twosmallcones

The birds are chirping, the days are getting longer and the sun is tracing noticeably higher and higher arcs in the sky. It’s full on ski season here and it’s been one to remember. There hasn’t been a single day this season (until the last week or so) that we couldn’t go out and find killer powder. Work has been super fun and challenging. Lots of HIGH and CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger to deal with and plenty of avalanches to trigger and look for.

JP triggered this slab avalanche a week or so ago behind our house in Croy Canyon.

Investigating the crown of an avalanche near Ketchum.

Alex with 2,600 vertical feet of powder ahead of him.

Another great run minutes from Hailey.

Robyn rippin a powder run in Lake Creek.

Sometimes good turns can be found on work days!

Bill and Jenkins in their private Idaho.

Big Al at the helm of the Idaho Transportation Department avalanche forecasting program in Loman.

This was one of several avalanches that crossed Warm Springs road out past the ski area.

The stripe of low density snow in this snow pit is buried surface hoar. This layer was responsible for several avalanches in the Wood River Valley.

This has been one of the better ski years I can remember, not only because of all the snow but because of the more frequent trips to the backcountry that this position entails. The CAIC stop-and-go type schedule coupled with living in a banana belt town made it a bit difficult to get fully into the swing of winter. There were to many distractions: climbing, biking, brewery tours in Denver, etc. Here when it’s winter, it’s winter. Wanna go climb? Too bad. Wanna train to climb? Good luck getting there before it closes. Winter forces your hand a bit here and honestly, I’m not too upset about it.

Crown of an avalanche near Ketchum.

Everett on Fuji

Hard to complain about that run. Mt. Fuji 10 minutes from the door with Everett and Alex.

Slab avalanche above our house on Della Mountain.

The avalanche blocked the river (by the cliffs) and re-routed it into this flood channel.

Triggering Persistent Slabs on Titus Ridge.

Walking out Titus Ridge in some dramatic light.

Charging up Mushroom Ridge recently I felt great. Another day in one of the most beautiful ranges I have ever set foot in. Our mountains are small spatially but command your attention and each range has it’s own character. No matter how many times I climb a peak or ridge in the same range I am amazed at the diversity and abundance of cool terrain to go explore.  While the transition from “lats and no legs” to “legs and no lats” is officially complete, it’s a great feeling to immerse myself in one discipline for a while. In a couple of days a load of amazing friends from Colorado to Moscow and down to Salt Lake City will converge on our small town to rally up to a backcountry hut for the weekend. This is one of the huge perks of living back in the West that I have been looking forward to. Idaho is pretty centrally located and as soon as I knew we were coming home I thought ‘what’s a good way to get lots of my favorite people to come visit?’ Hut trip! And if you couldn’t join us this year, don’t worry, it’ll be an annual affair. For those of you less snow minded we plan to try to get annual summer trips planned too. Backpacking through the White Cloud Wilderness anyone? Think about it and let’s pencil in some dates in August.