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  1. #1
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    Feb 2004
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    Dean Cummings Interview

    Anybody else read the Dean Cummings interview in the new Ski Journal issue?

    I thought he had some pretty good points in his reply to his safety protocols. He sparked my interest in his discussion about snow tension and looking at the entire snowpack instead of just an isolated area of the mountain for snowpack assessment. I'm curious if he applies this thinking to all snowpacks or just the very unique maritime snowpack in the Chugach.

    Thoughts? Anyone here skied with him and or H20 HeliGuides?

    Maybe I should post this in the Slide Zone thread to get a roundtable discussion going on. That's what I'm after.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
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    colorady
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    1,318
    He was skiing at Abasin yesterday. That’s all I got.


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  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2007
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    Sandy, Utah
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    I've skied at Alta a few times with Dean I also helped with some stuff with his ski brand. As far as avie protocol he's a smart cookie, plus he can ski.....haven't been to the heli op but i imagine it's a good experience. He's an interesting fellow.

    Sent from my XT1650 using TGR Forums mobile app

  4. #4
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    Feb 2004
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    MN
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    Read the article. Skied H2O four years ago and he was our guide. He is a complete professional. Safety protocol was top notch. The snow conditions were shitty to say the least. A few inches of new on top a horrible rain / sun crust. He was constantly assessing the snow pack all day, many times each run. He constantly preached safety, what he is experiencing, what terrain and aspects were good and bad, islands of safety, etc. Last winter we went to Haines. A few of the guides bad mouthed Dean, but they had no business doing so. They can have an opinion of him as a person, but he is all business in the mountains. Our outfit’s safety protocol was far lacking compared to H2O. On a down day with H20, we let us tag along on some guide training he was doing. Crevasse rescue, etc. he let me and my buddy take his snowmobile out for some exploration and boondocking. H2O was by far the most organized, professional heli op I have been with.

    I’ll never forget one run we were on which was super icy under neath the bit of new snow. It was some of the worst stuff I have ever skied. We were in one of “the books”. Dean takes a few cautious jump turns, fighting for an edge, he looks up at us and says, “boys, this is gonna suck. Take your time and get down.” A lump instantly forms in my throat when the pioneer in AK who has undoubtedly skied in every possible condition tells us how bad it was going to be. He wasn’t lying or exaggerating either. He put us on different terrain , aspects and made the day as good as it could have been with the conditions we faced.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Redwood City
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    1,761
    Skied with Dean and H2O way back in ancient times (2002). Not sure why people have negative things to say about him or his outfit. At least way back then it seemed super professional and the guy constantly worked his ass off keeping his guests both happy and safe. FWIW at the time his head avy guy was a guide named Mark (forgot his last name). He was our groups guide 2 of the 4 days I flew with them (I was solo and hopped around) and definitely knew his stuff as well.
    "Great barbecue makes you want to slap your granny up the side of her head." - Southern Saying

  6. #6
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    Perfect, just what I'm after. I wonder what his take is on current professional and recreational (AAA and AIARE) courses relying on snow science as their primary focus. I've seen some small shift in focus away from snow science and instead focus on heuristics and overall awareness of what is going on in the entire snowpack, not just a small isolated 30 x 90 cm plot.

    I think Dean's track record with H2O speaks for itself, seems like a no bullshit type of guy in the mountains. He, along with is other guides and guests want to live to ski another day.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Bay Area
    Posts
    487
    Skied with Dean at Snowbird back in the day. Did a full dawn-dusk ski guide / backcountry training day. Learned a ton and had a blast. If I got the hall pass to do a Heli trip, I would only call H2O.
    No gnar was harmed in the writing of this post...

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Sandy, Utah
    Posts
    14,410
    Quote Originally Posted by mogul5480 View Post
    Skied with Dean at Snowbird back in the day. Did a full dawn-dusk ski guide / backcountry training day. Learned a ton and had a blast. If I got the hall pass to do a Heli trip, I would only call H2O.
    I would probably opt for Dean too if I were to somehow swing a heli week.

    Sent from my XT1650 using TGR Forums mobile app

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Location
    Houston, Texas
    Posts
    67

    Questionable at best

    This is questionable at best

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    your mom's house
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    1,128
    Quote Originally Posted by m28484 View Post
    This is questionable at best
    Care to elaborate?

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    208 State
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    2,577
    Way to revive an almost 2 year old thread there...good job using the search function.

    I think someone IS holding a grudge, wait...didn't get a refund on his trip to Alaska and feels wronged because they acted like a douche and H20 kept your money? Close?

    Way to JONG up another thread. Why don't you tell us really why you hold that grudge or are you afraid of us finding out who you really are m28484?

    Not really too hard to figure out probably who m28484 is. Is it Andreas or Christopher or Sunny or ???
    Last edited by mtnjam; 05-26-2019 at 08:28 PM.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    MN
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    2,975
    Skied with H2O on 2014. Dean was our guide. Snow sucked the whole trip. He entertained us the whole time. He invited us on a guide training excursion to a glacier lake. He let me and my buddy ride his snowmobile all day. He was our personal guide on one of our days. I have never felt more comfortable in sketchy condition. Felt safe the entire time. Never forget when we were in one of “the books”. He went first, took two turns, looked up at us and said, “Boys, this is gonna suck. Take your time and get down.” Never been more focused in the mountains in my life.

    Their set up in Valdez was great. No issues. They did the best they could with the conditions. Very professional.

    Maybe things have changed. Climate likely making things harder. Warmer, more rain events, competition. It’s not easy.

    Not sure what has gone down on the last five years, but that’s my take.

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