Eight days ago when I went to climb Torreys Peak, I ultimately turned around after Grizzly Peak (a high 13,000 ft. summit en route to Torreys). Conditions were bad to start with and got worse throughout the day, so even though I was relatively close I felt abandoning the summit was the right call. On the way back to my truck along the summit ridge, I came across a group of about 10 people who I had chatted with the parking lot before starting my hike. They were training for a trip to Mexico's high altitude volcanoes and wanted to get in "some good tough weather" as part of the experience. When I saw them on my retreat, I told them conditions were getting worse but didn't encourage or discourage them either way. Despite the foggy whiteout conditions, it wasn't that cold (maybe high 20's) and there wasn't lightning present. I felt a group that size must have some experienced people to gauge the snow conditions.

As it turns out, I found out this weekend that the group was caught in an avalanche on the ridge between Grizzly and Torreys--just past the point where I decided to turn around. Three people were swept nearly 1,000 feet according to reports, though given the relatively low snow accumulation, the slab that broke loose probably wasn't enough to suffocate them; I'm sure it must have been an exciting ride nonetheless. Luckily, outside of some minor injuries all three of the climbers are ok. I'm certainly not bragging, but it was nice to know for once my "mountain sense" was accurate--that the ridge was dangerous. Of course, I've had several instances where I've had similar apprehensions and watched others safely summit while I aborted my goals for the day. Either way, it's another lesson from the mountains and I'm genuinely glad the people caught in the slide were not seriously hurt.

On the other side of the elements, this Saturday, as I was driving Mystic home to Sheila's house in Lafayette, I saw an odd faint orange glow in the sky as we came to a stop at a red light. A pair of police cars sped through the light and abruptly turned into a housing complex just beyond the intersection. As the light turned green, I slowly saw the surreal sight of an apartment complex completely engulfed in flames. As much as we see such footage on the news, witnessing such an event in person is a terrifying sight. My heart dropped at the thought of the people and pets who may be inside (which is more likely to be the case in an apartment). If you read the story above, you'll see no one was initially killed but two women are severely burned and in very bad shape. At least one pet is reported as being missing, a man's little cat named Spellbound (no updates on that one). With all the wildfires in California happening at the same time, my heart has been heavy with thoughts of what the people and animals must be going through.

It makes perfect sense that many ancient cultures revered the elements as Gods; when you see the crushing power of an avalanche or the wild fury of an uncontained fire, it reminds you that the physical world is capable of amazing transformations, for better or worse. A healthy respect for these elements goes a long way, from the civilized world to the backcountry.

Posted by James Dziezynski @ 9:21 AM