10 for the 2010s
How do you sum up an entire decade? 10 full years of experiences broken down into just a few photos and sentences. For me personally, the 2010s were huge. From moving to Utah and discovering splitboarding to traveling the world and growing through personal triumphs and tragedies, a lot has changed in the last 10 years. The following 10 photos are the culmination of the last 3,652 days. One photo from each year, and the story behind it. Before you can move forward, you have to remember where you've been.
2010
2010 was a bit of a whirlwind. In the span of one week in May my Grandma Pfister passed away and I graduated high school. My original plan was to move to Utah that summer but decided against it. Instead I enrolled in UCF as a Mechanical Engineering major. I promptly dropped out. Most of my free time was spent Scuba Diving with my dad, usually in Key Largo. The sense of adventure and communication skills it gave me have since served me well in the backcountry.
2011
2011 was the best year of the decade for me. I was living in Utah, riding pow every day in what turned out to be the biggest winter ever in the Wasatch Mountains. I was back in school in the fall at the University of Utah. Now a Geography major. And the St. Louis Cardinals went from 10.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves on August 25 to World Series Champs (for the 11th time) on October 28th. The highlight of that magical year was being at Game 6. Down 7-5 in the bottom of the 9th, one strike away from losing the World Series. The unthinkable continued to happen. David Freese, the hometown kid, hits a triple off the right field wall. Game tied. Then in ther bottom of the 10th, again one strike away from losing the World Series. Lance Berkman singles to center to again tie the game.
Finally in the bottom of the 11th, David Freese ended the game with the biggest home run in franchise history. As the ball kept rising, the noise inside Busch Stadium kept growing louder and louder, to the point the stadium was physically shaking. The Series was tied. One night later it was won. Being there for that game with my family will be something I'll never forget.
2012
This is the couloir that started it all. My first backcountry tour came in April 2012 in the Snowbasin periphery. It's an obsession that's only continued to grow ever since.
2013
My splitboard missions started to become bigger and better in 2013, culminating in riding Tanner's in early May. I haven't revisited this classic since.
2014
Me and my first touring partner Jeff at the bottom of Wolverine Cirque after a fun day of chuting in early 2014. Jeff taught me pretty much everything I know about recreating safely in the backcountry. I'm forever thankful for him taking me under his wing and teaching me the right way to do things in the mountains.
2015
My proudest accomplishment of the decade was climbing and riding the 3rd highest peak in North America. Mexico's Pico de Orizaba. 18,491 ft above sea level. It's still the hardest thing I've ever done.
2016
My 2nd biggest accomplishment of the decade was graduating college. At this point, my sister had moved to Australia. It was special having her in SLC along with my parents for commencement. Go Utes!
2017
My favorite photo from the 2010s. Me and my dad went to the Solomon Islands to go Scuba Diving in the summer (winter?) of 2017. It was a powerful trip because it was the 75th anniversary of WWII. I took this photo of my dad over a downed Navy Hellcat on Father's Day. Nearly 75 years after his dad fought among these same islands for the Navy aboard the USS Morris. We finished the trip with a celebratory Sol Brew at 9am in my Grandpa Pfister's memory before hopping on a water taxi to the runway to catch our flight back to Australia.
2018
My sister got married in 2018. Her and Andy's wedding couldn't have been more perfect. I'm incredibly happy for both of them and can't wait to see their story continue to grow in the 2020s and beyond. Andy, if you're reading this, you really are a KOALA-ty addition to our family!
2019
Me in my element. In the mountains, in the snow. 2019 saw the official launch of Pfister Pfoto. I spent more time in the mountains than ever before. 2019 was a rough year overall. But even the worst years have silver linings. Winter was all time with 700 inches of snow. The new winter is off to a great start with already 200 inches of snow. The St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup for the first time, going from worst to first in the process. Sure, there were far too many rough patches this year. But I'm choosing to focus on the good things heading into the new year and new decade.
2019 is over. The 2010s are over. If you made it this far, thanks for looking back with me.
Full send, into the Future.
2010 was a bit of a whirlwind. In the span of one week in May my Grandma Pfister passed away and I graduated high school. My original plan was to move to Utah that summer but decided against it. Instead I enrolled in UCF as a Mechanical Engineering major. I promptly dropped out. Most of my free time was spent Scuba Diving with my dad, usually in Key Largo. The sense of adventure and communication skills it gave me have since served me well in the backcountry.
2011
2011 was the best year of the decade for me. I was living in Utah, riding pow every day in what turned out to be the biggest winter ever in the Wasatch Mountains. I was back in school in the fall at the University of Utah. Now a Geography major. And the St. Louis Cardinals went from 10.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves on August 25 to World Series Champs (for the 11th time) on October 28th. The highlight of that magical year was being at Game 6. Down 7-5 in the bottom of the 9th, one strike away from losing the World Series. The unthinkable continued to happen. David Freese, the hometown kid, hits a triple off the right field wall. Game tied. Then in ther bottom of the 10th, again one strike away from losing the World Series. Lance Berkman singles to center to again tie the game.
Finally in the bottom of the 11th, David Freese ended the game with the biggest home run in franchise history. As the ball kept rising, the noise inside Busch Stadium kept growing louder and louder, to the point the stadium was physically shaking. The Series was tied. One night later it was won. Being there for that game with my family will be something I'll never forget.
2012
This is the couloir that started it all. My first backcountry tour came in April 2012 in the Snowbasin periphery. It's an obsession that's only continued to grow ever since.
2013
My splitboard missions started to become bigger and better in 2013, culminating in riding Tanner's in early May. I haven't revisited this classic since.
2014
Me and my first touring partner Jeff at the bottom of Wolverine Cirque after a fun day of chuting in early 2014. Jeff taught me pretty much everything I know about recreating safely in the backcountry. I'm forever thankful for him taking me under his wing and teaching me the right way to do things in the mountains.
2015
My proudest accomplishment of the decade was climbing and riding the 3rd highest peak in North America. Mexico's Pico de Orizaba. 18,491 ft above sea level. It's still the hardest thing I've ever done.
2016
My 2nd biggest accomplishment of the decade was graduating college. At this point, my sister had moved to Australia. It was special having her in SLC along with my parents for commencement. Go Utes!
2017
My favorite photo from the 2010s. Me and my dad went to the Solomon Islands to go Scuba Diving in the summer (winter?) of 2017. It was a powerful trip because it was the 75th anniversary of WWII. I took this photo of my dad over a downed Navy Hellcat on Father's Day. Nearly 75 years after his dad fought among these same islands for the Navy aboard the USS Morris. We finished the trip with a celebratory Sol Brew at 9am in my Grandpa Pfister's memory before hopping on a water taxi to the runway to catch our flight back to Australia.
2018
My sister got married in 2018. Her and Andy's wedding couldn't have been more perfect. I'm incredibly happy for both of them and can't wait to see their story continue to grow in the 2020s and beyond. Andy, if you're reading this, you really are a KOALA-ty addition to our family!
2019
Me in my element. In the mountains, in the snow. 2019 saw the official launch of Pfister Pfoto. I spent more time in the mountains than ever before. 2019 was a rough year overall. But even the worst years have silver linings. Winter was all time with 700 inches of snow. The new winter is off to a great start with already 200 inches of snow. The St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup for the first time, going from worst to first in the process. Sure, there were far too many rough patches this year. But I'm choosing to focus on the good things heading into the new year and new decade.
2019 is over. The 2010s are over. If you made it this far, thanks for looking back with me.
Full send, into the Future.