Interstellar Stories - It Only Rains at Baker
When our creative director was asked to write a travel essay on Mt Baker by legendary ski photographer Mattias Fredriksson, he was conflicted. While his love for Mt Baker ran deep, the ski crush of the pandemic and other forces had created massive impacts on local ski culture and PNW ski areas were feeling the burden. The result of this soul searching was a honest, heartfelt essay detailing the realities turning our favorite mountain destinations into something many of us had long feared.
The response to the essay when it hit virtual print in Interstellar was overwhelmingly positive. Adventure Journal founder Steve Casimiro highlighted the piece and called the author a word slayer (a career highlight) while Fredriksson summarized the story as brilliant and honored us with his good words when it launched. The assignment also provided a chance to work again with longtime creative collaborator Grant Gunderson, who backdropped the story with a decade of images from Baker’s deepest days. From such a conflicted beginning, the outcome left us with a powerful realization that it is critical to keep writing from the heart, no matter the heart of the truth.
