterations of a ‘Person Killed in Avalanche’ headline in a week makes me feel a bit numb to the realities of it, as I’d guess it does for readers.

I don’t say this to seem callous or out of touch. During my first winter living in Jackson Hole as a TGR intern, there was an avalanche cycle that killed three people in two weeks and I knew one of the people I had to write a headline about.

What I’m really trying to acknowledge here is the dichotomy between the numbness that is much easier to feel when you see countless posts about avalanche related deaths in a short period of time, and the empathy and sadness that we feel from our own experiences for those who are affected. I don’t really have anything revolutionary to say about it except that I want to acknowledge that even as a news writer, I feel the impact of times like this deeply, and I understand how events like this can have a ripple effect through the ski community.

It can be difficult to wrestle with avalanche related deaths and acknowledge that skiing in the backcountry is something that brings many of us joy. It’s also no secret that living in a mountain town can make it difficult to find a healthy balance with risk vs. reward. This can exacerbate mental health issues that make wrestling with these things more difficult.

Again, nothing I’ve said is new or revolutionary, but as I wrote those articles last week, I felt that it was worth acknowledging. Even if I’m just the name under a bunch of headlines in some sense, I truly recognize how devastating these accidents are on the communities of the victims and feel for every one of them.

Hug your friends and your ski buddies and know that if you’re struggling with these deaths, whether directly or from afar, you’re not alone.

Love,

Izzy