Hand Drawn (and Hiked) by McCall

Happy almost 2024! Remember when 2013 felt like a made up year because it was so far away? Me too.

Today, we’re going to keep things simple and focus on gratitude. I feel immensely lucky that the random realization that I kinda-sorta-suck-at-writing-prose-and-should-probably-work-on-that I had at my desk one day (“what if I wrote a newslett….”) turned into 25 published editions, multiple subscribers who aren’t just my friends I excitedly texted the link to when I started this, and newfound fervor and passion for newfound hobbies.

Avalanche Chronicles

I feel so lucky to get to bend your ear every week and ramble about skiing, avalanches, hikes, and whatever random topic is on my mind. I started this newsletter as a way to get my thoughts out from the abyss in my head and pin them down.

The outdoors are amazing, beautiful, and awe-inspiring, but also confusing, tumultuous, and sometimes scary — unpacking all of it together has been such a useful practice.

I realized I kind of went from 0-100 with the avalanche chronicles, while there’s still quite a few people wondering what half this stuff means. Here’s what you can expect when we reconvene after the holidays: a quick 101 on ski basics. Ever wonder what dins are? What your underfoot is? What the height of your skis should be? What should I wear? I did. So I figured that makes me expertly qualified to write about it (with the help of some published sources who know a lot more than me).

From there, we’ll dive back into more touring/backcountry-specific information, and then go back into avalanches. It only feels right that I make sure everyone’s equipped with the basics before we dig a little deeper. Plus, I’m heading out on my first touring adventure on New Year’s Eve (on a slope less than 20°, I pinky promise) so I’ll have some real time adventures to report back on too.

Artiste Break

Since we’re all about gratitude this week, I want to give a shoutout to my extraordinarily talented friend, Alexandra, who made me a custom Christmas card and birthday card for my dad. Her style is so lovely, distinct, and uniquely her. You can check out her work here — and I highly recommend you do! She’s in the best phase of art right now, which is just having fun with it and expressing yourself.

Mini Musings

No further notes. Just super thankful for a life spent largely outdoors. Check out that hip pop!

To Go Snacks

📰 My friend Henah sent me this article about men exaggerating their stories on Hinge and what it says about the male psyche. It’s hilarious and also super thought-provoking, the best combo

🎧 Yeah I did search for “gratitude playlist” in Spotfiy. What of it? It slaps.

📺 My mom and I watched Leave The World Behind on Netflix; despite mixed reviews, I loved it. A little creepy, a little insightful, and really really well produced.

I appreciate you all so much for coming along on this ride and being part of one of my favorite parts of my week. Spoiler alert: I am, in fact, subscribed to this newsletter from my personal gmail and seeing the sunflower emoji in my inbox first thing in the morning always makes me smile.

Thank you so much for opening, reading, replying, and helping me develop new, more interesting, more thoughtful ideas for this newsletter. I have a funny feeling the best is yet to come.

- McCall 🌻

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