Welcome to the 3rd Annual Backcountry Preparedness Giveaway, brought to you by Emily Tidwell + a handful of awesome brands. Enter to win a complete kit for your backcountry adventures, including both the gear + training you'll need to stay safe in the avalanche terrain.

 

This is Emily's 3rd Avy Season Preparedness Giveaway in honor of Jasper McGrath.

Jasper McGrath set out on a mission the morning of January 6th, 2010. A resident of Vail, Colorado, he rode off resort into an easily accessible and highly frequented area of side country. What he thought would be a quick and untracked pow lap ultimately became his last run. Alone and unknowingly unprepared in dangerous territory, Jasper triggered an avalanche that buried him under 3 1/2 feet of snow, only the tip of his snowboard visible through the debris. But to the world, Jasper had simply gone missing.

Emily was friends with Jasper in high school and spent many weekends with him and other friends, playing games and creating misadventures in the woods of Northern Minnesota. Jasper going missing was a formative memory for her.

Common for him to take off for days at a time, Jasper's brother didn't even realize he was gone. Without leaving a note or mention of what he had planned for the day, they searched friend's apartments and other parts of the resort, not where he laid. Jasper suffocated that morning of the 6th and was found 8 days later by patrol spotting his board from the gondola.

A memorial to Jasper now sits in the trees near where he was found.

As Emily began to travel in the backcountry herself, the brevity of Jasper's situation never left her mind. She gained her AIARE 1 and 2 certification and still diligently practices snow safety and group travel choice every season. Emily wants everyone to afford the education and equipment needed to play safely in the mountains.

More about Emily Tidwell

While drawing attention with her spunky hair and charismatic smile, Emily’s personality is kind and open hearted, which enables her to create images that emote a personal intimacy with her subjects. Her work feels both shy and inviting, drawing from her love of documentary style capture, a timid childhood, and hospitality from her Midwestern roots.

Emily captures event and campaign work with the same fervor, working with efficiency, collaborating, and thinking quickly on her feet. She has had the pleasure of sharing her talents with clients such as Red Bull, Patagonia, and Palisades Tahoe. Her work as a senior photographer is featured in the Mountain Gazette, and she has contributed to several other publications including FreeSkier, Beta, and The Ski Journal.