Looking Back and How to Look Forward with Dan Abrams

About this episode

Caleb Merrill interviews Dan Abrams about the Tunnel Creek avalanche accident and its impact on his life and the skiing community.

Caleb Merrill is back to interview Dan Abrams for a reflective conversation on a tragic avalanche accident. Tune in for a conversation that stems from the soul…. soul skiing that is, and the endless search for those perfect powder turns that brings our small community of soul skiers & riders together. Dan and Caleb center the conversation’s focus on recounting the Tunnel Creek avalanche accident that Dan was involved with back in 2012. This accident was followed by significant media coverage and quickly drew attention across the country. The New York Times eventually produced a Pulitzer Prize-winning multimedia feature called Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek about the accident, produced by reporter John Branch. Dan reflects on the lessons he learned from this event and how it has shaped his life today. He highlights that we should put greater focus on our motivations or expectations for a backcountry touring day and how we should change our plans to better align with those goals. We should also make sure we fully read and understand the public avalanche hazard bulletin before leaving the trailhead for a tour and make sure we do not let human biases veil our ability to…

People in this episode

Host: Caleb Merrill

Guest: Dan Abrams

Topics covered

• avalanche safety
• backcountry skiing
• personal reflection
• media coverage
• community
• ski apparel

Keywords

• avalanche
• backcountry
• skiing
• Tunnel Creek
• Flylow
• soul skiing
• safety
• media

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The New York Times, Flylow

Books & works: Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek

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