In the next episode of The Fine Line, three local teenagers discuss their experiences in the backcountry: their influences and aspirations, lessons they've learned about safety, and how they've gotten through the challenges of the past year.
Clockwise from top: Zack Little, Sorayah Ziem, and Ryan Millham.
This next episode goes live on March 25. Here's a snippet of their conversation.
"When I tell my classmates and friends that I'm going out in the park for seven hours and I'm going to go skin up a mountain, they're like, 'Dude, have you lost your mind?' And I'm like, possibly...But I have to say, skiing down is really magical." —Sorayah Ziem, 13
"The fact that I am starting to be able to go to school and the fact that I am able to go into the backcountry when I feel like I need a break from college (applications), homework, teachers, drama, all that, Covid has really shown how fortunate I am to be where I am." —Ryan Millham, 17
"When I transition from skiing with a person that's more experienced than I am on Saturday to skiing with a friend who's maybe less experienced than I am on Sunday, my mindset has to change. And I think a big part of that is building trust with partners over time. That's what's kinda crazy about social media these days is I've noticed people acting like they know somebody purely off of their interactions on social media." —Zack Little, 19
Thanks to Sorayah, Ryan, and Zack for this excellent conversation, and helping the rest of us understand how we can better reach young people about backcountry safety.
Subscribe to The Fine Line on Spotify, Apple, and SoundCloud, and tune in every Thursday at 2 p.m. to hear it on KHOL 89.1 FM.