Winter
Ski season.
Ryan is on ski patrol, which includes avalanche control. Carly runs communications for the resort.
Photo and film by Carly Mangan, and wherever the two of us are this season.
Carly Mangan, photo and film
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Carly and Ryan.
Carly Mangan
Photographer and cinematographer. Head of communications at Kirkwood Mountain Resort, and freelance for outdoor brands, athletes and horse shows.
Ryan
Ski patroller at Kirkwood, going into a ninth winter, and an EMT. Guided rafts for years. Bought a sailboat this summer and learned to sail it.
Where we are, by season.
Winter has been Kirkwood for years. The rest of the year moves around.
Kirkwood, California
38.680° N 120.071° W
Spring
Snowmelt.
Spring is when the rivers come up. In 2023, a record snow year, Ryan spent it on the Kern, the Kaweah, the Merced, the Stanislaus, the Mokelumne and the American.
Summer
On the water.
For four summers that meant Hood River, with Ryan guiding the White Salmon for Wet Planet. Our trailer is still in storage in Washington. In 2026 it meant Ariel, a Bristol 32 yawl, around Buzzards Bay and over to Martha's Vineyard.
Between
Everything else.
When Carly took a year off college we spent it traveling: Nova Scotia, Maui, New Zealand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia and Albania. Since then, the Zambezi, Mexico and the Grand Canyon.
Photo and film.
Carly shoots for outdoor brands, athletes, resorts, river trips and horse shows.
Recent stories.
Water · 24 Jul 2026
We bought a boat
Ariel is a Bristol 32 yawl. Ryan bought her in July and taught himself to sail from YouTube.
Snow · 2 Apr 2026
Rime season at Kirkwood
Winters at Kirkwood: Ryan on ski patrol, Carly running communications for the resort.
Water · 23 Sep 2025
Sixteen people, one permit
Ryan won a Grand Canyon river permit in the lottery, so sixteen of us ran it ourselves: five rafts, three kayaks and a paddleboard.
Snow · 31 Mar 2023
Two runs, March 2023
Two runs off the ridge at Kirkwood.