That one hits close to home. When I was about 20 yo my friend and I were almost killed in an avalanche.
It was an early spring slab climb, after a hard New England winter. Sunny, blue skies, unseasonably warm. As we hiked up to the mountain we had to traverse multiple debris fields with downed trees and burried approach trails. We finally found a clear area under a route, and started up. We were on our second pitch, first hanging belay when we heard it coming. Thankfully the edge missed us by maybe 20 feet. A tree dragged by the snow almost nailed my partner who was on lead. I got hit with a spattering of snow, and rocks, and ice, giving my helmet a good ring.
It's impossible to fully describe what came down the mountain. It's like standing on the highway shoulder as a tractor trailer whips by, but x100. It's loud, and fast, but also kinda slow because it just keeps coming down the mountain.
We left gear on the wall, and simultaneously repelled down as fast as we could. Made it out without a scratch.
Thing is, we should have never been out there. We were familiar with the risks, but after a long winter, with spring having stopped all the snow/ice sports, we were antsy to get out and climb. We walked through multiple debris fields looking for that "safe" route. We both knew better, but we fed off each other's energy and ended up taking a risk that we shouldn't have.
Yet, that same mentality also pushed us into some of the most spectacular outdoor moments in my life. They mention it in the article, but there is this idea that it's exceeding your limits recklessly is what gets you killed. But Backcountry sports are all about pushing your limits to do something fantastic that is fundamentally unsafe. The risk is inherent to the experience.
I think most serious rock climbers, base jumpers, mountaineering, big wave surfer, wing suit, etc. enthusiasts understand this. Every serious climber I've ever met has personally known someone who has either been terribly injured or killed. You can accept and/or mitigate the risk in these sports, but it's always going to be impossible to transfer.
As I've gotten older, I've made the choice to avoid that risk by leaving behind most of those sports. I'm torn how I'll react if my children decide to pick up these hobbies.