Snowbank envy

***WARNING: if you don't like shoveling snow, this could be boring***

Some people love snow. It's as if frozen H20 was spawned deep in their gene lines, programming their brain to honor the white fluff. They often obsess over incoming Pacific lows and highs. Late nights are spent in a death stare on SNOTEL sites and webcams, hitting refresh on the hour. Scanning eyes gaze from the window,searching for signs of an inbound front.

I've got a few friends like this and I might even have some maniacal tendencies towards snow. With much of the West having above average snowfall, I can't help but get excited. As I kept tabs on the epic dump in the Lake Tahoe area, I thought about a good friend of mine. He inspired me back in 1994 when he left our local SoCal mountains for the epicenter of California skiing, Squaw Valley. He lived within walking distance to the base of KT and immersed himself in the Tahoe snow scene. I first visited him during the monster winter of 1994, the highest season snowfall total on record of 662 inches. This record now shattered in 2011, with 691" at the present day. Time passed and his love of snow morphed along with his life and family. But when one has a passion for snow, he can't hide it. Ralph took up a job with the parks and recreation department of a town on the North shore of Tahoe, with snow removal being a primary responsibility.

I'll be the first one to admit I can get a little weird when it comes to plowing, shoveling, and snow-blowing. I have a strange fascination with the process. You get a sense of accomplishment when you move snow. The reward is instant and clean. This winter in Missoula we had the opportunity to shovel quite often. I enjoyed the seemingly daily workouts of clearing the driveway. Sculpting the berms and crafting mini-ski hills for my daughters. I once read somewhere that you can judge a man by the way he shovels his driveway. I'm not sure what that means exactly, but it's something to ponder.

When it comes to sculpted berms and snowbanks I can't hold a shovel to what my friend Ralph has been up against in Tahoe. In some areas they received over 100" in 4 days. Sugar Bowl now has a 303" base!!! I checke in with Ralph the other day and said he was beat down from snowblowing so much and had never seen that much snow. He's having to shovel out around the base of the house to make room for the next storms.
The picture above is from Skier666, taken on the Carson Spur near Kirkwood, CA.


I'm envious of his massive snowbanks, mine have all but disappeared. The relative monster of a snowbank in our drive that stood 5' tall most of the winter is now a mere dirty patch of white. I love seeing those high straight walled banks, stepping back and admiring your work. Heck, I once even asked a friend if I could come out to house and snowblow the 3 feet of new snow off his drive. Yeah I know, I've got problems.

Shoveling is a great way to clear my mind, almost meditative. I dunno.....Maybe we're on the path to enlightenment.

For a great shoveling poem, check out Shoveling Snow With Buddha.

Viva La Nina.

This picture to the right is from Soda Springs, that's a house under all that.

Ralph's tunnel out to his cars

Skijoring

Skijoring ('skē-jȯr-iŋ) is a winter sport where a person on skis is pulled by a horse, a dog (or dogs) or a motor vehicle. It is derived from the Norwegian word skikjøring meaning ski driving.

Red Lodge, Montana

Inspired

I came across the video over on StokeLab, which is a great resource for its namesake. The video shows a couple in their mid-seventies still having fun in "da powder, eh". Truly inspiring to see people that age still out there and having fun. They're not just going through the motions, grinding out groomers, they're actually skiing some challenging terrain. Wow, just wow. Makes me think about where I want to be at that age.

Stuck wide open

Lets just say you knew of a place where the powder was deep, the people were few and the price was right. Two guys thought that sounded pretty nice decided to seize the moment and time a potential incoming storm just right. Packing was simple, requiring not much more than your average backcountry ski outing + 3 days worth of food and drink.

Logistical issues showed up early. Before the sleds were even loaded on the trailer, there was already an issue. A sticky throttle on one sled brought the excitement down a few notches. Upon pulling the start rope the sled lurched forward instantly. Some lube, cussing and generally banging on things under the hood seemed to fix the throttle. At least temporarily.

An hour later, the sleds were unloaded and crossed over state-line. Both sleds ran fast along the trail. Silence, deep snow and trail breaking meant the skiers were one step closer to their goal. The gear was dropped in the cozy accommodations and a thigh deep trail breaking session began. Once established, the same track was used over and over the next 3 days. Perfectly spaced old growth giants lent well to the knee to thigh deep untracked powder.

All that was left afterward was to fire up the sleds and rip back to the trucks. Easier said than done. One cannot truly know your ingenuity or MacGyverness until you are stranded 15 miles from nowhere in the middle of winter. That same sticky throttle reared its head and more swearing was directed at the engine compartment. When one guy was about to give up, the other stepped up and pulled a huge trick out of his ass. Who knew that a piece of p-cord duct taped to a throttle cables could control the speed of a snowmobile? Cheers to hanging it out on the line in the name of powder.

Quick way off the summit

Dooooood! The video starts off quite normal, but watch the whole thing to see a not so normal way to get off the summit.

World record for the largest observed snowflake

Continuing with the extreme theme.....last night as I let the dogs out for their nighty-nighty piss in the yard I was blown away by what was falling out of the sky. It had been raining only an hour before and was just a touch above freezing, but now it was what we call in the business nuking. As I gazed skyward, I watched the biggest snowflakes I've seen in my 36 years. I scrambled for my phone to take some pictures or video, nothing could capture the moment. Catching a few in my hand they easily measured 2.5" across and most everything falling was that size. For 10 minutes I was mesmerized by the quiet giants piling up on the grass.

Looking into records, according to the Guiness Book of World Records, the largest snowflakes fallen during a storm in January 1887 at Fort Keogh, in Montana. A rancher nearby, called them “larger than milk pans” and measured one at 15 inches wide. Damn, bring it.

EXTREME!!!! snowfall

The National Weather Service says Missoula received 9.7 inches of snow on Monday 2/7/11- measured from 12:01 a.m. until midnight. In all, the arctic storm - which officially began on Monday evening - delivered 11.4 inches of new snow to the Missoula Valley. By the way, the EXTREME!!! reference to this post comes from this Missoulian article: Extreme Snowfall wreaks havoc on the roads. Hah! Extreme??? I think that word might be left better to describe things like Mt. Bakers 1,140 inches of snowfall for the 1998-99 snowfall season

And yes, Snowbowl got a few of those inches, 17" to be exact over 2 days. I wasn't able to make it up on Monday, but the wife did. She came home with one of those powder eating grins that only a hubby could love. But Tuesday was open for the shredding. The regular crew set up shop towards the front of the line an hour before opening and awaited the smiles to come.

But first I had to do some last minute adjustments to my bindings in the line. Seems to be par for the course this year with bindings. I've had more problems with bindings this year that I ever have. This time, as I clicked in with 5 minutes till loading I noticed some visible looseness. With a lent screwdriver from the line, I tightened the toe height, it seemed better. I found out the end of the day, that was not the problem. The issue was that when I mounted my CRJ's a few weeks ago I didn't tighten the mounting screws enough. Lesson learned, but they held all day.

Back to the day....we found the mountain in great condition. Winds had picked up over night and buffed a lot of things out. Most of the snow looked to have fell before 3pm the previous day. However, Snowbowl in its classic weird snow report claimed 9" new (they reported 8" the previous day). You've got to be on top of their reports. The day turned BLUE-BIRD about 11am and we took full advantage of the day. The CRJ's performed like the should on all the fluffy pillows of pow. A lunch time stop of the Griz chair for 30 minutes worked well with my destroyed legs.



I couldn't fail to mention the skier that showed the opening lift line what the true spirit of a powder day is all about. This guy rolled into the line with a one piece, waxed mustache and a bugle. I keep my eye on him for about 20 minutes, wondering what shenanigans he was up to. I watched as he kept putting the bugle up to his mouth, seemingly mouthing it during that time. When the chair began to load, this powder trooper let roar the Calvery Charge through his mighty bugle. If that doesn't say powder day, I don't know what does.

100 Inches

Snowbowl cracked a 100" base this week, not bad at all. Considering other ski areas around the state have considerably less (Bridger=61", Moonlight=50", Red Lodge=33", Discovery=59"). The storms have definitely favored the western part of the state thus far. La Nina has been good to us quantity wise. If I had one thing to ask of the little lady it would be to bring a few more cold storms. We've had some wet snow this year, don't get me wrong I ain't complaining.

The sun is always nice, and as luck would have it this week we had 2 sunny days. That makes 9 sunny days since Halloween, get out the tanning oil! Sunscreen? Nope I wasn't having it. I wanted to try to get every last ounce of Vitamin D that I could. We headed behind Snowbowl on Tuesday to see what was shaking. There was one of the larger groups I've seen gearing up to head back in the same direction. But by the time we got back there, we had the place all to ourselves. Three laps of the B-Ridge and my legs were smoked. The snowpack has really settled and conditions were great. 6" of developing hoar frost/recycled pow on top of a ultra bomber base. Anyone else seen anything different?

Seven Sunny Days

We've had fun this month. There's been lots of snow, rain, clouds and fog. I didn't mention sun, and thats because there hasn't been much of that. I saw tonight on the news that Missoula has only seen SEVEN sunny days in the last 90 days! The NWS calls any day with less than 30% cloud cover = Sunny. La Nina has been snow and wet, my skin is ultra pale. But with about 1/2 of the winter gone, Snowbowl has a huge base, 96" as of today. But I can actually say that I skied in the sun this week. At least I think that's what the yellow ball in the sky was? A few rays of rare sunshine hit my face while day dreaming of warmer climes. Views expanded all the way to the south end of the Bitterroot valley, crystal clear.

We've had the girls out several times on the rope-tow and they are doing great. Their last outing, P was able to use the french fries-pizza technique with control. Stopping on her own. My bribes with Skittles at the top of each run earlier this month seemed to have paid off. G made a huge improvement from the last outing, no longer crumpling like a wet noodle the second you let go of her. Both the girls really want to ride the chairlift, great incentive to improve. I think a trip over to Discovery's magic carpet and kiddie lift is forthcoming.


I finally finished my european mount for the bull. It was a great learning process and time consuming as well. I started out by skinning out the head right after I got it home back in November. A few days later I boiled the head in a giant pot for a day. After scraping off the extra flesh, I boiled it again for another 1/2 day. The next step was to apply the peroxide (40%) for 24 hours. I pasted it on, wrapped a wet cloth around it, and saran wrapped it. I also wrapped the antler bases with foil to keep them from getting whitened. The last step was creating the european pedestal to hang it on the wall. Over at local home resource shop, I bought a 10ft piece of 1"x10" barnwood for $4. I traced out the pattern off one that a buddy had made for my antelope. Then cut it out with a bandsaw, used a blowtorch to distress the edges, added some mounting hardware and it was complete. In hindsight I should have made the base where the skull sits several inches better.

Missoula got 6" of snow today and tomorrow looks like it will be a good one up at the Bowl. they got 7" last night and the report is that at least 4 more inches fell throughout the day.

Thanks for reading. Click the below album to check out the rest of the pictures.

January 2011

Snurfing

With my knees feeling like they need to be replaced, maybe this is what I need to get into. I dunno, looks pretty fun. Boards are made by Grassroots Powdersurfing.

Visibility

Yesterday morning Snowbowl reported 7" overnight. Freezing rain was falling in the valley, glossing the streets into skating rinks. La Nina continues to pour the pineapple to the Missoula area, but it's a good thing. Heavy wet flakes slopped down as we awaited the lifts to open. I was pumped as I was wearing my first ever Goretex jacket, what a day to test it out too. The Outdoor Research Mentor Jacket performed like it's price would suggest. I stayed dry all day, a far cry from my 6 year old sponge that will soon be visiting the trash can.

The new snow was very dense, but the visibility was the biggest factor to contend with. Goggles were rime iced after 5 turns forcing your hand on either skiing by braille or stopping to clean them off. The runs were quiet, no hooting or hollering. The only sound was the faint groan as people mustered their next turn. The weather pattern looks to be on the warmer/normal temp side for the next week with moisture every day. Snow is still everywhere in town, rock solid in most places especially the side streets. Thank god for snowtires.

Throw your skins away!

I've found my new mode of transportation in the backcountry. In the year of 2011 I will no longer need to expend any energy to get to where I want to ski. I'll just crank like crazy contraption up, and have it push me to the top the hill. All that's left is to ski down, and then when I reach the bottom, I'll just......wait a minute. Maybe if you are a sucker for being steamrolled by this robotic demon you'd just leave it on and go that much faster. Leave it to the Canadians.

White December in Missoula

December has been a good month for Missoula, that is if you enjoy the cold and snow. I'm fresh off a powder bender, with over 2 feet of new snow this week at Snowbowl (15" day & 10" day). Being a skier and winter lover in the north country makes life more enjoyable. When the valley murk, gray and mist get me down, my mind is refreshed on the chairlift as fat flakes fall in my lap.

Wednesday was the classic storm skiing day that I have come to love. The trees allow you to see better when visibility drops, snow also tends to collect there. It sounds cheesy, but it's as if time stand still as the flakes pile up in the quiet shadows of the forest. I had the opportunity for thigh deep first tracks on one of my favorite runs. That same run called my name 4 more times, fabulous.

The day started off with valley rain falling most of the night. As I peeked at the mountains off and on through the night, darkness cloaked everything above the valley floor. The news channels were abuzz with winter storms warnings, you could feel the skiers stirring in their houses. Missoula skiers weren't fooled by the wet valley floor. Even before 9am, the lift line morphed into swollen monstrosity of an excited tentacled beast. I'd argue it's hard to find a happier bunch of people. Especially when Snowbowl's base is 48" and the summit has 78". That has to be one of the better starts to a winter in a long time. Does anyone remember what the base was during the big winter of 96-97 was?

Geeking out on the NOAA weather data, I gathered up a few stats. I had been curious as it seems that we've in the proverbial freezer (relative for Missoula) since Mid November.

• first snowfall, 3" on Nov. 22 and the snow has not melted since. Total of 10" for Nov.
  
• The thermometer did not crack 30deg for the last 11 days of the month.
  
• December hasn't warmed much either; Avg of 29 degrees with 13" of snowfall.

The twins are adapting well and are now comfortable getting their snowsuits on playing or riding their bikes on the patio in 10 degree temps. We've stomped around the yard in their skis and shredded our snowbanks multiple times. They've come to terms with mittens and their associated lack of dexterity. We're all excited to share some family time at the ski hill. In the meantime we actually skied our friends backyard, they had a blast. A few snow angels and some hot cocoa, time well spent.

We found our new favorite sled hill in Missoula, the girls and I enjoyed some a luge track filled powder. They didn't think twice about enjoying the playground swings and slide despite the 20 degrees and snow falling. Check out Gwynn's version of a face shot.

I thought I'd leave off with a few shots of classic Montana stuff. Things that remind me of why I live here. Happy New Year to all, let it be as successful and joy filled as the last.

Smiles on the skin track

Firing up the old smokester for the first time this season

Eat it Soccer Moms!

Just another day in paradise

Greg Hill pushing for 2 million vertical feet (human powered)

Greg Hill, the superhuman leg and lung machine is pushing for his goal to achieve 2 million vertical feet skied & climbed in one year. He's got till the end of this year to rack up the last 100k vertical, that's only 10k a day. He's already done 1 million in a year, so it's no joke. Greg also set the record for climbing and skiing 50,000 vert in 24 hours. I can't fathom what he has been through, not even one bit. For me a 5000ft day is a pretty big accomplishment.

If you got 9 minutes to spare, watch the video below. It gives you a great sense for the backing and support that he has from his friends and family. Kudos to those that support people with serious skiing addictions. I like to think I take it pretty seriously, but at this point can't even hold a candle to him. GO GREG! Inspiring.........

2 Million With Greg Hill from FD Productions on Vimeo.

Snowbowl lift issues

A recent article was published in the Missoula Independent that I thought might stir up some opinions. The article addresses some of the mechanical difficulties that Snowbowl has had at the beginning of this season and a local Rep's idea on dealing with them. If you take the time to read the comments, there are some great rebuttals.

As for my opinion on the matter (not that you probably care), I think Mrs. Hands heart is in the right place, but is going down the wrong road. We don't need government to rectify Snowbowl's issues with the lift. We need the owners to take responsibility.

From the Independent:
Montana Snowbowl opened Nov. 27 to a crowd of some 1,000 skiers and snowboarders in what co-owner Brad Morris describes as "the strongest start we've had that I can remember." The near tripling of the resort's opening day average resulted from the onset of what is expected to be a major powder year; snow depth at Snowbowl's summit has already reached 54 inches. But a day-one mechanical glitch on the Grizzly chairlift set the tone for a more troublesome early season trend: lengthy delays.

Morris confirmed that in the first four days of the season, Snowbowl's Griz lift shut down three times due to separate mechanical issues. The first incident, which led to the evacuation of several passengers by rope, occurred after ice formed on the lift's haul line, something Morris says is extremely uncommon at the resort. Concerns over a faulty brake and loose drive belt led to the second and third shutdowns respectively.

"It could happen any time, and those things are tested and the lift is inspected by the engineers from the insurance company before we even operate it," Morris says. "That was the first time we've ever had ice on the lift. It's a common problem in the West, where there's more precipitation. We've never even on the Lavelle [Creek] lift had that problem.".........