While most people seek stability in their\nwork, Gary Kuehn \u201985 prefers to be sliding.\nAfter graduating, the physics major and avid\nskier earned a master\u2019s degree from the\nThayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth,\nstudying the mechanics of ice. Then he left\nthe lab and started down a path that\u2019s led\nhim to snowy and high-stakes adventures on\nsix continents.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a guide with the International Federation of Mountain Guides, Kuehn has worked with clients of a wide range of ages and nationalities, taking them rock climbing, alpine climbing, ski touring, ski mountaineering, and heliskiing (skiing in locations only reachable by helicopter, or climbing). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also does avalanche forecasting, teaches avalanche safety, trains other guides, and writes for trade journals. But he prefers to think of his many roles as just one: \u201cI get paid to make decisions and coach teams to make good decisions in high-risk and consequential environments,\u201d Kuehn says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
His trail started in Tasmania, Australia,\nin 1993. Looking for a change from ice\nresearch, Kuehn took a job there helping to\ncoordinate climate science expeditions to\nAntarctica. \u201cI quickly realized it was much\nmore interesting to help other scientists do\ntheir work,\u201d he says.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He joined the researchers on their trips\nand helped them manage the logistics of\nworking in a harsh environment: how to\nhandle equipment with mittens on, how to\nrecognize when the weather is worsening,\nhow to walk on a slippery surface. Many of the\nAustralians he worked with had never seen\nsnow before, and at times Kuehn acclimated\nthem using creative methods: \u201cHaving a\nsnowball fight is pretty fun,\u201d he says.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead of the two years in Tasmania he\u2019d planned on, he stayed for 10. In between seasonal stints in Antarctica, he took courses in mountain guiding, developing his skills in rock and alpine climbing while working in New Zealand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These days he\u2019s living closer to the\nEarth\u2019s opposite pole, in a town near\nAnchorage, Alaska. Kuehn enjoys the ski\nguiding he focuses on now because, unlike\nthe rock climbing expeditions he used to\nlead, \u201cYou\u2019re more coaching and facilitating\npeople,\u201d Kuehn says, \u201cso there\u2019s a much\nmore human connection.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being on the slopes also gives Kuehn a\npersonal view of the climate change he was\nhelping scientists investigate at the beginning\nof his career. He can watch glaciers receding,\nand experiences mid-winter rainstorms that\nweren\u2019t so frequent in the past. Day to day,\nthough, he thinks more about a faster-moving\nthreat \u2014 namely, avalanches.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most desirable ski conditions, he notes \u2014 deep snow, steep terrain \u2014 can also be the most dangerous. He and his colleagues use weather observations to track the risk of avalanches, as well as digging down into the snow to examine its layers. \u201cThe most common instrument we use is a shovel,\u201d Kuehn says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If there are unstable layers near the snow\u2019s\nsurface, guides may intentionally (and very\ncarefully) trigger a small avalanche to get that\nshifty snow out of the way. One way to do\nthis is called ski cutting. In this technique, a\nperson skis quickly across the unstable spot\nwith a partner\u2019s supervision, and \u201ckind of\njumps up and down,\u201d Kuehn says.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kuehn has only twice been caught in \u201cvery\nsmall\u201d slides he wasn\u2019t expecting, he says.\nOthers in his community haven\u2019t been as\nlucky. \u201cIt\u2019s an unforgiving environment,\u201d Kuehn\nsays. \u201cWe\u2019re only as safe as our last decision.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, he gets to spend his days working with \u201cthe people who have the same addiction I do,\u201d Kuehn says, \u201cwhich is sliding on snow in a beautiful mountain environment in a safe way.\u201d Someday he may even make it to the mountains of Morocco and cross the final continent off his list. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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