About Kellie Schmitt

Controlled Risk

Jay Freedman once hiked 10 miles into the twisting, narrow crevices of a Utah slot canyon, where, 20 feet above, he could see tree branches deposited by a long-ago flash flood wedged into the high sandstone walls. “There’s no way out,” Freedman says. “You really follow the weather before you go in and make sure there’s no chance of rain.” The hike was a risk but a controlled one, which is what Freedman, 40, looks for. “I need to be in a situation where if I do everything right, I …