new adventure

Well a lot has happened since I last posted. Lots of beers have been consumed, I've lost love and found it again for a moment, my old goals failed or forgotten. I've traded last years skis for this years fatter, rockered skis. I've moved to a new town in a 400$ van with a 1500$ hang glider on the roof in search of my American dream of skiing every day and getting paid to do it. I find myself in the Mormon/ski town of Driggs Idaho where the view of the Tetons and Grand Targhee resort sits well with me while I drink Coffee in anticipation of the next big storm. I already feel at home here, and the people who surround me have a similar vision. Last years snow fall was 529 inches which is two winters worth in Montana.

There is nothing stopping me from doing everything I want to do in life, and I need to appreciate how incredibly lucky I am to have real freedom. The "real world" is just a bad dream. It just seems easier to get out of bed in the morning when you're doing something you enjoy!

week in review

15 inch day at Snowbowl, sooo good!


payday poker night

Backside of the Snowbowl, steep and deep north facing. The Death Star Doppler radar on point six

Looking north

Hicks peak in the Mission mountains, 3200 ft of bliss. Thanks Bob and Karl

East Ridge paragliding

Went and flew the East Ridge in Butte on feb. 4th. Took about 2 hours to climb the 2700 ft from the designated landing zone which happen to be right behind my girlfriend's place of work.
Winds were forecast light out of the southwest and it was blowing right in on launch, pulled up the bag and immediately started going up with minimal forward penetration. Stepped on the speed bar and started creeping away from the hill still climbing at a good rate. The valley flow was trying to suck me into Elk Park which is a canyon to the north and a well known venturi. The air was pretty laminar but still exciting enough for me not to whip out the camera for some some shots of the lady as I passed by. Was obvious I wasn't going to make the LZ and Impress my lady with a tap dance landing, so I picked one that looked flat enough and focused on being aerodynamic enough to make it there in my flying jellyfish. I dropped down low enough to get into another wind gradient that I was moving at a less puckered speed and prepared for what turned out to be a downhill down wind landing with a nice crater. Wadded up my gear, cursed paragliding and started walking back to my car. Holly wasn't impressed.

Our lady of the Rockies, which is a mother Mary shrine for some rich guy's wife that died of cancer, erected in the late 80's early 90's. I thought it was an astronaut when I was a kid. They light it at night and you can see it for miles, pretty crazy looking.

The ramp of death which is out of commission at the moment. This was the original psycho launch built by Don Lapinski and some other hardcore pilots with brass balls. I flew off it once in my hang glider and it was pretty exciting, not much running room you just pull in and jump!

Into the famous Berkley pit

Styles in the penalty box

Beehive basin Fri the 13th

Holly and I could see the moguls on the tram from five miles away, so we drove past Big sky looking for some fresher turns in Beehive basin. A few miles of skinning and we were at the base of some pretty steep terrain with about 800 vertical to play with. The snow was crusty in spots and sugar in others depending on the sun exposure, which made the climb interesting and frustrating. In the end we were rewarded with the hero turns we deserved for our efforts.

Sula the backcountry ninja! She can't be stopped

Big sky back drop

Bell Lake Yurt Tobacco Roots 30th B-day

Turned 3o on January 31st and we had a yurt trip planned for the last few weeks. Turns out we were the second party to go in and the yurt had that new smell with all the ameneties except for sleeping bags, beer and food. The high wind had blown the new snow around into various places we had to discover.

The higher terrain was wind packed with a faccetted layer about a foot down. It was a bit scetchy but we were there and we couldn't help ski some of the better looking lines. Plus Jesse had an avalung so we sent him first! the snow held up and we made some pretty sweet turns. More than that the experience of being the Tobacco Roots hanging with friends made turning 30 feel pretty young.

Thanks to Eliza for doing all the ground work and getting the team pumped up! Was cool to meet and ski with Jesse and Carey, they were good backcountry allies and a hella good time to hang with. I was glad Holly was there most of all, she's such a strong skier and makes anything we do seem epic. I'll remember this one. This is actully my first blog entry. many more to follow I hope!

The kitchen

climbing to the base of Long chute on Long Mtn.

Jesse going up

looking down