2024 Winter Season Recap
On the shoulder of Mt. Ann, just before skiing the North Face in stable recycled powder conditions! — Friday Mentorship
Season-Long Mentorship Programs
A mentee of mine sends a voice message about how they advocated to their ski patroller friend about the real risks of skiing big open slopes with a deep persistent slab problem. Once at odds for their weekend plans, the two were able to accurately perceive the hazard they would be exposing themselves to, check their notes with the local forecast, and make a decision to go elsewhere.
Someone who was in their second year of taking the season long program, shows up at an NWAC Women’s Mentorship Program I was helping facilitate for aspiring professionals. Their growth in understanding snowpack and how to communicate through the decision making process is fueling their first steps into the avalanche industry as a new guide next season.
A mom of two boys tells me that this program has helped her find her fire for adventure again. She tells me it has changed her life.
She, in turn, inspires me — to see a bit of what I could only hope is glimmer of my future self.
To tell you it’s working —is an understatement. The whole vision for this program, to help empower the voices of women and women identifying humans in the world of backcountry skiing has taken its own form. Sure… people are finding their voices in group settings and learning the language of snow and avalanches — but it’s so much more than that.
Table Mountain Tour just after the Wet Slab and Glide Cycle raged… assessing the damage.
In the second year of Grounding Truth being in existence, I see the cumulative effects of community building, of how special and needed of a container this is for women to express themselves, have fun, challenge their limits, and find others who can meet them right where they are at.
In our first sesssions, each group performed the required avalanche rescue drill, where they got to showcase their partner skills to the rest of the group. Then we went for a mellow tour for the remainder of the day, with a focus on building repoire with each other, getting on the same page about moving observations, AM forms and different relevant snow vocabulary, and getting to practice, for the first time, our baseline operating strategy for skiing in and around avalanche terrain as a group.
Left to right: Erin dropping in on our tour of the Iceberg Trees, Sunset over Kulshan after a tour of the Ptarmigan Arm, Erin breaking trail and leading the way up Mt. Ann.
Wednesday mentorship group descends with some incredible alpenglow, sun and shadow in ptarmigan bowl, setting out for a tour during the Wednesday mentorship group.
Audrey climbs out from Lake Ann towards the Shuksan Arm, Maria and the rest of the crew settle in for an epic view and a snack session, the Friday ladies out front doing some route finding into Swift Creek.
The group making their way up Mt. Ann, Nicki and Yoz in the afterglow of some sunny north facing recycled pow turns, Erin slaying the slush on the Table Mountain Circumnav.
As the season progressed, we saw everything from storm slabs to wind slabs, glide avalanches and wet slab cycles, rain on snow events and snow after rain, persistent slab problems turning into deep persistent problems, and the usual dry and wet loose avalanche problem types.
This winter proved to be an entirely different beast compared to last winter.
Where in 2023, we focused on tour planning to new zones, route setting, ski descent management, and decision making a whole lot — Winter 2024 offered WAY more nuance in the realm of avalanche problems and snowpack discussions.
Two of the three mentorship groups opted to do a classroom day instead of one of our field sessions due to horrendously inclement weather. Luckily, the community provided, and we were able to get a free workout at Evergreen Strength in Bellingham before diving into classroom activities in the Backcountry Medical Guides base near the marina! As it turned out, those classroom days proved really valuable to be able to get everyone up to speed on knowing how to identify and classify different avalanche problems, gain a hands-on understanding of tour planning, and take a bit of a deeper dive into the nuances of persistent slab problems and how they express. All in all, this was a great way to spend an atomospheric river event!
The Friday mentorship group, decided to go assess the damage after the storm, and oh goodness, did we ever! On an adventurous Table Mountain Circumnavigation, we experienced surprisingly good ski conditions anywhere there wasn’t huge debris piles, and so much evidence of recent large wet slab and glide avalanches! To see bare ground in early February was both awe-evoking at the power of mother nature, and also grief inducing —to contemplate the future of winter…
I’m continually impressed and so grateful that these mentorship groups find a way to hold both the gravity of the present moment, as well as the joy. To be witnessing and playing; laughing and looking closely at the ever changing conditions— there’s no better way, than to be experiencing all this with a group of incredibly rad, compassionate, and goofy women!
Bridge crossing bringing up all the feels into late February —usually we can walk across the frozen lake, Audrey with her prized chunk of cornice she learned to kick off safely on a high hazard day.
Crossing a creek en route to Mt. Ann, Evidence of glide avalanches in early February —looked like Mars.
Large surface hoar, Gloria hunted a small wind slab pocket!
Laurel waltzes across Pond Shot’s debris pile (note that it covers most of the lake), the team happily bushwhacks out of the bottom of the shuksan arm after an awesome day on Mt. Ann.
Reflecting on the season, it seemed like the lower snow year —despite all the atmospheric rivers and rain on snow events —actually proved to house more persistent style avalanche problems due to the shallower snowpack and intermittent cold and dry periods between warm storms. While it wasn’t the recipe for dozens of mega tours or big pow lines, it offered a unique setup for us to learn about so many different avalanche problems in a predominately maritime zone.
^ This is a graph composed of data I collected this winter to track the season’s conditions. It is a rough glance at an entire season and while temperatures are listed, they are simply just the temperature at 7:00am each day at two different elevations —and they don’t tell the whole story. However, I still find this incredibly fun to look at —especially considering snow height, storms, and total water inputs over a whole season. (HS=height of snow/total snowpack, HNS24=height of new snow in 24 hrs, HNW24=snow water equivalent in 24 hrs.)
It makes me wonder… what will the snow be like here in 20 years, if it’s here at all…
Will these dry snow problems come back? Will the culture of the PNW grow to accept a less stable snowpack as part of the culture of backcountry travel? How can we set ourselves up to be open and perceptive to the changes; to the magic; to the ever-alive present moment?
Top of Long’s Pass on the fourth day of the Fortune Peak Alumni Hut Trip! This is the whole crew except for Alicia —the all-star photographer of this shot!
In late February, Grounding Truth partnered with Fortune Peak Huts to run our very first Alumni program! Five days in the Teanaway valley, exploring the old growth gladed skiing of Iron Mountain, skinning up Longs Pass to see a snowy Mount Stuart breaking through the clouds (pictured above), toasting gluten free Foccacia over a wood stove and telling stories on our rest day, and watching each mentee step up in their leadership, forecasting, and tour planning skills. Everyone worked together to tend to the hut, rotate shifts in the wood-fired sauna, and cook dinner. Each day ended with full bellies, noodle legs, tired minds, and feeling clean —from a makeshift shower of river water dumped from a bucket after a hot sauna.
Dinner time and mentee forecasting operations in the hut, Zoe and Cara at the top of Iron Mountain, Hut boots
The bonds shaped by this extended time out of service and tuned in with each other, feel lifelong.
I cry just thinking about how special it is to bring so many strong and inspiring women together to share in a mountain adventure that will stay with us for so many years to come. After experiencing this once, I’m convinced that this needs to be a part of Grounding Truth every season. So stay tuned for more Alumni offerings to come!
Malena leading the way to Long’s Pass, Julz making her way across the creek crossing, Cara with a carbon pole repair!
Erin and crew skin to our afternoon ski line, a rimed tree at Long’s Pass, the team basking in the afterglow of a quality ski
— A more in depth write up of this weeklong bonanza of fun-having is coming soon.
The whole alumni crew plus Jodi and me on the steps of the hut, the team making their way up to Long’s Pass with Esmerelda in the background.
Community Events
Another big focus of 2024 was hosting community events — a season kick-off party open to anyone at K2 Brewery, a mid-season mentorship & alumni potluck with special guest speakers, Irene Henninger of NWAC and Courtney Zinke of Backcountry Essentials, and an end of season celebration open to all at Stone’s Throw Brewery. Each event was such a delight to be a part of. The connections made, the tidbits learned, and the delicious food that was shared were all major highlights! Looking forward to more of this in 2025!
^Top (left to right): Julz tabling for Grounding Truth at the Community Connections Event hosted by K2 Brewing, Mid-Season Grounding Truth potluck for current mentees and alumni with special guest speakers from NWAC and Backcountry Essentials
Bottom: Season Kick Off Party at K2 Brewing for Grounding Truth, End of Season Celebration at Stone’s Throw Brewery
Weekend Mentorship Programs
This winter, Grounding Truth offered Weekend Mentorship Programs for the first time. Each program catered to a different population within the backcountry ski world: advanced backcountry users, intermediate backcountry skiers, and advanced lift-riders with little to no backcountry experience. The programs were a total success, and the short format courses provided a great way for people to get a feel for the Grounding Truth style, as well as gain some valuable mentorship, increased accuracy of risk perception in avalanche terrain, and tour planning ideas.
New to Backcountry Weekend: Pow turns in Swift Creek, stoked faces on the skintrack, surfing pow in fresh lines
Intermediate Weekend: Trailhead/Beacon check, happy Julz in Little Swiss, the crew chiming in about our planned descent
Bootpacking up Mazama Dome, pulling out the snow scope to look at surface hoar, decision making chat
Intro to Backcountry with Shifting Gears
Another new addition this winter was an Intro to Backcountry Ski day in partnership with Shifting Gears! This program offered a low-cost introduction to backcountry skiing for women, and to help further reduce the barriers to entry, the American Alpine Institute donated rental equipment to anyone who signed up. This kind of partnership is SO amazing! I loved meeting more awesome women and getting to share in the joy of walking uphill with skis on our feet.
Custom Courses / Private Days
In addition to all of the Grounding Truth scheduled programming, there were 8 different custom courses and private guided tours offered. Each day was tailored to the student or guest’s needs and desires, and avalanche/backcountry mentorship days included a written follow up from Julz. Many of the custom programs were return customers to Grounding Truth, and with each program, I was so thrilled to be giving each person the attention and instruction they were desiring!
Cornice kicking with a belay, rappelling off a snow bollard, moat bollard construction
NWAC & AIARE Partnerships
And this season recap would not be complete without mentioning that Grounding Truth was invited to lead the field sessions for the NWAC Women’s Mentorship Program for aspiring professionals, as well as the AIARE Women’s Mentorship Program for women in avalanche education. It was truly a joy to be able to share my passion and knowledge through these two organizations, and to feel the honor that it was to be invited to take on such a role. I hope to see these sorts of collaborations continue into 2025, and who knows where they might take us!
NWAC Women’s Mentorship Program for aspiring professionals - Tour day with Irene Henninger
In closing, I am so humbly grateful to all of you for how successful Grounding Truth programs have been in just two years of operation! I feel that these programs are entirely community fueled —and none of this would be possible without the incredible support from the incredible community that surrounds me.
Thank you to each and every person who has taken the time to read this recap, because YOU are what makes this community feel like family! YOU are who this is for. YOU are why I keep putting in all the hours of office work to make this thing happen. YOU are the reason I smile when I have to wake up at 4:30 am when the sun won’t rise until 7am. YOU are who I will break trail for, and ask hard questions to, and share my gummy bears with even when I only have a couple. YOU are as much a part of this Grounding Truth family as anyone else, and I hope we can keep finding ways to connect, celebrate, and lift each other up!
WE are chosen family, WE are friends, WE are each others teachers and students, and together WE are so strong and beautiful!
Thank you for being :)
