Seattle Magazine — Charlotte Austin

SEATTLE MAGAZINE

“‘People don’t think of Mazama as an ice climbing destination,’ says local guide Mark Allen, ‘but this place actually has a very rich history of attracting some of the world’s strongest climbers. When the stars align it’s some of the best ice in the state.'”

— “Climb Ice,” Seattle Magazine. December 2014.

“In the city, we make safety decisions on behalf of the individual: How fast it is safe to drive on each road, whether to wear a seat belt, which substances are safe to put in our bodies and why. Machines have safety mechanisms, vaccinations are regulated, guns are controlled. We weigh aggregate risks against aggregate rewards, which inarguably creates a safer society. But very few of us know how it feels to be the only hand holding the rope that protects us against the fall.”

—”Chasing Liberty: One of the Deadliest Days On Mount Rainier,” Seattle Magazine, May 2015.

“I am folded into a boat that is bobbing down the Columbia River, paddling hard with the current. The muscles in my arms are tight from exertion; to my left and right are the steep rocky walls of the Columbia River Gorge. […] The sky is big and beautiful, and each twist in the river promises new adventure. We ignore our Gore-Tex gear and fiberglass boats and tell ourselves: we are the Corps of Discovery.”

— “Corps of Discovery: Kayaking the Columbia River,” Seattle Magazine. May 2015.

Misadventures

48° NORTH