Safety Week: Mentorship and Lessons Learned

Many of us feel the call of the wild. It's an unwavering desire to disconnect from the trappings of modern conveniences and return to a simpler expression of living. Some of us answer that call, only to find out that without the relevant knowledge and experience, the wild can be an utterly unforgiving playground. That's because so many of our favorite outdoor pursuits require an almost encyclopedic understanding of our equipment and environment in order to stay safe.

Understanding that a transceiver's radio waves broadcast out in curved flux lines is essential when trying to find an avalanche victim. Being able to recognize that those smooth, dreamy pillows are actually the result of a dangerous, wind loaded slab could save your life.

The stakes can be high when you're in the wilderness. Sometimes, the only thing that's steeper than the mountains we want to climb is that damn learning curve. We take classes, study forecasts and scour the internet for blog posts and summit reports, but the best way to learn is often from a mentor.

A mentor is the light that guides us through the fog of inexperience, and fills us with the awe and inspiration to push past barriers. With almost 30 years of experience under our belts, Teton Gravity Research has welcomed new generations of professional skiers and snowboarders to our team, through programs like our annual International Pro Riders Workshop.

This year, we learned more about the unspoken mentorship between generations of skiers like Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Tim Durtschi and now Kai Jones.

Sage first skied in Mind the Addiction in 2001, and has now starred in more films than any other TGR athlete. Alaska is home to over fourteen mountain ranges, with 17 of the 20 tallest peaks in the U.S within the state's borders. Big mountain skiing in Alaska is in a league of its own, and Sage credits his mastery of navigating Alaska's massive lines to his mentor, Jeremy Jones.

Moving down a generation, Angel Collinson, former big mountain skier and the first woman to win the "Best Line" award from Powder Magazine, attributes much of her growth as an athlete to the beta shared by Sage while on film trips to Alaska.

When Tim Durtschi joined TGR, he also absorbed as much as he could from Sage - everything from avalanche safety tips and tricks to avoiding slough in consequential terrain, to how to make a living as a pro skier.

Today, Tim and Sage are helping to guide Kai Jones, TGR's youngest athlete, as they talk about the current state of the and discuss how mentorship has shaped their careers as athletes. For mentors, it's a way to give back to the community and honor those who came before them. There's no textbook on how to stay safe and have fun on the sharp end of big-mountain skiing, it's a matter of learning from those who came before you as much as learning from your peers.