NESP

Skiing takes up way too much of my time.
More death in the mountains in the past week.
Canada is still on my mind.
I didn't go to ski academy.
Started to submit photos today.
Ski camp is happening this weekend....

Snow Fairies Dancing

Friday-Saturday-Sunday.
Sleep outside, move yourself, bootpacking required.
No sleds, cats, and 'copters.
North-facing and wind-buffed.
The cornices are mitigated.
Leave your one-piece and clique at home...

Get Some

This is an open invitation.

"Live to Ski"- Thanks for the inspiration Steve Romeo.

Getting Out

With the amount of time I spend skiing and especially skiing in the mountains its behooves me to get out and taste the goods of other areas.  While we have extraordinary skiing opportunities here in Montana, I have been pining for a few years to get up to the interior mountains of British Columbia.  I am always one to opt for my own adventure via independence.  Plus, life is expensive enough as is.  So we were off to guide and provide for ourselves.  The amount of terrain available in ranges such as the Bugaboos, Monashees, Selkirks, and the myriads of other ranges blows the mind.  However, it seemed prudent to get a proper introduction on this initial foray.  So it was a simple choice:  Roger's Pass in the Selkirks.

Zana was able to get a week off of work and we made the trek up north through Golden to stay for 5 nights at the only roadside lodging at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park of British Columbia.  Needless to say, we were both geeked to get out and explore this terrain.  Being one to usually live simply it felt quite luxurious to be paying for accommodations in such a ski mecca.  Nice, overpriced, and oh so convenient lodging.  The Canucks and Euros making us poor Americanos feel like good ol' common folk. The car was packed with $250 of choice USA foods and produce, a large grip of elk, and of course all of our allotted beer quota.  We quickly settled in for the week.

We may be paupers, but we know how to move and shred in the hills.  Having a ski partner like Zana is priceless.  She can move in the mountains for 12 hours at the same pace morning through evening.  Plus, she is oh so very excellent at reigning in some of my more fantastical ideas while out and about.  While I may want to boot-up and ski every halfway decent looking north-facing couloir, it is not always the best choice for that particular day's ski.   But, if we agree that conditions are ripe and ready she can be counted on to remain safe and yet steadily move towards our goal.

After a mid-day check-in we put skis and skins on and went out the backdoor.  2000' feet of steep, over-skied, forest brought us to a variable run down through some beautiful old-growth fir-spruce-hemlock forest.  Nothing to really make you buzz, but fresh air and mountain views are always good medicine.  The views out into the Selkirks were eye-popping and created fertile grounds for tomorrow's travels.

The forecast was calling for two more days of good visibility followed by some smallish disturbances.  We were able to get up early the next day and bypassed permits and got going before 7.   So without to much more wordiness here are a sizable array of visual aids.

(note on photos:  The majority of these are untouched photos. In my photographic pursuits I find that by not overshooting scenes I can control and learn more about situations and light.  Too much digital manipulation takes away from the process for me.  I like to come back from a good day with only a few select photos that I deem worthy out of the gate as opposed to sitting at computer for days sorting through endless shots.  While this may limit my output it provides lasting insight.  To each their own.)

Good Morning.

Z Crossing a large run-out zone going up to Balu Pass, cool temps for these ranges at 15 Fahrenheit. 

Looking west into the Cougar drainage.  We would ski the glacier/moraines in the foreground in absolute no visibility a few days later.

Cougar Peak and Ridge....terrain is looking big.

Looking South over the Trans-Canada 1.

Only posing of the week.  Zana making the low-angle slope look good.

Crystallization.

Cheops Mountain in foreground with Mount Sir Donald in the back....naming peaks like these for obscure white dudes always seems odd.

Next Day.  Up the Loop Brook to the Bonney Glacier.  This area had been closed for several days to allow for bombing along the road.  Thus, fresh and settled pow.

Looking North at Cheops (across from mouth of Loop Brook)

Z followed by our gracious local guides on the second run off the Bonney Moraines.  At first they thought we were just some more punks from Revelstoke aimlessly following a skin track.  Not these cats.  Hooking up with locals (especially veteran ski patroller locals) usually has its benefits.  Our benefits were two 700 metre runs of outstanding variety and intensity.  The next day's tour follows the spine-like feature of the Lily Glacier lateral moraines seen on the northwest facing slope in the background.

Bonney Moraines.  Incredible 100-200 metre features perched above some super rowdy runs.

Looking at the toe of the Lily Glacier (above blue ice-fall).  The next day's tour would lead us onto the Lily, but snow and super poor visibility would stop us after a few hundred metres of roped uphill travel.

Fantastic touring going up to the Lily.

Day Five proceeds.

On the way from Revelstoke to Nelson.  Revelstoke looks like a place to live.  Not just a resort town filled with real estate agents.  It actually has history and affordable looking housing.  More than a transient community for sure.   Nelson was as expected.  Everyone feeling groovy.  Probably lots of surfers living in the mountains.  Multitudes of lost looking souls.  Organic everything.  Looks like a good place to take a trustfund and act like you are poor.  Like a Canadian version of Arcata, CA.  Been there, done it.  We jammed after a meal and headed to Kootenay Pass.

Camping at the top of the Kootenay Pass.  Neato terrain.  Kinda similar to Teton Pass, but with no Glory hike or Taylor Mountain.  Skied inside a complete wet-blizzard, after the second size 2 avalanche release we agreed to bust camp and head to the states.  Skiing with no visibility and releasing avalanches just is not as fun as it sounds.

Amazing week in the northland.  Skied 6 out of 7 days.  I actually was able to wear Zana down at the end.  Got her close to buying a lift ticket even.  The world has once again been expanded for me, we are so insignificant in the grand scheme of it all.  Love the feel of the mountains and forests up there.  I am constantly reminded of Zana's Canadian citizenship.  How enticing is that?  To have such big country to explore in the winter.  Plus, non-attachment to the disgusting political situation in the states and the mass consumerism of the populace.  I don't need a stinking empire.

Thanks for reading.

AW

Slow Ride

Looks like winter might actually get going here in the Northern Rockies of the US of A (discounting those lucky avalanche prone bastards in Cooke).  I have been genuflecting at my snow altar like a religious fanatic the past two months.  I have fully destroyed a pair of K2 Coombacks at Bridger plus that tasty digger in the Gallatins.  My ski tech advisers are advising me to buy better-built skis, or perhaps I should just ride groomers.

The Lines, The Lines
The last several weeks I have fully committed to the church of the Spanish Peaks.  Beautiful riding has been the norm.  Not in the mini-alpine zone of Beehive, but beyond.  Skied Blaze Mountain twice, toured to the north side of Gallatin Peak, skied peak 10,602 on 8 different occasions with a variety of good partners.  Pretty sure my feet are getting pissed at me.  The frostbite from last season seems to not be healed.  Every evening has been pain-filled with a good 10 minutes of the screaming barfies in my right big toe.  Sweet reminder of skiing all day in -15 Fahrenheit temps last year.

Keeping it Safe
Climbing is taking a rest at the moment.  But at least I ski like a skier and not like a climber.

I love the climbing game, but its rapid transformation into a total ego-driven, me, me sport has really put a bad taste on my palette.  Everywhere I look there is another climber posing down, trying to get noticed for 15 seconds.  Get over it everyone.  Putting your digits and limbs in some granite or sandstone crack or crimping on a dime edge for a pitch and then sitting on your duff for an hour to catch your breath and eat some shitty food is not that impressive.  Wiring routes after 15 goes.  That is so amazing...almost like an idiot savant counting cards.  On-sight it if you can, give 100 percent and after 5 tries maybe wait till you are good enough.  At least in skiing everyone has long ago realized that its a glam sport for the white privileged class.  Climbers are still running around acting like they are living in the Golden Age.  Get over it and get a life.  The most inspiring climbers to me are the ones capable of climbing hard while at the same time maintaining a life (i.e., relationships, children, being an athlete, work, ethical living).

We leave for British Columbia in a few days.  Backcountry skiing is on the menu for 10 days.  To say I am excited is an obvious understatement.  I am beyond stoked.  Do not worry I will bring my camera on every outing and try and actually post while traveling.  A little ego-driven mania for myself.  At least I will have Zana by my side keeping it real.  She really does not care what you do.

Peace to the homies and remember....."Today I didn't even have to use my A.K.  I got to say it was good day."

Seaching and Finding

Skiing and more skiing.  Gotta get out even if its not epic.  Been skiing in Yellowstone National Park a bit the past several weeks.  Good stuff, long flat approaches keep the riff-raff out.  Nice country.  Someday I am gonna make a POV movie about a slow approach.  Oh yeah, I would have to waste some money on the camera first.  Nobody Cares About Your POV.  Goes along with the Nobody Cares ethos.

New slogan idea:  "I Skin Steeper Than You Ski".  Zana thought it was stupid....literally.  Maybe she was hating the skin-track I was putting in at the moment.

Took the skis on a great walk into the Southern Madison from the west on Saturday.  After miles of hiking with minimal snow we agreed to turn around.   Saw a nice 200' water ice flow coming out of some limestone.  Drove on some neat country roads.  Was reminded of how you can drive out of Bozeman for 30 miles and enter Montana.

Felt really bad for taking up a day off of Zana's with my silly map-chasing ideas.

I have put in over 10 days already in the Northern Gallatins.  Even installed the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center Memorial Skin Track.  Good snow, but getting a little tired of the same treks.  Plus, the skiing is not making my legs tired. 

Went back to one of my favorite zones in the Spanish Peaks.  Success!  Got to do a semi-mega tour.  Booted 1600' of north-facing coolly and then did it again.  Skiing was good, stability was passable.  Did not have to look at Big Sky for long.  The light was amazing.  I did not bring a camera in the interests of going fast and light, plus it was my fifth day in the backcountry this week.  Thought I might start feeling tired.  Got some new ideas rocking for the next week of no snow.

A circumnavigation of Blaze Mountain is coming up soon.  

Cheers,

Reactivity

We are already a few weeks into the Earth's New Year.  Wow!  What can I say, I love skiing so much even a shortage of snowfall and a miserable snowpack cannot dampen my love.  I have been punching the clock up at Bridger much more regularly.  What a special place.  For only a few hundred dollars a year I get my own ski mountain.  Plus, I  like and can relate to the people who work and play there.  Hell Yes!  On the negative side I did not get to enslave any third-world children, cheat some middle class Americans out of their hard-earned money, get Botox, try to act in some ridiculous movie, or hold public office.  YES!!!

Ski that thing.


Multiple (3 last week) avalanche deaths in the region are causing grief for many.  As a surly traditionalist climber it still hurts me to see people who are loved and cherished pass even when its doing what they love.  For many of us, this is one of the choices we make every morning when we step out of the our boxes.  Skiing in the early winter snow environment is a challenging and sometimes intense situation.  This is not like skiing a beat out mountain in May.  Anyone (well, anyone who can ski) can do that.  This is about skiing.  Skiing some powder, getting up in the wilderness, looking at animal tracks, seeking new objectives, and mostly...having fun.  That said, the same part of me that enjoys the challenges of free-solo rock climbing relishes these times in the mountains.  Its me and Ma' Nature.  Its not about luck, its about listening to the earth, sky, and water on one hand.  On the other is knowing yourself and trusting your interpretation of the present, past, and future consequences of action.  When I step onto a rock face and climb, I do not want to die.  When push my skis over the lip, I want to live.  Live life.  Simple as that.  I cannot live it in a box or in front of one.  If I had chosen that life then I would probably be six feet under in one.    Some of us need to feel that darkness pulling at our heels.  Others do not.  We are still lucky enough to get to choose.

Alex Lowe Peak on 01/01/12


So I plod along, poking my poles to the ground, digging in the snow, laughing at the absurdity of it all.

Happy New Year,

Andrew

Sell it Out! (Warning: The Following is Montana-centric)

I have been reading lately.  Thank you, its been a big step for me.  Generally, I read whatever I can get my hands on.  It nice to try and absorb some fresh insights, perspectives and opinions.  Living in this culturally deficient area of the country can deprive one's mind of fresh nutrients for thought.  More and more though, I have noticed a complete lack of content in our precious area publications.  Its not that I expect any type of award-winning writing to come out of our local newspaper.  That is a lost cause.  From the rest we should expect a lot more.

Where are our good independent mags and papers?  Everything out there seems to be run by real estate agents.  No opinions, no viewpoints, no need to offend a potential advertiser.  The majority of the articles seem to be geared toward getting more people to move here, make everybody feel like a local, and in general tell the world how awesome it is to live in Montana.  I am waiting for the day when all my favorite backcountry ski zones can be described in detail and full color, every good fishing-hole a community event, where to bag a deer without trying.  Shoot, pretty soon we will see an article explaining where and how to go cut some firewood.   Wanna know where to go skiing?  Buy a map, go for a hike.  Live and learn.

One of the greatest things about Montana is that it is not like other places.  You can go rock-climbing here all day and not see another party.  There are numerous trails around that do not feel like glorified dog parks.  Backcountry skiing is still an adventure here, not just another sport to buy shiny gear for.  Is this changing?  Slowly but surely, all things do change.  The difference is that we do have a choice in the rates of change and the direction that it is headed.

In places like Big Sky, Montana (just up the road from Bozeman) it seems like change is on an accelerated track.  If there was ever a place that exemplified Montana, Big Sky is not it.  Carving a %1er community out of what was a prime mountain wilderness recovery zone is how its done in other places like Colorado, Tahoo, Whistler, Europe, etc.  So you visited Montana once on the suggestion of Warren Miller and thought it was so amazing you had to move here and promote it to all of your friends.  Damn, are you some kind of outlaw or something?  Thank you.  Everytime I go skiing into the Spanish Peaks I shutter inside.  I move faster to crest the ridge that will block that view.

I just want to read something interesting by a Bozemanite.  Is that so wrong?  There are plenty of former English majors out there who need work.  Lets get them motivated to use that degree.

Confronting Power

We are cruising into winter.  Woke up with a half-inch of snow encrusted around the South Cottonwood homestead.  The mountains are gathering their breath.  Wonderful!

Styles and morals in our recreational pursuits seem a little misguided.  While its all very good to hold opinions and values in everything we do, its just as important to remain flexible.  Like the reed of grass in the wind, bend but do not break.  At the end of the day these little self-guided adventures we go on in the mountains, deserts, and seas are merely a diversion from the reality of the world which surrounds us.  Painful as it is to admit, we are the lucky ones.

While recycling Ziploc bags until they fall apart is never going to solve the world's problems, at least it shows that an effort is being put forth.  Eating healthy foods without petrochemical additives is a sure way to prevent harm.  Whats the best health insurance plan on the market?  Exercise, low stress living, and eating natural/organic foods.  It is mind-boggling that society is searching for a cure for cancer, all the while the causes surround us.  This is not a debate.  Remain human.  Taking more drugs is only going to improve the health of the industrial drug/insurance beast.

As I hide here in Montana, the planes fly overhead burning their trails to more important places.  Kids are still willing to fight in NYC, London, Rome and elsewhere.  Power only responds to power.  What is power today?  Money.  Perhaps we should all pull-out of that little gambling casino they call the stock market.  Drop the money in your savings account.  That is force.   Don't buy that new car, another appliance, more clothes to replace the clothes that are not worn.  Growth for the sake of growth is a disease.

Put a stockbroker to work.  Hand them some shovels, a hammer, a pair of work boots.  Let them feel some true effort.  Learn to do something useful today.  Leveraging other humans futures is not a career...its a sociopathic illness.   These are beautiful times to be alive. 

White Squad II by Leon Golub


Live it!