In Memory of Ben

From Ben

Ben Jacobsen's fight with cancer ended today. I was very sad to hear the news. His passing made me think on some dawn patrols we had. The last one I recall was in January 2009. It was a powder day, and we skinned to the top of Neffs. At the top, we were treated to this view of Lone Peak.

From Ben

Because we were so happy to be out, after one run off the top, we skinned up to the base of Triangle Peak, and then dropped off into North Fork. Ben knew that this wasn't the sensible option, but he was a good sport -- even after the non-sensible option nearly ruined an otherwise-good powder day. Our run into North Fork pretty much sucked. I think we kicked off a sizable avalanche. Ben and I dug our edges into the hill watched a cloud of snow sift through the trees. We looked at each other wide-eyed, then laughed it off. We were happy to be alive. To make things worse, we missed the only good exit out (an elk trail) and ended up performing a massive bushwhack. To this day I can't remember one worse. After a while, it became a situation of every man for himself, along with a situation of get out of here as fast as you can. I skied straight to the car. A few minutes Jon came along. Ben took a bit longer (I attribute that to his telemark gear), and we almost left him. But we didn't, and all ended up being several hours late to work.

I'm glad I got to ski with Ben. I will miss him.

Ben (in yellow) at the base of Triangle Peak, getting ready for a nice adventure. Just before this, we gave him grief about wearing white women's ski gloves.

From Ben

Ben hopping a rock in Idaho:

From Ben

Until then . . .

From Ben

Note: Some of Ben's friends organized a cycling team for Ben -- Team Firestorm, which is selling Firestorm jerseys. Proceeds go to Ben's family. Let me know if you're interested.