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As a child in Utah, I grew up in the imposing shadow of Mount Olympus. This monstrous quartzite temple teased me day after day, urging me to climb it. For years, it was all I saw, standing tall beyond our backyard fence. Eventually, at 12, my friends and I conquered it. We snuck past several rattlesnakes, and I proudly silenced its relentless taunts. But there was only one problem. Once on top, I came to the unsettling reality that every mountain abutting and surrounding it was higher. Now they all laughed at me, in perfect harmony. This irony was an illusion I could not perceive from the lower perspectives of my youth. I had to see them up high, face to face. As I grew, I eventually beat them all, but only after learning a life-changing skill. I studied relentlessly every topographic map I could find, so I knew the lay of the land before I ever started a climb. I also became very proficient at technical climbing the many cliffside challenges in the nearby canyons. Skiing, hiking, and climbing became my life. In fact, I began working at Alta and Snowbird at 17 and continued until I was 43. In those years, I not only studied maps, but I made them. As I explored many of the abandoned underground silver mine workings below those friendly mountains, I mapped those tunnels, too. Even in my 70th year, I still make maps, using far newer technologies like GIS. Over the years, I became obsessed with conquering the steepled peak of every challenge. But the mountains of my life are very different now. They are far smaller and offer different challenges, but still, I do not relent in conquering them. Even though my journey seems more fixed now—I count my remaining years as blessings, much like falling autumn leaves. There are so many more lying on the path behind me than upon the trees ahead of me. Still—it is so beautiful, and I do not fear my future. Through my trials, I have discovered much more empathy in everyone else’s hardships. I have faith, because I am a good map maker, and I have a built-in compass that I will forever treasure. God bless you all in your journeys within these beautiful fall colors of time. Know that I am there with you! Your friend, Doug
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