Pictures

I finally got some time to get my pictures converted and finally have an efficient way to get it done. So here's a few good ones.
Here's a panorama I put together when I was home over Christmas.Here's a Bald Eagle sitting just south of Bozeman tearing into a deer carcass.
This was a nice late evening shot just outside of Bozeman. The sky is what's great on this shot. As you can tell I exposed for the sky and left the farm in the distance a little dark. This is what I was going for to show the highlights in the sky in what we all like to call BIG SKY COUNTRY!!

This is a nice area about half an hour east of Bozeman. There's a couple good alpine climbs I'm going to do around here this summer. So you should be seeing a few more from around this area soon. I liked this shot because it has good color and you can feel yourself being drawn in to the mountains in this somewhat ominous landscape.

This is going down Gallatin Canyon towards Big Sky. There was a nice day one weekend and since I had to study for a little while that day I decided to take a little time off and get a few pictures. I just happened upon this river going through the canyon and got some good shots. As you can tell I enjoy simple shots and this is definitely one of them.

This is just north of Bridger Bowl. There's a few areas right around this I skied at this winter. There's also a few to the right of this area that look glorious. Might have to scope them out since it's still snowing here in Bozeman. I couldn't pass up putting this image in because it has simplicity in a complex landscape and a gloriously blue sky.

I'll be going to go climb Devil's Tower in Wyoming on May 8th through the 11th, so check back a few days after that and I should have some more pictures up and a quick trip report.

Long Time

It has been quite a while since I last posted anything because 1) I'm lazy and 2) I haven't had time to get on any good trips. But, I will fill everyone in on what I've been up to.
First and foremost I've been spending tons of time at my lovely office. To answer questions right away: yes I do have an office and yes there's a sweet chalkboard on one whole side of the office. Life is pretty good when you've got your own 10 foot chalkboard.
Besides taking tests and studying I had the joy of going to Aaron Helmers' wedding in Seattle, Washington. It was on the 22nd of March and I spent Thursday through Sunday there. I thought I might be lonely because I was one of three people invited from high school, but after I saw Aaron's family at the hotel, in classic wedding form, drinking did commence. I don't think anyone got too drunk, but we felt good, had good conversation and enjoyed the short vacation. I'm going to try to give you all a sense of what the wedding was like but truthfully it was too good to describe. And just to tell you up front: I forgot my camera. I know, i'm a regular genius sometimes.
So his wedding was outside of Seattle proper and in a suburb northeast of Seattle. It was on a private golf course on top of a hill... but this small hill gave us a sight of downtown Seattle and a great view of the Olympic Mountains in Olympic National Park to the west. It was amazing. The best part was that I could see this from where I was standing as one of the Groomsman. After the wedding a few people asked me what I was looking at. Of course I told them the truth, because really that's what everyone would expect from me. (don't worry Aaron I still had my eye on you most of the time) After the wedding there was the dinner at which point I ate one of the best meals of my life! The food was ridiculously good. But I didn't want to fill up on food because you know.... there was free booze. Anyway, the whole trip ended up being amazing to see Aaron, his family, and a few long lost friends (Loy and Leah).
My next adventure wasn't an adventure at all. I don't have any pics because I was by myself.... sorry. But I can tell you it was one of the best ski days possible. It is now April and we should be in spring skiing time right? No. I went out last weekend and was greeted by knee deep snow with some waist deep in areas. I was one of the first chairs up at Big Sky and was rewarded exponentially. I hadn't even crossed someone's tracks until about 11:00 am. It was absolutely amazing! Truthfully I wasn't expecting anything like it. I had kind of come to terms that the ski season was over and I was ready to move on to climbing, biking, and other summer activities. But mother nature was not having it. Apparently other people were done with the ski season too because I was one of the very few people on the hill that day. A Saturday nonetheless. Just ridiculous. Even at the end of the day I was still getting fresh tracks through the trees. Good stuff.
Well, I think that about catches you up. I've got some pictures I've been meaning to put up, so check back in a week or two and I should have those ready to go. I go out every once in a while and get some shots of the area with my sweet Canon 40D. It's amazing in case you were wondering. One thing I miss though is the darkroom. I loved developing photos and being hands on with my pictures. Now, I sit in front of my computer and adjust some things and then convert it from RAW to JPEG. It's really not fun. Maybe I'll get used to it as I use it more, but that day isn't coming soon. So as soon as I get efficient at it, I'll be posting more. Especially once the summer rolls around. I've got an amazing trip lined up for Utah... all of Utah. Anyone who cares to join just let me know....

Big Sky

I've got a good story here for ya. I manage to do this every year, it's usually a different body part every year. Here we go...
I hit a tree while skiing.
See, wasn't that a good story? Every year I manage to hit a tree somehow. It's quite absurd, but I always manage to get it. It's just standing there, not moving, and then I come along and hit it. It's quite the spectacle. Last year I hit one basically with my leg. It was nothing glorious, I just lost control and went right for it. The year before that I dropped a cliff, hit a rut, and started going head over heels down the hill. When I was flipping over once I saw a tree ahead of me, then the next time I flipped over I didn't see it so I thought I was alright. Well the next time I flipped around I wrapped myself right around the tree. I laid there for a couple minutes because I basically hit my left hip against the tree and I could feel it was swelling already. It turned out to be alright, but definitely hurt for a few days.
I wish I had as good of a story for this year's, but I don't. It was about the dumbest thing I could do. So there I was going down some moguls amongst some trees and I must have hit the mogul hard, my right ski popped off and I went headfirst into a tiny 3 foot tree! I know, I wish I had a better story too, but I don't. I rolled down the hill a little ways and had my friends come check me out to make sure I wasn't bleeding too bad before I got up (I didn't want blood all over my jacket). It turns out my face is just a little bit swollen and just a little bloody.
You want to know the worst thing about all of this? I just shaved off my beard. My beard probably could have saved my face. I mean the thing had been growing for almost four months. It was looking pretty good. Well not really good, it actually looked pretty bad; but I liked it.
Anyways, that picture is from when I got home later that night. And just so you all know, I did finish the day skiing. What else would I do?

Bridger Skiing II

I've been spending my weekends skiing at least one day of the weekend. And normally I manage to get one resort day and one backcountry day. Last weekend was a huge exception.
Tom and I made our way into the northern Bridger Range again. We ended up going out on Saturday which turned out to be a bluebird day! While we were skinning up, we noticed a little chute pretty far north of where we were. It was directly across this amazing little valley across the ridge from where we were. Tom and I took some pictures of it, skied some other runs for the day, but couldn't get this thing out of our head! For those of you who have never skied with me, I'm a nut about skiing chutes. They've got to be the most aesthetic lines to ski. They look amazing, present great challenges and they can be all shapes and sizes.
Just last year, I had just started skiing again. This was after 12 years of snowboarding. As it turns out, I picked up skiing pretty well. My first two months of skiing had passed by and I was sitting on top of the Big Couloir at Big Sky Montana with Ryan. I don't have any pictures of this thing, but it's about 50 degrees steep and dog legs about halfway down. This thing is nothing short of amazing. I never thought I'd be good enough to ski something like this, but there I was. Ryan said he had never seen me with that big of a smile before. I would have to agree. We skied the line, and at the bottom I made it my goal to search out these amazing features.
Now, back to the Bridgers...
Later Saturday night, Tom came upstairs, pounded on my door and told me we were going to ski this thing on Sunday. Well, let's face it, I can be talked into anything that sweet pretty quick. So I agreed and we made our way up the next morning.
This thing was unreal! Avalanche danger was moderate (which was pretty low considering the recent snows and wind), so we made our way up the spine to the ridge proper where we would start hiking north. It felt like where we were looking kept getting farther away. This thing was taking forever to actually get to. Along the ridge, we also saw a few more lines we need to get back to, but I'll save that for another day. Once we actually made it to the top of what we learned is called the Pipeline, we dug a pit and checked out the snow conditions. The top layer was a little weak, but a pretty small windblown slab. Farther down, there was an even weaker layer, but it was surprisingly solid. I know this is an oxymoron, but that's how it goes. Knowing that we weren't going to be backing away from this thing, we decided to go for it, and I had to call the first pitch...
We stood on top making plans of how to drop in and where to separate the pitches. Looking down a steep tight line was making me so giddy I just couldn't wait any longer... so I dropped in. The initial line is about a ski length wide. So there I am just hopping down this initial 30 feet or so until I get to a tree, make a turn and oh man does it feel good! I'm looking down at another tight area, so I only get about three turns in before I'm at another tight section. I sidestep a little bit down this icy section and make a jump turn right around a boulder where I would wait for Tom.
I look up and give him a wave so he knows he can drop in. He makes his way down basically the same as I do and we meet up by this boulder. Now we're looking at the wider (still not too wide) section of the run and it's looking good. Good snow, good turns, and a few rocks to watch out for. I give him a nod and I'm off again. My first turn was a little fumbled (don't worry Tom caught it on camera) but as I got used to the variable snow, the turns were amazing. My legs were starting to burn at the bottom and I was saddened and happy that the run was over. I was beat sitting at the bottom and we still had a long ways to get back to the car. I waited at the bottom and watched Tom tear the thing up! It was even good to watch someone else ski it! I'm pretty sure it doesn't get better than that. Anytime you can get stoked watching someone else do something, you know you're in heaven.
We make it down, throw the skins on to get out of the basin, and ski back down to the cars. I know what you're thinking right now... "only one run? You did all that for one run?!" Yeah. We did all that hiking and skinning for one run. To say the least, this thing was worth it!
After getting back, we grab a beer and some food to celebrate the descent. Truly one of the high points of my skiing career. Another one of these days we'll make it back to ski a few of the other lines we spotted... I hope.
Well, I'm all caught up on the posts. So now I'm going to be keeping up with my future endeavors, so check back when you get a chance.

Bridger Skiing I

This winter has been one for the record books! We've had amazing snow which has actually been consistent. This good old story is just from three weeks ago...
Mike and I were itching for some backcountry skiing because... well... we got over 80 inches in the mountains in one week! It has been freaking amazing! Luckily I've been sitting in my office all week watching it drop everywhere except my head. First off, I don't even want to hear about how studying is more important than skiing. We really need to figure out to whom is studying more important? I've already got one degree, another probably isn't a necessity...
Well, getting back to the good stuff on hand is the snow. I just started backcountry skiing this year, which has been lucky enough to be above the national average for avalanche deaths. Sorry Mom and Dad, and especially you Sister! I didn't plan it this way... stupid snow. errr wait... i love the snow, nevermind. On the plus side though, I'm always safe, don't worry (read: acceptable risk). So now that I have a touring set up, I've been getting into the backcountry here and there and now we're getting out when there is a ton of snow on the ground.
Mike and I wake up around 6:00 am and I meet him at his house at 7:00 am. Bright and early to get the fresh tracks! We're off and skinning up the northern part of the Bridger Range and thinking about how ridiculous all of the snow is. It takes about three hours to get to the top when we actually take our skins off our skis, grab a bite to eat and start skiing down. I can't tell you how excited I was to be skiing some of this stuff. It was absolutely insane! I took the first line and the snow was well over my waist. I wait about halfway down the slope looking into a tight chute that apparently goes off a cliff at the bottom of the chute. Probably not a good idea. So Mike and I make our way around this formation and get to the good stuff again. I'm watching Mike take turns down the next line and it's well over his head! He has to stop every now and then to keep the snow from suffocating him! Next I went down and it was actually hard to ski the run. It takes so much effort to make turns and we're essentially just plowing through the snow, not really skiing it. I could care less because this is the deepest snow I've skied in my life!
Well, we get to the bottom, skin back up and make one more run all the way down to the car. A glorious day!
I keep hoping another snow like this will happen again.