Hoyer wears hiking boots or snowshoes as he hikes, carrying his ski boots in a backpack to which he also straps his skis. Not just any Joe Schmoe can do that, Josh admits. Hiking at 10,000 to 12,000 feet above sea level requires tremendous physical conditioning in itself, but then choosing a path down and navigating the challenges it presents including such obstacles as trees, rocks, dropoffs and sometimes chest-deep snow requires skiing expertise that it has taken Hoyer 20 years to acquire. He suspects that only about 15 to 20 percent of all skiers ever get the chance to do free skiing. And every year skiers who overestimate their ability die after slamming into trees, landing badly after a jump or misjudging avalanche danger.
Avalanches scare even the daredevils who ski the uncharted wilderness.
Unpacked, ungroomed snow faces are notoriously unstable. If the snow on a mountainside melts slightly during the day, refreezes and is covered by new snow the next day, the entire face is unstable. Skiers who value their lives carry avalanche beacons that broadcast locator signals to rescue crews. Those who don t usually die while the crews probe each inch of the mountainside looking for signs of life. Hoyer has spent the past five years arranging the rest of his life around his skiing and plans to continue doing so for the foreseeable future.