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the Wasatch from above

I had to run to catch my flight today. The relative proximity of SLC International to my home in Cottonwood Heights made me a bit more complacent than I should have been. The good news is I made it. The bad is that now I’m sweaty.

It was a spectacular day to lift off. The […]

Living the Dream – Season Three

I started my job as a snowmaker today, though Mother Nature seemed to be sending me a message that, if she was going to be honest, she didn’t really need my help. Thick snowflakes curtained the road up Little Cottonwood Canyon, and Chris’ truck slid around a few corners despite being in four-wheel drive. Fresh […]

The rest of my summer…

September passed, and I was busy with several small fires around Salt Lake. October has finished up as well, and with it the fire season. Now it’s November, and the rocky peaks of the Wasatch have begun to wink at me with glittering, snowy eyes. It’s started to rain again in the valley, and after […]

The Construction of a Wildland Firefighter

White's 10-inch, lace-to-toe Smokejumpers, men's size 5.

Welcome to the new Susan. From hippie world traveler to burly, smoke-breathing firefighter. Instead of hugging trees, now I’m wishing they’d catch on fire so I could save them and start getting some of that legendary overtime and hazard pay. It’s not a natural transition; it’s taken […]

Living the ski bum dream

Happy Susan.

My new God’s name is Ullr.

Floating. Floating all day. On 24 inches of freshies, on good vibes between friends, on rays of sun sparkling on snow crystals in the air. Floating in the afterglow of a fantastic day. The Wasatch got dumped with snow all day yesterday, and I called in […]

the last entry for a while

Salt Lake City is organized on a numbered grid system, with the Mormon Temple at the center (0,0) and the rest of the streets fanning out north, south, east, and west in straight, orderly lines. The valley is flat; mountains form protective stockades on the eastern and western edges. It’s the eastern peaks that draw […]

If it’s white, it’s not ice.

This is what I tell my co-workers at the Brighton Resort Ski School when they roll their eyes about “icy conditions”. To which they respond, “You must be from the east coast.” The last week has been warm, the snow soft and thin in patches (this is, after all, pre-Thanksgiving skiing), but it has […]