Even though many of our neighbors are avoiding the Perseverance Trail during this avalanche season, I am letting Aki lead me onto an old wooden bridge that marks the start of the trail. We are here even though a heavy avalanche once covered the nearby road.  A few feet onto the bridge, my phone rang. I took the call since the man making it and I have known each other for 40 years. We shared many kayaking trips, hikes, and holiday meals. After learning that Aki and I were crossing the old bridge, my friend warmed me to watch out for avalanches. 

 “I remember that in early April 1972 a heavy avalanche plunged down Mt. Juneau, across Gold Creek, and over this trail,” he said. While my phone friend is telling his story, I watch a tiny avalanche fly down Mt. Juneau. That’s when I decide to turn around. On the way back to downtown, I run in to a man who had known me and my phone friend for a long time. He was working in a downtown school when the 72’ avalanche rushed down the mountain to cover Gold Creek and the road Aki and I had just left. In the minutes after the slide, the sunlight disappeared from Downtown Juneau, blocked by a thick blanket of fine snow.