Snowy Mountain

Baldy mountain in Sun Valley Idaho is what I want to call death mountain for claiming the life of my brother Derek almost a year ago.

And Yet it's rather beautiful too. It's all that white snow and wide slopes that makes it such a popular ski resort.

Sun Valley has been famous in movies and with Hollywood actors.

I enjoyed ice skating there when I was 19 years old.

I think about how just 12 months ago this place wasn't even on my mind, how I didn't know anything about tree wells. 

(Although I saw tree wells when I skied as a teen/young adult and thought to myself "Ya don't want to fall down that!")

It's very important to know how to avoid them. It's always better to never be out there all alone.

I am grateful for all the videos I have seen about Tree Wells, and the dangers of avalanches.

I still look up at the Bogus Basin lights

thinking about Derek snowboarding in those cold beautiful evenings and nights.

I will always miss him sitting beside me as our skies dangle down together

from the chair lift as the moon was bright and the wind was freezing....

Derek shares "I want to learn how to snowboard." I laugh and reply back "You'll be on your butt most of the time...sounds horrible to me!"

20 years later he was flying down the hill like surfing the ocean waves!

 The Man from Snowy Mountain.