The Offseason Chronicles, Part I

Here comes the posts from spring. Yes I know its summer... I'm slow at getting these things up.

Trip one of offseason was an unplanned exploratory mission into lake fork of the Beartooth mountains.  Driving out to red lodge with Chris and Chad, we turned up the road towards Whitetail mountain and quickly found that the late spring low elevation storm had drifted the road in over 10 miles from the trailhead.  Tacking that on to a 10+ mile approach, it was game over.  With the bags packed, days free, and still in the early hours of the morning, we quickly opened the map up on the hood, pointed at the next drainage over, and went for it.

Long story short we didn't find a lot of great skiing, but we found some rad mountains, and after some looooong walkin we did get up to were the snow was and get some skiing in.

Living Deliberately - For Kinley

     "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."  -Henry David Thoreau

    This is my favorite quote about why we love the mountains.  For my entire life being in the mountains with only the essential facts of life has taught me so much.  The mountains have given me independence, confidence, resourcefulness, self-actualization, and my best friends in the world.

    After 25 years of giving, they have taken.

    My father has been a volunteer ski patroller since before I was born.  For many of these years (as far back as i can remember) Kinley Adams was along side him and the patrol at Hoodoo mountain in the Oregon cascades.  Kinley was always a climber, skier, and mountaineer. He always shared his experiences with the ones he cared about.  He climbed big walls in Yosemite with his sons when they were in high school, and summited Denali with them after their college graduation.  He climbed and skied numerous cascade volcanoes with my father and many other members of ski patrol.  He climbed Hood and Rainier many times with old friends and planned to venture into the Himalaya soon.  Although Kinley was a multi-talented man (concert musician and respected dentist), the mountains were where he sought solace in the essential facts of life, and where he shared lessons with his friends and family.  He had a quiet confidence about him, one that comes from seeking challenge both physically and mentally in all aspects of life.

   On my recent trip to Oregon I went to see Kinley for some dental work.  My father and I were planning a trip to ski on Mt. Rainier the following week.  Kinley lit up as he told me how great it was that we made the time to go, how much my father had told him he was looking forward to it, and generally how great he thought it was that we could share the experience.  Kinley knew the bonding power of the mountains, and he certainly showed it that day.

   The next week my father and I went to ranier, spent three days skiing on the mountain sharing what has always brought us together, and headed back to our homes.  The following weekend Kinley left to climb Mt. Hood, which he has climbed countless times, via the Leuthold couloir route, which he had taken to the summit before.  He did not return.  After five days of searching in poor weather, and two more days via helicopter in clear weather, his body was found near the top of the Sandy glacier.

   Kinley lived deliberately, it does not undo the tragedy of his death, but it gives us an example to live by and a role model to forever respect.  I will continue to live by the lessons mountains can teach me, and do my best to keep Kinley's life alive.

I climb for Kinley.

 

My Father Doug, Kinley, Kinleys son Cameron, and Kinley's close friend Matt

Doug, Stephanie, and Kinley in the Oregon Cascades

Cameron, Kinley, Doug, and Matt on Mt. Ranier

Just ski down there and jump off something for cryin' out loud!

    Yurt skiing is one of the greatest things in the world.  Living in the relative lap of luxury miles into the backcountry.  Having huge alpine terrain out the front door of your warm, fully stocked wood fired yurt is miles ahead of the misery that is tent camping in the middle of winter.
    This year the Big Sky crew and I headed out to Bell lake for four days, and with favorable conditions in the bowls and down low got a lot of fun pillow and drop lines in, along with some bigger alpine skiing mixed in.
    This was such a rad crew to ski with that definitely pushes each other from various backgrounds, hence the tribute to the late Shane Mcconkey,

"Just ski down there and jump off something for cryin' out loud!"

The game of twelves

This December has two significant dates in it, the last date (for 89 years) of alliterate numerals: 12-12-12, and the end of the Mayan calender (or supposed end of the world, ooooh scary) 12-21-12.

The first of these dates seemed to not only make itself significant, but make the entire week leading up to it significant.  This is the deepest, best storm cycle i have skied in December. Ever.

It started thursday, when a northerly shift of the California jet-stream put a storm over us that dropped 12 inches, then 8 inches, then 12 again, and then it lifted with blue skies.  When it seemed all over, the arctic jetstream took an opposite shift, pushing mouisture in from Canada, and on the night of December 11th, it was poised.  With the snowpack still soft and deep from the early weekend, the forecast called for one to three inches.  When I awoke, there was six inches.  By the time I left the house it was snowing an inch an hour, at the end of the day it would be 20+ inches.  It Was On.

George, Andrew and I decided to forgo the pow rush at the resort, and instead stick to the original touring plan.  We were rewarded on Yellow Mountain with a strong snowpack that despite over 40" of storm snow in five days was stable enough to allow for uninhibited skiing.  This was officially the deepest December of my life,  and at the end of this week, my quads are toast and my smile is wide.  Cheers to everyone having a great season!!

Ever heard of cold smoke? Here's the Websters definition.

 

Snowy Walkabout

     Why go backpacking in October?  Why not?  Well, weather, for one...   ...but weather be damned, to the hills!!!!!

      Mark Davidson had the idea to traverse our home mountains (The Madison and Taylor-Hilgard Ranges) to fill some off season time, and when Renae and my schedules freed up for the second leg, he was nice enough to invite us along.

The Crew

Mr Mark Davidson

Miss Renae Counter

Yours Truly (despite lack of smile, stoke level was high)

       Heading from north to south,  Mark started at lava lake and spent a week passing along Table, Wilson, and Beehive ridgelines.  After the first week Renae and I joined up and we continued south, heading for cedar mountain, the sphinx, and then through the Taylor-Hilgards to Hebgen Lake.  After a beautiful sunny first day we awoke to some solid snow at cedar lake.  With a planned exit route heading over an 11,000 foot ridge, and a storm that wouldn't lift after two days, we were forced to take a long day down the Cedar Creek drainage at out to Ennis.  After a ride and a wonderful meal with gracious hosts in Ennis we stayed the night with a friend of Renae's and headed back out to the sphinx to tag back into the wrestling match.  Even with some continued storming and cold temps, we kept managing to catch just enough good luck to make it one day further, and with some ahead of schedule hustling we found ourselves at alp lakes.  The halo's around the sun finally caught us and after an awesome final night under the shadow of imp, we awoke to a rowdy snow storm winding up.  With a bow to the mountains we said adieu and headed over alp pass and down the sentinel creek drainage to the car.  We managed to only miss Hilgard basin and Avalanche lake, getting a rad adventure along the way and leaving a perfect long weekend loop for another time.  Getting a big, traversing trip like this through our home mountains is so great for realizing just how huge the beauty and potential is right out the back door.

Day 1 heading out to cedar from big sky, lone peak in the background

Mark topping out around 10,600 on the way to cedar lake

Mark descends into Cedar lake basin

taking a walk around the lake during the "clear weather"

The cedar lake outlet, with the dam from an old homestead

Evening light over cedar lake, fan mountain in the background

Cedar Falls, one of the tallest in Montana, starting its freezing cycle

Mark passing by the south face of the Sphinx

Hey Mr. Grizzly...

The south face of the Sphinx and the Helmet

Heading up the canyon from no mans lake

This day turned the stoke meter to 11, Mark working out the last bit of vert to the ridge

Our previous route looms behind as Renae climbs to the western crest of the Taylor Hilgards

Our "trail" on this day was an 11,000 foot ridgeline, crossing four peaks between no mans lake and nutters cathedral lakes

chilling with some hot drink in front of nutters cathedral peak, rest day afternoon activities included a lot of peak gazing

The north face of Imp Peak looms over a frozen nutters cathedral lake

Gazing into Alp lakes basin

East face of Imp over lower Alp lake

The moon sits above sentinel peak as the fire roars

Bouldering with a Deloriean

    I finally got some time this week to head out to cascade creek with Kevin and see the area he and a few others have been working on so hard.  I had to blink a couple of times on the trail to remind myself that it wasn't the doc with a pad in front of me. This new bouldering zone is the future of the area and well worth the Montana style full value approach.  The tacky steep gneiss boulders are so different than most of the other climbing in the state, and the really tough grades follow.

 Carpenter Boulder

 Tony giving a technique lesson

 Kevin hanging a couple holds on the beautiful project (Vreallyhard)

So far the project (V??) inspires a lot of contemplation and finger pain

Charlie launching a new dyno

Charlie sending "monkey knife fight (V9)" on his 4th go