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.".........

Toddler transportation from Montana to Southern California

Thanks for coming back for the second installment of Roadtripping with Twins. The first look into the insanity of toddler transportation can be found on this post. We've just recently completed our second major roadtrip, this time to southern California. The Highlander rallied the 2364 miles and 36+ hours travel time (roundtrip) with no problems. This time we were armed with less baby gear (see pack'n'plays etc) but an insane amount of toddler distractions. Coloring books, movies, crayons, reading books, dinosaurs and an army of babies littered the back seat.

I can proudly say that I can now recite Mickey Mouse's Christmas Carol (1983) verbatim after listening to it 52 times. But I take a little pride in the girls old school taste in cartoons - Scooby Doo and Smurfs are favorites as well. The roads were clear of snow until we hit the San Bernardino Mtns, we're we had apparently dragged in the cold and snow with us. We checked in with my sister's family and began a years worth of catching up crammed into a week. The cousins were thrilled to see one another and had a blast.

We headed down into the LA valley murk for some sightseeing and fun for a day. The Los Angeles Zoo and its 1100+ animals held the kids attention for a few hours. The highlights seemed to be the loud Guenon monkey and the incessant requests to find and look at the llamas and horses. Strange, you would have thought the kids had seen enough horses and llamas here in Montana. Avoiding the stream of traffic that flows out of LA everynight we decided to try and soak up some ocean time. Santa Monica Pier has many shops and rides, along with a plethora of entertainers (think Venice Beach on a smaller scale). We were sucked into the tourist allure of Bubba Gump's with some tantalizing shrimp.

The remainder of the week we watched as our 4 toddler's friendship grew. Finger painting chaos, princess outfits, Santa visits, a Nutcracker ballet and candy shop pillaging made the week fly by. We also hit the weather right in the desert and soaked up some 70's around the pools in Desert Hot Springs. And of course no SoCal trip would be considered a success without multiple In N' Burgers. I even squeezed in a run to the best burrito in all of America, Rosa Marias (5 frozen burritos were smuggled back into Montana).

The first Pinneaple Express

I'm pretty sure this is what it's called, if nothing else its gonna be wet and heavy the next few days in Western Montana. They're calling for snow levels at 6500 ft on Sunday raising slightly on Monday. At least it's going to settle the already bomber base we've got in most places. The snow has been sticking around in the valley for a while, something I hope continues through the winter. The 10 day forecast is calling for a chance of snow every day!

Late Afternoon: Snow likely after 5pm. Cloudy, with a high near 28. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Tonight: Snow. Temperature rising to around 32 by 5am. Southeast wind between 3 and 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.

Sunday: Snow. High near 37. South wind between 6 and 13 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Sunday Night: Rain. Snow level 6500 feet. Low around 32. West southwest wind around 17 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Monday: Rain and snow likely. Snow level 5700 feet. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. South southwest wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Monday Night: A 50 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a low around 28. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Tuesday: Snow. High near 33. Chance of precipitation is

First lift served day of the 2010-11 season

And on new sticks! Great first day at Snowbowl today with excellent coverage. One of the better starts to the snow year that they've had in quite sometime. The mountain is 100% open, but only Thurs. - Sunday right now. Cautiously optimistic for a full week opening . The tree shots are filling in with a few lurking logs. Paradise is in as good of shape as ever, no rocks at all and smooth (f0r Snowbowl).

I was on a new pair of skis today that have just made my season that much better, a pair of 188 4FRNT CRJ's. Today's conditions gave me an excellent insight into what to expect for the season....SLARVE! Slarve defined by Shane McConkey: No effort = slarving = piece-of-cake- powder-turns. Or simply put a sliding carve. The CRJ's were fun to ski and very easy. If you wanted to shrub some speed, just throw'em sideway. The groomers were fun too, easily initiating into carves and holding a good edge. Crud was a breeze with not much deflection. The only thing I didn't sample today was much powder, but with the 2" new I did get a feeling for what surfing them will be like. I now have my favorite quiver to date: 1. 186 Dynastar Ledgend Pro's - a bomber superG-like ski that powers through anything; not a lot of float for the powder though. 2. 188 4FRNT CRJ - effortless fun and sure to be a badass powder machine.

The specs and description for anyone that cares:

Pro model with gradual rocker and reverse sidecut at the tip and tail to float. Normal camber and traditional sidecut underfoot. Fun-seeking attitude lives on inside this versatile, powder-hungry stick. [188cm] 130 / 118 / 128 with a 28 meter turn radius

Earlier this week a few of us got out and stretched the legs at Lolo Pass. The Snotel site is showing 24" with is about 80% of normal. Another 2-3 feet will cover up most of the hazards. It's coming though, I can smell it. Some small vertical, sampling some of the shaded aspects on the Granite Pass side. Gloppy melt bombs had dumped into the treed areas but the open shots in the shade were better than expected.

ViVa La NiNa!!!!!

Snow samurai

How about this for some backcountry access?