Aspen Stories

Stories from the Road
February 2, 2018
Snowmass, CO.

"He could hear the boulders bouncing by as he made his way from eddy to eddy. A bad move meant the Braldu River would have its way with him."

Andrew Embrick, M.D. was a bigger than life, Hemingway type character. After graduating from Harvard Medical School, he did a year-long stint on an Indian reservation providing treatment. Then he and his wife, also an M.D., settled in Valdez, Alaska. Within a short time, he became an internationally recognized expert in ice climbing and whitewater kayaking, which he learned from a book and trial and error runs with local friends.

He established many new ice climbing routes in Alaska and made numerous exploratory kayaking runs on Alaska's wild rivers. In the early 1980's he led a small group of kayakers to Pakistan, where they became the first group to successfully run navigable sections of the Class VI Braldu River.

Years later I hiked along this river for many miles to its inception from beneath the Baltoro Glacier. It was hard to believe that anyone could have paddled this twisting, torrent of raging water.

Andrew Embrick was generous with his care, advice, and equipment to the many adventurers who came to Valdez to climb and paddle. Profoundly moved by his time in Pakistan, he returned on a medical sabbatical years later. He hiked to remote villages and treated the local inhabitants, who rarely received medical care.

When he returned, he seemed quieter and more remote to his friends. He had laid out many cross-country ski trails around Valdez, and his constant confrontations with local snowmobilers resulted in his legal banishment from the trails.

Shortly thereafter he shot himself in the head with his 12 gauge shotgun. He was 53 years old. His suicide was hard to understand.

Vicki was taking care of her cold today and after one run on an icy trail, she skied in. I stayed out and found some groomed runs that were fun. At one point on Sheer Bliss, I was the only person on the trail. The sky was dark, and the wind was blowing. it was an eerie feeling.