“There is no avalanche danger unless a human is there,” said Dick Jackson of Aspen Expeditions at the start of a Level 1 avalanche course.

Cast by chance into the frenzy of a dramatic Yosemite rescue, the author confronts his youthful fears head-on.

The ring of a hammer hitting a drill bit bounced down Gunsight Gully in Yosemite. Mad Dog's mullet flapped in the breeze as he swore about having to sink another bristler. Balanced at a small stance with the help of two hooks, Mad Dog (née Dana Drummond) wailed on the drill.

Jack Roberts died January 15 on Bridalveil Falls, the 400-foot Grade 5 ice climb outside Telluride, Colorado, a route he had done countless times. Says his wife, Pamela Ranger Roberts, "When they finally reached me in Cuba, over 24 hours later, and told me, I truly did not believe it. My first thought was, 'He can't be dead, he's in Telluride. NO WAY he could die in Telluride!'”

Where are all the dirtbags? I'm not talking about these imposter dirtbags, the new-age lurkers taking up all the parking spots at Camp 4, Indian Creek and Miguel's Pizza with their pimped-out, Direct TV-receiving Sprinter vans that look like college dorm rooms on 26s.

The EOS is the only lamp reviewed with the batteries stowed right behind the bulb (the other three have a rear-mounted pack).