Gage Photography Blogspot

Maria and Mark at Story Mansion - Bozeman Wedding Photographer - Bozeman Wedding Photographers - Montana Wedding Photographer

2011-11-08T10:37:00.000-08:00

Maria and Mark were married at the Story Mansion in September. They had a very creative and special ceremony on a beautiful Saturday morning. There was then a delicious brunch by Vera Fare and music by Weatherwood. The flowers were done by Labellum and were beautiful on the tables and in the bouquet that Maria carried. Since this wedding was earlier in the day we had time to go shoot portraits at Pete's Hill, Story Mill and at Rockford Coffee. I had a lot of fun working with these two and love how the photos turned out.

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Katie and Ben at Rainbow Ranch - Rainbow Ranch Wedding Photographer - Bozeman Wedding Photographer

2011-11-06T13:41:00.000-08:00

Katie and Ben are an awesome couple that came out from Oregon for their wedding this September. They had me shoot their reception and party that took place at the Rainbow Ranch near Big Sky.

The evening was perfect and the Rainbow Ranch did an amazing job with the event and the food. DJAJ was spinning tracks and kept the crowd dancing and the party going late into the night.

Danielle and Slade at Gallatin Gateway - Gallatin Gateway Wedding Photographer - Bozeman Wedding Photography

2011-10-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

Getting caught up on some blogging and am going to be adding some more selected weddings from this summer. Danielle and Slade has a wonderful wedding at Gallatin Gateway last August. It was a gorgeous sunny day and the wedding went very well. Everyone at the event had a wonderful time and it was a wedding day to remember.

Cassie and Soren at Roy's Barn - Roy's Barn Wedding Photographer - Bozeman Montana Wedding Photographer

2011-08-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

Working with Cassie, Soren and all their great guests at Roy's Barn was a fantastic time. There were some intermittent thunder storms, beautiful sunshine, a lovely rainbow and a colorful sunset to top off the evening. Everyone had a great time and I witnessed my first virtual double-dutch jump roping session. Thank you both for letting me be part of your day.

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Meredith and Cody at Springhill Pavilion - Springhill Pavillion Wedding Photographer - Bozeman Wedding Photographer

2011-08-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

Meredith and Cody are some of our great friends and I was honored to photograph their wedding. It was a beautiful day and all the great folks at this event made for an unforgettable wedding.

Bozeman Wedding Photographer - Springhill Pavilion Wedding Photographer - Bozeman Wedding Photography - Montana Wedding Photographer - Bozeman Wedding Photo - Wedding Photographer - Josh Gage - Gage Photography

Katie and Jeff at The Woodlands - Woodlands Wedding Photographer - Bozeman Wedding Photographer

2011-08-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

Katie and Jeff were a great couple to work with earlier this summer. Their wedding was timed impeccably with thunderstorms scooting around the venue. Things went great and I will let the photos speak for themselves

Spring

2011-06-13T15:29:00.000-07:00

Winter

2011-06-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

I am trying to get back on the blog. If I am going to have it on the web I might as well update it..

Couple o' winter shots..

The Hand

2011-02-07T06:47:00.000-08:00

Ryan and I set out on Saturday morning with a leisurely 730 start intending on skiing near/on the Hand in the Absaroka range. The hand is an intriguing feature descending from a northerly sub ridge of Mount Delano. Accessing the Hand is difficult and proved to be troublesome and challenging. Situated 3400' above a drainage with no public access, some trickery and old fashioned suffering was in order to access this feature.

After snowfall the evening before, clouds break at our starting point

We left the car by 830 climbing up and out of Suce Creek and begining our first descent into the North Fork of Deep Creek. We joked about the name, Deep Creek as we got deeper and deeper into the wilds. Soon after entering this drainage, we got our first view of the Hand.

Ryan scopes the ascent for the hand. "I guess we'll just skin up that forested hill-slope"

We did just that, skinning up the forested slopes that butressed the feature. The skinning was heinous for many hours with faceted, junky snow making each step challenging.

"Please dont tell me we have to ski down 3k of this!"

We arrived at the top of the hand by 3pm or so in a whiteout. Looking down the face which required intricate route finding and serious consequences we weighed the options. The snowpack was suspect and our line of descent questionable. We decided to opt for the safe yet heinous option. Skiing back down the skin track through the forest of despair. We had a few good powder turns in the forest but the deadfall down low was pure misery. I cannot wait to go back! We'll wait a little longer for this one to shape up in spring conditions. See an excellent write up on Turiano's site at this LINK

Tauntingly, the clouds lift and the Hand shows itself as we retreat

Yucatan (2 of 2)

2011-02-07T06:27:00.000-08:00

A second small dose of photos from the Yucatan

The chef

Villadolid

Swimming in a cenote

Chichen Itza

Yucatan (1 of 2)

2011-02-07T06:24:00.000-08:00

And I spent about 10 days traveling around the Yucatan in January. We spent time in cities and beaches and visited some excellent ruins. I'll let these photos speak for themselves

Hat maker in Becal

Off the coast of Celestun

Market in Merida

Our waiter

Merida

Turkey tacos.... Soooo goood..

Buenos Dias!

2011-01-06T09:21:00.000-08:00

Off the Mexico tomorrow to explore the Yucatan for 10 days. My toes still dont have much sensation after last weekend's skiing and I think it'll feel weird to have 'em in flip-flops tomorrow evening! In the meantime we got a quick dawn patrol in this morning. The light never really came around but it was a great way to spend a morning before work.

Waiting for the light to shine through. It was a little skied out and bumps in the dark are hard

Leppi drops in taking advantage of the creamy snow that fell yesterday

Science chute had not seen much traffic and was indeed powdery

Sleepy self-portrait. Gotta get to work by 9

Grey but deep

2011-01-03T10:20:00.000-08:00

Josh, Josh and I had a fine tour in the Absaroka Range on Sunday (seriously we had a Josh^3 situation).

The skies never really broke but we had excellent and deep powder runs.

Fleeting moment of sun before dropping into some powder skiing

Josh A. indulging in the goods

Josh K. taking his turn

The shortest day?

2010-12-21T19:47:00.000-08:00

Happy winter solstice... It's cold here but Chris and I were able to catch the last rays of the shortest day on a little run up the M. Dogs are always in the way... Or are they?

11am start on Sunday proved extremely productive. Things are really steep if you look in the right places.

Chasing the rays all the way back to the Filler. They'll be more light tomorrow!

Grey December

2010-12-13T06:29:00.000-08:00

I guess its actually been pretty sunny this December. Not to mention the abundance of snowfall we've had. Yesterday Ryan, Mark and I did some skiing in the Blackmore area, running laps and getting the legs solid for the season that awaits. Conditions were variable but there was some soft snow to be had in the lees of the 60mph gusts. A little grey but isnt that how December is supposed to be?

Ryan on Blackmore's easterly ridge.

Mark indulging in some powder in the trees

Looking off into South Cottonwood

Backcountry Magazine

2010-11-29T10:04:00.000-08:00

Had a full page shot in Backcountry Magazine.. Psyched!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-27T10:17:00.000-08:00

Chris making his way back to his animal

Lots of snow in the mountains after the cold snap

Chris hauling the bruiser back out

What a day!

2010 Weddings - Part II

2010-11-21T18:22:00.000-08:00

Hannah and Chase at Chico

First Dance

Après wedding at the Chico Bar

Lots of Kilts

Tunnel of bells on the way out

Alice and Reuben at the Story Mansion

Killer shoes for some Bike Polo

Cake to be cut

Bike Polo Action

Stand off between bridge and groom

Urban Bozeman engagement session

Couple o' Fall Photos

2010-11-11T16:47:00.000-08:00

St. Petersburg

2010-10-16T10:33:00.000-07:00

Spent the last week at a cartography conference in Saint Petersburg, Florida. The conference was great and I learned a lot of techy map ideas and techniques. I had a little time to sample some of the delicious foods in Saint Pete and walk around the city a bit.

We ran into these BBQ masters one evening where they'd setup in a parking lot. They cooked their ribs all day, achieving optimal savor. Apparently they made a killing on the bar crowd when they left each evening.

Went to this restarant, Nitally's for dinner one evening. I was pretty intrigued to try their food considering they classified it as tex-mex. The food was incredible and we sampled mexican sushi, chorizo pad thai and a mole curry. Yum!

Chorizo Pad Thai

The trolly stopped running after we'd went out for dinner and rode the city bus back downtown. Always some interesting characters using public transport at this time of night.

Can monkey's swim? I am not sure but they were a little creepy in this art exhibit I saw on Central Street.

Mount Moran

2010-08-20T15:29:00.000-07:00

Ryan Minton and I made a quick trip to Mount Moran in April. We went during what was a very warm spell after some large snowfall the week before. We were attempting to ski the Sickle Couloir on Mount Moran. We left camp around 4am and once in well established in the couloir, realized it was time to turn around. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Ryan towing our load across Jackson Lake. We were a l o n g way from shore

After we retreated, things really started moving. We were glad we got down when we did.

Ryan enjoying a few nice, corny turns on the way back down

Some random summer shots....

2010-08-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

Ben at Garnet

The coolest of trees, whitebark pine.. sad to see this one is no more

Jamie nearing the drop-in to S. Cottonwood

Grains in the valley..

- Summer Weddings 2010 - one

2010-08-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

I've had such a great time working weddings this summer. The couples I've worked with have been so friendly and a joy to shoot. Here's a couple image from some selected weddings.

Mike and Shoni in the North Bridgers

Darby's dress..

All-out dance party...


Jason and Ashley

Skiing at Emigrant Peak, Montana

2010-03-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

After Ben and I were thwarted by Emigrant Peak the previous week, Jamie, Hans and I decided to go back and give it another go. Ben and I had run into socked-in conditions with very poor visibility. Considering we'd intended to ski a north facing shot neither of us had descended, we decided to turn back that day. The approach involved a good deal of walking along an old mining road before we headed up to the base of Emigrant.

The three us us got into the upper Basin and spent some time deciding which ascent path we'd take. There were many options, all of which has dangerous portions. We option for a saddle between Emigrant Peak and a sub peak to the Sorth. We had to cross a couple suspect sections before we gained a firm snow spine that allowed for excellent boot-packing to the saddle. At the top of the spine we had to dig a tunnel through the cornice to gain the ridgetop. There are many great looking ski descents off the top of Emigrant peak but the lack of snow swayed us to ski a different aspect.

We decided to leave the skis at the saddle and bag the summit of Emigrant. It was gorgeous on top with stellar views of the incredible peaks surrounding the area. There are number of great looking lines off of the summit but a lack of recent snowfall and some HUGE wet-slides swayed us to seek a different aspect.

After sitting on the summit for a bit headed back to the saddle and shouldered our skis. We continued upwards to the peak just South of Emigrant scoping a myriad of north facing powder shots. We opted for the most obvious couloir on the face, a north-facing 1k' beauty. The snow had held up remarkably well in the couloir and we enjoyed creamy powder turn back down. One of the things I really enjoy about skiing up here is the length of the run back down to the mining road. After the couloir we had almost 4,000' of skiing until we got to the road. Conditions were variable but there were little stashed of powder on the way down. It was very nice to summit a peak this weekend and I hope the snow shapes up soon. Its almost April and we've got a lot of skiing to do still!

"skiing" the Tusk, Elephant Mountain, Montana

2010-03-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Ryan, Chris and I headed up to the Blackmore area on Saturday with hopes of skiing something interesting. With the way conditions have been lately, we opted for a wind-scoured, grass-lined gully, hoping it would lend safer conditions and a neat adventure. Ryan had scoped out a possible ski descent above the Tusk on Elephant Mountain, in the Blackmore cirque.

It was a gorgeous day for a ski tour and there were many other groups skiing off of Mount Blackmore. The snow over there looked nice and powdery but we continued on with our original plan, soon summiting Elephant and taking in the view for a bit. We saw a very large group of goats as we traversed over to the entrance of the tusk. We'd brought a rope as we knew there'd be a couple ice steps to negotiate.

The first section of snow was just too short and peppered with rocks to make for a worth ski. We did a quick rap of a conglomerate blob, and were able to make a few turns in the next snowpatch. There were rock just under the snow surface making for interesting jump turns. We soon found a traverse that would allow us to avoid the ice tusk and make our way onto the exit fan. There the snow was wind affected and scary. A perfect example of a downfall to approaching your intended descent line from above, you cant assess conditions until you are right upon them. We made a gentle exit off the fan and into the safety of a rock alcove before embarking on the kamikaze back to the car. All in all a great day with some attempted skiing and some interesting descending.

Skiing at Bell Lake, Tobacco Root Mountains

2010-02-21T12:24:00.000-08:00

We spent five days last weekend skiing around the Bell Lake Yurt in the Tobacco Root Mountains. Anne and I got there for a couple days before the rest of the group and put skin trails in and explored the terrain. The first day we were there it snowed 8 inches, filling everything in and making for excellent ski conditions. That night, I woke up to split some wood and opened the door of the yurt. There was another 16 inches that fell during the night. After getting the stove stoked, I had a hard time falling back asleep knowing how great the skiing was going to be.

Anne and I got an early start and were able to get many good turns in before the group arrived later that day. We dug pits on north, south and westerly facing slopes. Southern slopes were made up of faceted junky ice crust snow. The other aspects were reasonably stable and we were able to get many good laps in before the group arrived.

Once everyone arrived, it was time for some big ski days. We broke into groups and skied a myriad of lines ranging from 2,000 foot powder lines to steep, tight couloirs. There was something for everyone in the Bell Lake area and the skiing was incredible. One week earlier and we may have had awful conditions.

Ryan, Cody and I boot packed up to ski one of the longer, NW facing powder lines that dropped onto Bell Lake. We topped out during some of the last rays of the day and hung out for a bit waiting for the light to mature.

It was worth the wait in the end. We all made a memorable descent through the orange rays of sunset back to the lake. Great for photos and incredible for skiing. The snow was like creamy, whipped butter making for hero turns and speed driven by confidence.

We were well fed and and had ample supplies around the yurt for good times well into the night. Well, maybe not so much. We stayed up 'till 1030 one night and that seemed late. Thanks to Kevin and Andy at MBA for all their hard work getting this yurt set up. We're coming back in May for some spring skiing so I'll make a follow up post. This weekend I've been relaxing.. Building a bed and skate skiing.. Maybe some more downhill adventures next week..

Skiing the Banana Couloir on Ross Peak

2010-01-31T17:30:00.000-08:00

We took the long ridgeline traverse over to Ross Peak yesterday. The sun was shining when we started heading up the Ramp and it turned out to be a glorious day to be in the high country.

It took a couple hours of cornice stomping along the crest of the Bridgers until we arrived at Ross Pass. When I was coming through the forest mobbing down hill with my skin on, I got whipped/stabbed in the face by a small stick. At first it didnt seem like much but when I got down to the pass, I was thoroughly impaled. The stick had stabbed me, broken off and was left embedded in my cheek. Luckily it was a minor flesh wound and the group carried on. We soon gained the entrance to the Banana Couloir on Ross Peak, a mellow 1500 couloir/gulley. Snow conditions were highly variable with bulletproof wind-blown, powder, chunder and sun crust.

We gained Ross Pass on the exit and climbed to the top of the Playground before dropping back into HoleIntheWall, over into Wolverine and Back Down Bradley's. Avalanche conditions are a pretty mixed bag in the mountains of Southwest Montana at this time and it felt great to get out nonetheless.
Nuka the dog had an excellent day and probable put in double the elevation and distance we all did.

Until next weekend....

Skiing at Bighorn Peak, MT

2010-01-17T07:45:00.000-08:00

Ben Hans and I traveled into Yellowstone yesterday for some touring and snowpack assessment. We did not do much skiing but were able to summit a peak and enjoy a beautiful day in a new mountain area where we'd never been.

Approaching big horn peak required a couple of flat miles through classic Yellowstone terrain. Lodgepole forest with elk tracks brought us to an area where we'd begin gaining elevation in earnest. Immediately upon heading upwards, we began experiencing sure signs of inherent instability. Whumfhing of the snowpack and shooting cracks kept us on our toes and had us avoiding avalanche terrain.

After gaining the ridge we dug a few avalanche pits on both south and north facing slopes. On the southerly slope we had clean breaks in our ECT tests after 12-15. On the north facing slope were some wind-loading had ocurred, we could not even make the back-cut on our columns without the whole thing shearing away cleanly. This further reinforced what we'd guessed, CONDITIONS WERE SKETCHY.

We arrived in the high country and had the most enjoyable time skining along the ridgetops and scoping terrain that we'd shred someday once conditions improved. Bighorn peak was a memorable summit and its north face looked to hold some challenging descent options.

We enjoyed views from the Tetons to the Elkhorns and packed up and headed down before the wind got too deeply beneath our layers. A very memorable day considering skiing was not the objective. The weak snowpack we observed will probably be sticking around until at least April so the bigger ski descents might have to wait a couple months.

Snow and Ice.. Continuing to fall and form...

2009-12-06T07:51:00.000-08:00

Winter continues to provide with abundant ice and snow opportunities. Dylan, Tommy and I spent last Sunday sampling icicles in Hyalite canyon. The sun warmed the climbs making for solid tool placements and confidence bolstering conditions.

Temperatures have dropped the last few days and we are going to get a blast of cold, cold arctic air. Brad and I enjoyed powder conditions in Wolverine Cirque yesterday, experiencing fluffy, cold-smoke snow conditions. The only rocks I struck were those on the entrance to Revolving Door which often seem to be exposed and they let me pass with minimal scuffing or scraping.

Fall and Winter in Montana....

2009-10-25T12:44:00.000-07:00

Hunting season opened today and there was a wintery chill in the air in the high country. I was not able to get into any elk but had some beautiful views from the high country. I am excited to get out chasing elk in the high country over the next few weeks and it felt good to be in the mountains off trail, tip-toeing along. I am a little slammed with work for the rest of today but hope to have some time for longer hunting trips over the next few weeks.

I have a month or so backlog of photos that I need to get posted up. We had a wintery blast a couple weeks ago, resulting in ice-climbing and some careful skiing. I'll get some of those up sometime soon.

Northern Bridger Range Biking

2009-09-15T18:19:00.000-07:00

Hans and I went and did a ride in the
northern Bridger a couple weeks back. It was a lovely tour and made for a great loop. The huckleberries were smelling strongly the whole time and I wished I stopped to sample some along the way.

Lindsay and Martin at the Leadbetter Ranch

2009-09-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

Lindsay and Martin's wedding was once of the most excellent weddings I've ever been a part of. The setting was gorgeous and the love at the event was heavy in the air. I am a little late getting these up but had such a great time that I wanted to share these images with others.

Biking in the Snowcrest Range, Montana

2009-08-31T05:55:00.001-07:00

What a day yesterday was in the mountains! I've spent the last number of years wandering the Snowcrest range hunting elk during the months of September - November and I've always taken note of the biking potential. Hans and I decided yesterday would be a great day to explore this remote range via mountain bike. It is also one of the areas slated for wilderness designation when the wilderness bill passes meaning that biking will soon be a thing of the past in this range.

We left town around 8am driving through Ennis and Alder before leaving the pavement near the Ruby Reservior. I am always amazed that this range is only a 100 mile drive from Bozeman as it feels like I am in a different world whenever I get up there. We parked at the trailhead for the West Fork of the Ruby and rode a 4x4 road into the range. We dropped into singletrack at beaver creek, avoiding frequent bear scat and cruising through smooth, needle laden singletrack. We eventually curved all the way around mount Carey before we started heading for the high country. The last part of the climb which gained the ridge involved no trail an we were mostly pushing our bikes. Once we gained the ridge, we had a snack and enjoyed some really great alpine single track. This part of the ride snaked around the high country for a number of miles through rock-gardens, grassy meadows and with gorgeous views. I could have spent all day in this beautiful spot, pedaling around and enjoying the views. We soon dropped back down to the notch station and began our 10 miles singtrack decent back to the car. On a few climbs I began to realize how utterly fatigued I was, nearly cramping on a few of the climbs. Hans powered on and we eventually got back to the car after 7 hours. We'd probably spent 5 of those hours riding and had covered nearly 30 miles, 24 of which were singletrack and trail less. This definitely went down as the biggest bike adventure I've done and opens the doors for new backcountry bike trips in the area.

Biking at Leverich y Sypes

2009-08-27T05:56:00.001-07:00

Anna and George at the Lazy B

2009-08-25T05:12:00.001-07:00

I was thrilled to shoot Anna and George's wedding a couple weekends ago. It was a gorgeous day across the Gallatin Valley with T-Storms rolling in and out during the ceremony. Once we got the the Lazy, more storms were approaching and everything was moved inside the barn to we could eat and keep dry. The Bridger Creek Boys were on site keeping it real and got the barn rocking! Being down stairs, you could see the rafters really flexing as people were dancing above. Thanks to Anna and George and all of the great people who made this event happen!

Biking in upper Bostwick Canyon

2009-08-18T08:58:00.000-07:00

Continued Biking....

2009-08-10T11:05:00.000-07:00

Another ride up to Garnet mountain yesterday was wonderful. The continuous gradient was not quite as shocking as it was last week. Things got a little cloudy but I was able to fire off a few during a window of sunshine. Saturday I shot a beautiful wedding at the Lazy B, from which I'll be posting images ASAP.

Biking at Garnet Mountain

2009-08-03T10:47:00.000-07:00

Anne and I spent the first part of the weekend on an excellent climbing trip to the Boulder Batholith. We camped out near King and Queen rocks and did some climbing at Roof Rock. Roof Rock is an excellent crag and worth the slog if you want to do some classic Montana climbing (sorry not photos).

After a couple days in the Butte area, we returned and I hooked up with PJ and Hans for a ride up Garnet Mountain. Talk about the best ride I've never done! For some reason I'd never ridden there and after yesterday evening, I'll be returning for sure. Perfect gradient which is steep yet rideable the whole way up. On the way down, there are a couple sections where you would definitely not want to fall. The final section is very fast and smooth dirt through the forest. Once again, storms were billowing in all directions but we chose a clear, dry location for Sunday evening's ride.

Morning in the Bangtails

2009-07-21T07:02:00.000-07:00

Biking at Porcupine Creek

2009-07-13T06:32:00.000-07:00

Hans and I did some biking at Porcupine Creek yesterday evening. There were huge T-storms everywhere and we were taking a risk in heading south of town at 4pm. There was a great little weather window over the Big Sky area once we got down there. We missed the turn to the trail we'd planned on riding and found some awesome horse trails that went up and down through the sage brush hillsides. I'd not ridden hoarse trails like these for a while and had so much fun. It was pretty tricky to stay smack-dab in the middle of the ruts at an excessive rate of speed. There is a lot of potential for different options on these trails as there are spur trails, beat in by horses all over the place.

Lindsay and Martin engagement shoot

2009-07-13T06:28:00.001-07:00

I met up with Linsday and Martin the other evening to shoot some engagement shots. We had a great time strolling around the countryside in the evening light and taking pictures. These guys have a great look and I am really excited to shoot their wedding this summer. We spent a very carefree couple hours together by the river and I captured a lot of strong images. Cant wait to shoot you guys' wedding in a few weeks!

Gallatin Valley from Triple Tree

2009-07-02T08:11:00.001-07:00

I spent a little while up at the Triple Tree trailhead the other evening. Strong T-Storms had been dancing throughout the valley all day and there was a little sun as the day ended. One of the cells looked like it'd produce some garden-damaging hailstone and I was at the ready all day to race home and shield the tomatoes. Luckily nothing developed quite to that severity and the garden remained at peace. I am keeping my fingers crossed so we don't have a replay of what happened last summer with the baseball size hail that desimated our crops.

Evening Rides. History Rock Trail

2009-06-29T05:56:00.000-07:00

Things are really getting pretty throughout the area. The vibrant greens and starkly contrasting snow on the high-peaks couples with the wildflowers for a visually spectacular experience. Best of all, with last weeks occurrence of the summer solstice, its light out 'till well after nine pm. For last night's ride, we did not even leave town 'till after 6pm. I am hoping that if I am super motivated about the greens and other colors of spring, I'll find equal love for the browns and other colors that'll be upon us here in a couple weeks.

Biking Time of Year

2009-06-19T06:53:00.001-07:00

Ahhh, mountain biking. Its been a nice transition since I've been home, being able to leave the house around 11am or stay out riding 'till 10pm. A big change from the winter time and very enjoyable after work acitivities. As I am a very neglectful bike mechanic, my steed is running a little squeeky this spring and I need to put some love into all the moving parts. Nonetheless it functions adequatley.

Anyhow, Hans and I rode the Bangtail last weekend and it was very nice. Starting from Stone Creek, the descent into Olson Creek was pretty darn snowy. Looks like it'll melt out before too long and I'd like to take another shot at it when its a little bit drier. Sypes has been providing great after-work terrrain and the light is stellar up there in the evenings. I am going to have to get creative at shooting up there as its one of my favorite local spots and I spend a lot of time up there.

España #2

2009-06-17T06:17:00.001-07:00

We continued from Granada to southern Portugal where we spent a good many days on the beaches. The water was crisp but the sun was strong balancing the equation and making for optimal beach conditions. Seafood was tasty and wine continued to provide as it had done in Spain. For one of the days, we were really rebelious and rented a hog, cruising the remote beaches of the Portuguese coast. Just kidding, it was a 50cc moped that sounded like a locust.

A couple days were spent in Lisbon before we made the trek back to Northern Spain. The Basque country of northeastern was incredible! I had such a great time in Donostia and Bilbo! I Donostia (aka San Sebastian) we kicked it on the beach and ate Pintxos (Basque tapas) galore. One of the days which was suppose to be a dedicated beach day ended up being pretty rainy. No problemo, we got on a 1.5hour bus ride to Biarritz, France where we indulged in French baked goods and watched to Shi-Shi residents stroll the streets.

We ended our time in Bilbo (aka Bilbao) where we visited the incredible Guggenheim museum. Some of my favorite work was by chineese artist Cai Guo-Qiang, the mastermind behind the 2008 summer olympics opening cermeony. His work "Head On" was created of many stuffed wolves crashing into a piece of plexiglass and was suppose to symbolize the Berlin Wall and its dual persona of both a physical barrier and a lasting, mental barrier after the wall came down. So very cool!

After Bilbo, it was back to Madrid before catching our flight back to Ireland Green Bozetown. I have so many more photos and these are just a quick sample. More to follow maybe.

España #1

2009-06-17T06:02:00.001-07:00

I am a little late on posting these but they are from Anne and I's trip to Spain. We spent two weeks traveling, spending time in southern Spain and Portugal and in the Basque country of the north. It was very relaxing to be doing nothing but vacationing (e.g. sleeping, eating and drinking wine) for two weeks. We started our travels in Madrid, visiting museums and seeing the sights of the city. We saw many works of Picasso and sculptures (like those two fellas) by Juan Muñoz. The road south brought us to Granada and the incredible Alhambra, a palace which formally housed the Moorish rulers of southern Spain. The architecture was supreme and I am enclosing just a taste of some of the detailed intricacies.

Skiing the Y Gulley on Black Mountain

2009-05-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

Saturday we had an excellent day high in the Absaroka Mountains, south of Livingston. After three unsuccessful attempts on peak, I was feeling determined to ski the Y-Gulley. Previous attempts had been thwarted by inherent instabilities in the snowpack and a rare April lightning storm. Being mid-May, snowpack had stabalized setting the stage for a perfect day to ski this Montana classic.

We had a good group including Hans Courier, Ryan Minton, Clark Anderson and Tom __________ (sorry didnt catch yer last name). Clark is a visiting coworker from Sonoran Institute and wanted to do some skiing before heading back to Colorado. He could not have picked a better day to come and experience Montana spring skiing!

Forecast called for a high of 70 and we knew we'd want to get a move on and gain elevation early before things warmed too much. From Livingston, we could see our line of descent towering 6000' above. This time of year is such a great time to still be skiing in Montana. On any given day you can ski pow, corn hard pack and dirt making for a variety of stellar skiing conditions. Granted it is hard to stay motivated this late in the season and sometimes putting ski boots on seems a little ridiculous when one could opt for flip flops and shorts.

We left the car around 730 and booted 'till around 9100' feet. From here we continued skinning, gaining the northwest ridge around 11am. We ran into a group of two who'd left a lot earlier than us and were preparing to ski the west branch of the Y Gulley. We watched them drop into excellent wind-buffed powder, dissapearing into the basin below. We continued down the ridge to scope the east branch and assess its conditions.

I approached the cornice entrance on a rope and hopped into the east branch. I bounced around for a bit and inspected the snow. Conditions appeared to be perfect with well bonded, wind buffed snow. I positioned myself at the top and took some shots of Ryan getting first tracks down this lovely line. I descended after him and reached a safe spot, shooting images of the rest of the group as they shredded down the Y. Everyone looked super solid and appeared to be thoroughly enjoying themselves.

After descending to the basin below, we regrouped and put our skins back on for one more climb. This set us up for a few more excellent shots of creamy powder and great corn snow before reaching the dirt/snow margin at 6900'. We put our shoes on and stopped at Pine Creek Falls on the way down, filling water and taking in the views. We were back at the car around 500 and had to boogie as Clark's flight left at 730. A couple of friendly Paradise Valley locals in the parking lot gave us beers and cheetoes, refueling what we'd burned throughout the day.

All in all, another spectacular day of skiing. I felt fortunate to finally get to ski this line after 3 previous attempts. Anne and I leave for Spain and Portugal in a week where we'll spend two weeks traveling, chill'n on the beach, drinking wine, eating and down right vacationing. I'll probably do a little more skiing once I am back but I think I'll be making a transition to summer activities.

Skiing Grey Wolf Peak - Mission Mountains

2009-05-04T08:21:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we did a whirlwind trip into the Mission Range for some exciting/interesting skiing. Sam Magro, Ryan Minton and I left BZN bound for Missoula where we would meet up with Jason Leppi and head north into the Mission Range.

We got into Missoula around 7 and met up with Jason downtown. It was tempting to stick around Missoula for the evening as there were tons of people on the streets, live music and a pulsing vibe normally devoid from Bozeman. We resisted the temptation to swill beers in Missoula and headed north to the trail head near Saint Mary's Lake. Warm, comfortable camping weather and plentiful fire wood kept us up later than we should have been.

We drank our coffee the next morning and were headed upwards from the lake by about 7am. This was my first experience in the Missions and I was blown away by the thickness of the forest, choked with cedar and alders. The trail was also an in-your-face experience with few switchbacks and a lot of straight up dirt climbing. After a couple hours, we'd gained over 4K and were looking towards our objective, the West Couloir of Grey Wolf Peak.

We skied some decent corn to the base of the couloir and prepared to ascend. We could see from below that the inside was scarred and looked to be a little variable. Once we got further up the beast, we found horrible snow conditions. It appeared that a south facing bowl routinely had dropped wet slide into the couloir forming runnels and channels that were frozen, hard as ice. We debated turning back at the halfway point as we were pretty sure we'd not feel comfortable skiing portions of the couloir. As climbers, we listened to the sirens and proceeded upwards, cramponing into the ice and enjoying the experience of climbing the couloir. We relaxed on top briefly aware that we'd have to carefully descend the couloir before we could get out of harm's way.

The upper portion of the couloir was a nast breakable crust, interspersed with hard packed ice. I made a few jump turns but did a lot more side slipping between islands of safety. We all regrouped where the couloir pinched and opted to downclimb the runneled, neve ice section. We moved quickly as conditions warmed and snowballs and pebbles began to rain down the couloir. We soon skirted out of the pinch and were able to ski the bottom fan of the couloir. All in all we descended at least 50% of the couloir on skis. Maybe we could have side slipped the middle section but it would have been heinous.

We ate and fueled up in the lake after getting out of harms way. A few good sized rocks began careening down the couloir and we were glad to be safe and sound before things really began to warm up. We prepared for the ski back to the high ridge which would lead us back down to the car and the thick cedar forests.

After reaching the ridge we enjoyed more excellent corn skiing before the snow disappeared and we were forced to walk down the trail. We returned to the car weary after over 8,000 feet of elevation gain. A jump into ice cold Saint Mary's Lake revived my sole and prepared me for the drive back to Bozeman. We got fish tacos in Missoula, cranked the tunes and were back in Bozeman around 11pm. This was a particularly quick and blitzkrieg style trip which left a strong impression on me. The objective hazards of the couloir coupled with the spring melt conditions were pretty serious. I'd like to ski this line under good conditions in the dead of winter next time.

Skiing Gallatin Peak

2009-04-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was another one of those incredible spring skiing days. I went into the day expecting to ski some corn and maybe some breakable crust and was rewarded with much better conditions. I even got two faceshots of pure pow which surprised me considering it is almost May. The faceshots may have also come as a result of my D$s, but who can say for sure?

The night before I began scheming our departure at 5am and upon talking with Minton, he encouraged me to push it forward 'til 7am. I was really glad we did as we had time to be well rested and stop for some tasty beverages for the long, one hour drive to the trailhead.

We left the trailhead a little after 8 with Ben leading the way on his vintage, circa-88 Atomic Powder Pluses. What can I say? The dude shreds these things like there is no tomorrow.

We reached the col at the top of the Beehive Basin and prepared to drop into the north headed for Summit Lake and ultimately, Gallatin Peak. The first shot of skiing from the col was incredible pow! A couple face shots and smiles the whole way. We were so stoked upon those conditions, re-applied our skins and carried on towards Gallatin Peak.

We were debating ski down Hellroaring and skiing some shots off the North Wall of Gallatin Peak. Instead, we opted for the Northwest Couloir which was skiable right from the summit of Gallatin. We booted up the couloir from the basin, opting for the firm, icy snow to ascend and taking note of the pillows of pow littering the couloir. We spent some time on the summit taking in the views, scheming future lines and being ecstatic about our position in the Spanish Peaks. The skiing off the summit was not the cleanest but fun nonetheless. Ben and Ryan skied a direct entrance into the NW Couloir while I circled around to shoot their descent.

Once we were in the meat of the couloir, we were all blown away by the quality of conditions. Firm, wind-buffed pow all the way down. The type of snow that allowed for fast skiing and confident turning. We utilized islands of safety on the descent hooping and hollering until we reached the valley floor. A celebration including a couple bro-hugs insued and we relished in the beauty of the descent.

Along the way back to the car we skied a nice south facing slope of spring corn before beginning the climb back to the col that would allow access back to Behive. Skiing back down Beehive truly sucked as their was breakable crust throughout the forest which necessitated careful skiing as to keep knee ligaments intact.

A couple high fives and brewskis at the car topped off another stellar day skiing in SW Montana. I am getting excited for spring and summer but as I look out the window and see the snow fall, my thoughts are still in the high peaks anticipating the next adventure.

Skiing in the Beartooth Mountains

2009-04-22T06:07:00.000-07:00

We spent last weekend camped high on the Beartooth Plateau, skiing excellent couloirs, soaking up the sun and enjoying the splendor of high Montana country. My usual accomplice in the matter Ryan Minton and I headed down from BZN to Cooke City on Thursday under cloudy skies. Once established in Cooke, we met up with Steve Romeo of TetonAT and JHMR Ski Patroller Reed Finlay. The first eve' we were able to arrange a snowmachine shuttle to shuttle our gear most of the way towards our planned camp location of Goose Lake. We had dinner and brews at the Miner before turning in for a restless night of sleep in Cooke City.

The next morning we fueled on huge breakfasts and returned to the hotel to rouse our shuttle pilot. Nick was a little slow to get going but once he had his breakfast of Sparks and Marbs we were hightailing it to Round Lake, just 4 miles from our planned camp at Upper Goose Lake. After the drop off, we skinned under heavy packs and brilliant sunshine, out of the fir and pine confines and into the stark landscape that would become home for the next 3 nights. We setup the megamids, dug in a camp complete with kitchen and other accessories and slept soundly near 10k feet, anticipating the skiing to come.

The next morning was clear and calm and we enjoyed breakfast at our new home base. The days objective was the west face of Glacier Peak. We left camp, bound for the col that separated us from the Grasshopper Glacier and ultimately, Glacier Peak. Upon gaining the col and preparing to traverse towards our objective the time came for the team to change over to ski mode on our Dynafits. The week prior I had replaced my binding and at this point I realized I'd somehow received a replacement with a stripped forward adjustment screw. No matter how diligent we were at moving the heelpiece forward to the proper location, upon touring or forcing, it would simply slide out of place - BROKEN.... I began to accept the reality that my steep skiing aspirations for this trip were over. Reed reminded me of bailing wire he had in his pack and Steve was ever positive and optimistic. Those three headed on towards Glacier, ultimatley choosing to ski the North Couloir of Iceberg Peak. I skied back to camp to get a bigger lens and hopefuly capture some images throughout the day. Later in the afternoon I linked back up with the group for a chill descent of a southeasterly facing slope on Sawtooth Peak. I skied with one stick in tour mode and made cautious turns. Fun, but not trustworthy enough for some of the other objectives on the trip.

Upon returning to camp, Steve's Dyanfit mastery became apparent. With the bailing wire, a good ole' Leatherman, BD's Viper and a great deal of tenacity Steve secured the heel post which would hypothetically prevent it from inching back while skiing. I took a short test run during the heat of the day in my LJs. The binding held and I gained confidence in the fix. We melted snow, and soaked in the midday rays while we planned for Sunday's adventures.

The next day we struck off for the summit of Fox Peak, a short jaunt above our camp. Firm snow made for excellent skiing and an easy push to the summit. Once on the summit we peered into Fox's North Couloir which was a beautiful snow filled maiden, over 50 degrees at the top and appearing to be chalked full of excellent pow. I approached the cornice on a rope to inspect the line. It appeared to go clean and Steve amped up to drop in. Steve cut the line high and skied it in excellent form reporting perfect conditions with a couple woops and some beta yelled from below.

I shot a couple images from my roped position wishing I'd brought a telephoto to get a little closer. I've been kind of hooked on my wide lens lately and this was one of those instances where my subject got a little lost. Lesson learned!

Reed dropped in next with the precision and finesse of a fighter pilot, shredding the snow to the Basin below. Ryan took the third run leaving me to ponder the integrity of my binding as I looked at the steep entrance. That's got to be the worst thing about going last, the anticipation and in this case, the uncertainty of a backcountry binding repair. I dropped in last and after a couple cautious turns, gained trust in the bailing wire, having been an element of so many Montana fixes and uses. After gaining trust in the system, I enjoyed the remainder of the couloir and was ecstatic to be joining the group for the day’s adventure on my fixed equipment.

From the basin below Fox's north face, we booted up another couloir gaining a col above the Clark's Creek drainage. Another north facing couloir yielded excellent snow and a couple grand of great turns.

At this point we had some lunch and opted to top the day off with a descent of Sawtooth Peak's Diagonal Couloir. This line faced southwesterly and upon inspection appeared to be littered with avalanche debris (aka chunder). The sun had been warming the line and we decided to go for it, figuring the debris would soften by the time we reached the top. Reed took the lead and crushed the bootpack, setting pace and kicking steps for over 2000 feet up the Diagonal route. The rest of the party followed and we enjoyed the views and prepared for the descent. Ryan dropped in first and by his turns we deduced improving conditions and a great ski to follow. The debris had softened in the afternoon sun and we were rewarded with soft avy debris interspersed with excellent corn snow. We relished in the final turns of the day, high fiving and pole clicking to celebrate as we skied down.

We returned to camp and enjoyed our last evening in the great-white together. That evening was very windy and the flapping of the Megamids did not make for an excellent night of sleep. The next morning we broke camp and began the trudge back to Cooke City. Much of the descent was skiable but there was a fair bit of skinning, skating and hard work before we dropped packs in Cooke.

All in all and excellent trip, I'd have liked to shot a few things differently but I learned a lot which is more priceless than images. Having Reed and Steve there was excellent, new friend and folks I'd love to ski with and learn from again in the future. Ryan and I's first extended trip proved to be excellent and I look forward to the months of skiing that still remain in Montana. Snow for the rest of the week and Saturday looks clear! Ski season continues! Namaste!

Common Ski-Season Coming An End

2009-04-06T06:33:00.000-07:00

Resort skiing will be ending in about a week here in SW Montana. Fortunately this means the ski areas will now be untracked playgrounds for backcountry skiing. If this spring continues as it has for the past month, they'll be no shortage of powder skiing for the next couple months. Also, with these spring conditions come our buen friend sunshine. Maker of wet slides and sunburns sunshine also make for contrast, shadows and fun light to shoot photos in. I am getting an itch to move out of the ski boots but the next couple months could be some of the more productive photo oppurtunities I'll get this year.

I am doing my best to keep after it although last friday when it was a bluebird powder day, I opted for a fishing trip to the Gallatin. It was actually very peacful and enjoyable to not be in the mountains and I found a cool old car embeded in a gravel bar. Today Anne goes under the scope for some more knee maintenance so I'll be busy taking care and playing Mr. Nurse for a couple weeks.

Closer to the Y

2009-03-22T07:36:00.000-07:00

Friday we traveled to the paradise valley for an ascent of Black Mountain. The Y Gulley has been one of those lines that just wont let me make a descent and Friday, I was treated to the same relentlessness. As we crossed the fan below the couloir, we had strong settling and upon investigation of the snowpack, clean shears on facets. We turned around, and ascended the mountain via a diferent route, opting for a descent on mellower slopes. Part of me wants to not return this year for another attempt on this peak while the other side is ready to go back today. So many options in this SW MT backyard of ours.

Sunshine Pow

2009-03-01T19:16:00.000-08:00

After seven weeks under persistent high pressure, it snowed. I spent friday with Ryan Minton and Sam Magro in the Bacon Rind area of Yellowstone. We got a little turned around and ended up skinning a lot more than we'd planned and did not get to a ski much.

The next day, the powder and sun were still strong and we went after some more of the snow. Ben Nobel, Phil Baribeau and I headed into Middle Basin which remained relatively untouched while the masses battled the lift lines in bounds. We found pretty stable snow, excellent pow and sunshine galore. It feels like to tides are changing a bit and we'll be transitioning into spring powder storms. After so many weeks away from snow, I'd forgotten the feeling of pow and sunshine. Back to work.....

Middle Basin

2009-02-15T09:51:00.001-08:00

Anne and I spent Saturday in Middle Basin. We tried to stick to mellow trees and were rewarded with some excellent powder skiing. Most of the snow that has been in the sun was skiing pretty poorly while the north aspect of Middle Basin skied pretty powdery and good.

Chinkwe!

Crazy Peak

2009-02-09T06:21:00.000-08:00

The mountain of Southwest Montana provided once again. After gazing at the Crazy mountains for the last nine years, we finally headed into this incredible range. The range has always intrigued me from afar but it was not until we arrived and were surrounded by these peaks that we realized their true relief (big).

We left town around five and were skinning through the cold forest shortly after seven. We abandoned our original plan of travel far to skin up Crazy Peak's west ridge. Instead, we booted directly up the northwest face. Considering the dearth of snow we've had lately and the high winds that typify the Crazy Mountains, this proved to be an excellent option. 2000+ feet of stair-master action yielded the upper ridge and soon the entrance to the Crazy Couloir.

This thing was well named because, well it was kind of crazy. The entrance was barren at the top and there was light powder covering blue water ice. We fixed a line and avoided this section before entering into the real meat of it. Facing northeast, this thing was loaded with fluffy powder covering bullet-proof couloir snow. We took turn carefuly descending and all grouped up at the base. Seven hour approach for a 20 minute descent. How I love backcountry skiing/suffering! Three more hours of batteling up and down through broken down forest reminded me why Montana backcountry is truly a Montana experience. My pants and boots were full of twigs and pine needles from my battle with forest.

This was another incredible trip into a remote area less than 50 bird miles from my home. The limited snow we've been having has been pushing us deeper into the mountains than we'd normally travel during this part of the winter. Next weekend I kind of just want to go ski some powder with a minimal approach.

Once again, pacha mama allowed us to pass through her mountains and observe the beauty and serenity that is the high country during February.

Hellmouth Couloir

2009-02-01T15:39:00.001-08:00

Ben Nobel, Ryan Minton and myself skied the Hellmouth Couloir on Alex Lowe Peak yesterday. The line is the obvious gash in the shaded portion of the first photo. We approached from Blackmore, and summited via the craggy ridge left of the summit. It was a long day but worth every minute of the approach as we were rewarded with an exciting descent and some great snow in the depths of the couloir.

We left the car around 7am and dropped into South Cottonwood drainage by about 10am. It took us nearly 3 hours to negotiate sketchy snowpack conditions and a craggy ridge before we gained the summit of Alex Lowe Peak at 1pm. We spent a few brief moments on the summit before descending wind crusted crappy snow to the mouth of the Couloir. Once in the couloir, conditions improved drastically. It seemed like the type feature that was constantly sloughing from the surrounding area and thus condition inside were soft and grippy. Even a little powdery in some spots. There was a pretty cool thumb of ice inside of the feature although you'd have to be crazy to hike the 10 miles to climb it. Everyone is talking about how bad the skiing is right now and yesterday proved to be one of the coolest days of skiing I've ever had.

2009-01-26T06:49:00.000-08:00

We took a shot at skiing the Y-Gulley on Black MNT. last Saturday. Snow conditions consisted of a heinous breakable crust for most of the ascent. We were just shy of the ridge that would allow us to gain the summit when we came across dense slabs on top of sugary facets. Kind of a bummer and we had to spin it 180 back to the car. The ensuing descent was pretty wicked/bad and difficult skiing. The facets we are finding all over the place might end up persisting throughout the season. Good year to have a season pass...

Also a couple shots from last weekends trip to Utah. Sundance film festival and a quick day couliar skiing in the Wasatch.

Bacon Rind

2009-01-11T13:50:00.000-08:00

We made it down to Bacon Rind yesterday under high avalanche conditions. Our intentions were to evaluate the snowpack and ski (if possible) and safe spot we could find. On the skin up we observed woomfing and colapsing of the snowpack and made sure to steer clear of avalanche terrain. Once we got higher into the alpine, we were able to locate moderate slopes on which we dug a series of snowpits. There was a significant layer of faceted snow on the ground that sheared with reasonable force in our compression tests. Although this layer did not shear very easily in our tests, we determined that if this were to fail, it would fail BIG.

We skied moderate slopes of luxurious powder throughout the day. It was great to be humbled in this situation after having spent most of the season in the northern ranges of the area. We spent a number of hours going through multiple burial scenarios and did many tranceiver searches. The snow was deep enough that we were able to bury packs and tranceivers of six feet deep to practice probing and locating our mock victims.

At Last... Sunshine....

2009-01-05T06:54:00.000-08:00

After over two weeks of gray skies and snow, the skies parted and the sun shone through. I've been kind of slacking on the shutter-work lately, opting for many a hard days on the slopes getting strong and doing a lot of skiing at BB. The extreme avy danger has kept me in bounds and I've been holding out on the BC until things stabilize a bit. This week looks to be plumb full of voluptuous snowfall and hopefully we can get out for some pre-work dawn missions. Happy año nuevo!

Winter Taking Hold

2008-12-14T14:27:00.000-08:00

Temperatures this morning hovered around -20F and wind chills will be dipping even lower this evening. Friday was spent in Hyalite with a great crew and anticipation for the approaching arctic air mass. Everyone (Amber, Pete, Travis and Bryan) was climbing very strong and conditions were excellent for climbing ice. Yesterday the storm hit and we spent the day rallying on the ridge at Bridger Bowl. The ski shot actually come from a dawn patrol on Tuesday and conditions have since improved towards being deeper, fluffier and more fantastic in the bridger range. It should be quite nice to fully transition into winter activities. Nothing makes me happier than warming my body through cold-weather exertion. Really

Let There Be Ice

2008-11-30T10:27:00.000-08:00

Winter has been slow in arriving this year. Many parts of Hyalite are still devoid of ice and the areas with ice are quite thin. We have managed to climb ice 3 out of the last 4 weeks so I am not complaining. Yesterday I was able to climb Responsible Family Men with Bryan Schmitz and Pete making for an excellent day. Schmitz sent the route in fine form and I was stoked to get the oppurtunity to shoot him on it and follow up the route. Avalanche Gulley was also a stellar warm up string of moderate pitches that brought us to the base of Responsible. We also climbed some little flow down the canyon before we headed back down to the PBRs. Skiing, in my opinion is still a little ways out and I'll stick to the ice for at least another month. More to come! Also a big goodbye goes out to Chris and his new digs in Cali. Montana misses you already amigo!

Long Time no Posting

2008-11-16T08:02:00.000-08:00

Its that wonderful in between season time of year. Yesterday, the options were many. Biking, marginal skiing, marginal ice climbing, rock climbing, hunting.... You name it, the possibilities were endless... Although skiing holds the nearest, dearest spot in my heart I am really trying to be responsible and not destroy my equipment and my body early in the year. We were able to get out and ice climb last weekend although the warm spell of last week may have turned anything that was forming back to liquid form. Hunting season was short lived for me this year. I was able to harvest a cow on day three and have decided to hang the long-gun back up for the season. The last two photos are a couple of highlights from this years hunting-excursion to the Snowcrest Range.

Anywho, we headed out to the Beaver Ponds ride near Whitehall, packed in, five deep in Ben's 'Yota.. That ride turned out to be a delightful tour along the Continental Divide different from most local rides in that it went up and down rather than the usual UP then DOWN... After doing the Beaver, we piled back into the truck and continued over to Lewis and Clark Caverns for another excellent circuit... Once again, this turned out to be a great trail with ample climbing and some Bomber downs at the end.. Finishing the day off in Norris completed the circle and soothed the muscles and bones.

Wildhorse Trail

2008-10-19T07:46:00.000-07:00

We headed over Wildhorse trail from Hyalite yesterday... The sun was beautiful and warm and it was excellent to get out and experience what we have left before winter sets in.

There was still a bunch of snow in patches, left over from last weekends storm which made for some soupy riding on sections of the trail.

The smell of elk was heavy in the forest coming up the Lick Creek road and around Mystic Lake. It hard to believe that hunting begins in one short week and Halloween the week after.

As the storm approaches.....

2008-10-08T06:27:00.000-07:00

The weather is heading south... Or should I say north since it's gonna be cold tomorrow and this weekend... High on Friday in the low 40s.... Holy Toledo! We scurried to get a ride in yesterday afternoon and there was a blustery character to the atmosphere and the breeze was brisk... Maybe another this afternoon? Once it cools off, I might focus on shooting and getting prepared to harvest a wapiti for the winter...

Back at the Morgue and on the cycle...

2008-10-06T07:24:00.001-07:00

A fine weekend it was! Friday I headed back to the Morgue with Brandon and Ryan... This place is sweet and Brandon is sooo close to sending this route... I gave it a shot on TR and got worked so hard.. It is really great to get humbled sometimes and as a plus normally provides a substantial pump..

Sunday was rainy and looked like it would be a day for the books... By 3pm there was a little sunshine in town and Hans and I seized the brief fleeting of motivation that it inspired and we went to Grassy Mountain for a quick ride... It was funny because as we pulled up and it was raining an snowing a bit, there were a bunch of other bikers in their cars waiting for a break in the weather to hit the trail.. Once we got going, conditions were pretty excellent for biking and precipitation was minimal..

Until next time......

Biking deep in the Wilds

2008-09-29T08:41:00.000-07:00

Gotta be quick with this one... Saturday Brian Schmitz and I had a stellar day rallying in the Gallatin... I did not bring the camera imaging device and was able to focus solely on climbing.. There were many instances when I was wishing I had it along but it was great to be able to focus on climbing and nothing else... I was able to take a few scenics of some wheat stalks along the Gooch Hill route home...

Anne is also developing great skills with her new kniting techniques... Hopefully I'll finally get a pair of those prototype insulated belay shorts I've been brainstorming... For some reason, I am the only one who thinks insulated shorts are a good idea...

Sunday I was able to do some work in the morning and put together a bike ride at Little Wapiti Creek in the evening.. Hans, PJ, Sam and Ben along with a couple of the Canis Familiarus variety were present.. It was an incredibly gorgeous evening and the views along that ride were mind blowers. The single track along the trail was some of the best I've ever done and it will remain a ride that I'll have to call on again sometime. It also looks like stellar wapiti terrain so that'll also draw me to the area this fall... OK... Gotta run...

The Morgue

2008-09-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate to accompany Ryan and Brandon to a new area where they are working to unlock and establish new routes. The limestone was some of the best I've seen around. It was quite sharp and cut the flesh and clothing with the slightest of contact.
More from this area will surely follow.

Alpinist Film Festival

2008-09-19T15:22:00.000-07:00

Last night the Alpinist Film Festival came to town... The event took place at the Emerson and consisted of two sets of movies, fine ale provided by new Belgium Brewing, flawless beat laid down by DJAJ and scores of great people to enjoy the show with. Thanks to Leslie and Christian with Alpinist for letting me be part of the event and document the good times of the evening.

Fall Day in the Gallatin

2008-09-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday we awoke to cloudy skies in the valley and ominous conditions towards the canyon... I figured we'd arrive in the parking lot and make a hasty retreat back to town... To our surprise, conditions were cool and crisp and friction abounded on the crystaline gneiss of the Gallatin Canyon...

There was a party on Sparerib and I was able to fire off a few from a nice little perch... Looked a little chilly up there..

Ben and I warmed up with Farewell to Arms which proved to be a delightful way to start the day... Once we got on top, we saw Bob and Tyler were below racking up... and I shot a few frames of Tyler sending Farewell to Arms...

We continued upwards to Ithaca Connection before descending to meet up with Peter Ramos at the Blackline Butress... Pete syled Blackline with an interesting, french looking beret... Ben and I had not climbed together all summer and it was great to hang out with good amigos and climb on a beautiful autumn's day...

My first blog post!

2008-09-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

I am pretty excited to get a blog off the ground here! I'd been anti-blog with myself for quite sometime, deeming it unnecessary. I figured I could constantly be updating my website adding new content or just post a log of my work as it unfolds here on the blog. I selected the former and here we go, off and running...

Anyhow, I guess I'll start by saying that it is pretty grey outside and we are going to head to the hotsprings for a well deserved soak...

Stay posted, I'll try and make it more interesting from here on...

Actually I'll just post some photos from last night... We went and saw a reggae DJ high in the mountains.. An interesting locale, yes it was...