Before his passing, Keita had written of the Mirror Wall: “It sounds like the wall that will test humans’ mental strength.” Ryu-Shin rises through the center of that same wall, a line of granite and memory that carries his spirit forward.

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Ryu-Shin was Keita’s shakuhachi flute name, which he was given after years of dedication to the instrument. “It directly translates to ‘heart of the dragon,’” Takemi Suzuki wrote, Keita’s dear friend. “I believe that Keita’s spirit was there
climbing with you guys.”

Glad you're enjoying your Micro Puff, Joshua!

Our PowSlayer Freeride Kit was built for those ambitious souls, from skintrack to après and every over-the-dome powder turn between.

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Photos: Mathurin Vauthier and Joi Hoffmann

But whatever their home mountain, one shared passion unites them all: hunting the steepest and deepest pow, be it on exposed, 45-degree faces in Chamonix or in the depths of some secret Austrian valley.

“But instead of falling, it caught a draft and floated upward. Seán grabbed it out of the air and tucked it back in his pocket. ‘We still need you,’ he said.”

Read the full story at pat.ag/B/RyuShin

“The night before their summit bid, while arranging ropes at the anchor of their high point, the photo of Keita fell out of Seán’s pocket,” Meaghen Brown writes.

SeánVillanueva O’Driscoll, Pete Whittaker, Sean Warren, and Julia Cassou took a few days to think, then decided they would still go. "Keita would want us to go," said Seán. When they set out, they took a photo of Keita with them.

The journey and the destination and all that jazz.

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Photos: Garrett Grove, Jan Novak, Colin Wiseman

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Using partridge feathers from the head and neck of a good cape, you can tie soft-hackle patterns down to about size 24. Don’t worry if your fly doesn’t look perfect. With flymphs, it’s the action that counts.