After the “slow” snow season we had going in winter 2009/10 it was a blessing to have it dumping when we arrived in Ymir, BC Canada just south of Nelson, BC in March. To even get to the yurt we had to get towed in approx 18 miles by snowcat and sleds. It was puking snow so at times we weighted down the sleds and just had to walk with one on the machine. Once we reached the snowcat some sit down and a ride. Since it was snowing so hard our guide and owner of Ymir Yurts Trevor Holsworth took us in a few extra miles to make sure we got in safe. We dug a pit and during the digging the column broke. Yes, fresh two feet with inches falling every hour it seemed. Once dropped off near the ridge we headed up the safest skin track and no more than 200 yards up the skin we set off a good size avalanche that almost reached the wives below. We keep heading up the route we picked and reached the ridge. Once at the ridge we skied down to the yurt and Trevor returned to the snowcat. The next couple of days we poked around yurt skiing anything we all felt was safe. Here are some of my images from that trip. Enjoy.
Dave blowing up a few turns after coming out of the trees.
The ridge line between the drop point and yurt. We mostly laps off lookers right side of the ridge.
Patrick and Dave wearing the Fuze by Mystery Ranch Backpacks checking out all the slides around us.
Patrick skinning out the ridge with his Fuze by Mystery Ranch Backpacks.
One of the large avalanches we set off from the ridge. Most were remote triggered but this broke just below us.
Laura skipping around the lower meadow below the ridge.
Dave following Patrick with his Fuze by Mystery Ranch Backpacks.
Amy finding her line down.
Jess stopping only to get her skins out of her Saddle Peak pack by Mystery Ranch Backpacks and head back up for another lap.
Dave and Patrick digging a pit.
Dave cutting with his laser powers.
Patrick clearing out the sides of the rusch block.
View towards the yurt from where we dug out snowpit. The yurt is in the middle left near the thick timber line.
Patrick skis back towards the yurt rocking his white Fuze backpack by Mystery Ranch.
Jess making it look easy and smooth with her Saddle Peak pack by Mystery Ranch Backpacks out of Bozeman, MT.
Patrick, Amy and Dave having a lunch break back at the yurt.
Dave cruising by with his Fuze backpack by Mystery Ranch on.
Drying out in sunshine.
Jess wearing the Saddle Peak pack by Mystery Ranch Backpacks and Dave with his Fuze backpack by Mystery Ranch Backpacks on the ridge looking around.
Amy, Dave and Jess relax at the yurt.
Sunset the last night from the ridge above the yurt. Can you say cross loading?
Base camp at the yurt. Next time I’m bring some oven goods!
Patrick about to ski down to the snowcat pickup spot with a nice looking Big Sky pack by Mystery Ranch of Bozeman, MT.
Patrick floating down on his DPS wailer carbon skis and his Big Sky pack by Big Sky pack by Mystery Ranch.
Dave and Jess hanging out at the pickup point. The ridge line in many of these images is the one in the upper left.
The last week of January I took some of my fellow Whitefish Powder Ninjas down to the Ski MBA Bell Lake Yurt in the Tobacco Roots near Pony, MT. It was harder than you think to get five strong skiers together in less than 10 days to go on a ski photography assignment. We wanted powder or bluebird, ended up getting 25″+ of classic fresh Montana cold smoke powder and cold temps help keep things safeish*.
Andy tows in Trevor, Dave and Erick to the trail head where we start our skin.
Dan was to eager to see how deep and soft the snow was so he decided to go jump off a rock at the trail head with no skis to see how deep it is… DEEP!
After skinning in it was time to dig a pit. Trevor and Dan check how things are layering following the storm
The next morning we got after the terrain above Bell Lake. Dan making his way down the first lap of the day. Snow report… DEEP!
Dan coming off the ridge near Peanut Bowl. Again we found really really deep snow. That’s Dan in the lower right getting a face full.
Trevor finding his way down face shot alley.
I decided to lay down on the cliff above this little chute to get a shot down on Dan as he pops off the rock into the chute. After Dan skied it I took sloppy seconds.
Trevor flying down from his line into the apron beside where Dan and I just skied. It was pick your chute for all.
Erick showing off his many years or mastering the powder ninja art. Where is he? Behind that pole plant!
Conor agrees about how deep the snow is. So deep we had issues breathing at times.
After a early dinner we headed out around 8:00 p.m. to do some night powder shots. With the help from Erick holding the flash and me at the tripod we were able to get some nice night images. Big Dave made the first turns of the night off a wind lip + flash + 6 second shutter speed + snow texture in foreground.
Trevor went second just down from Dave’s spot. I changed up the frame wanting more of a mid shot.
Conor turns after a steep start. I like how the tree feels on the left.
The next morning Dan, Trevor and I headed up first to see if we could get morning light but the clouds didn’t lift over night and it was snowing light with temps around 17 F.
Erick skinning across the lower section of Peanut Bowl with Dave and Dan in the background waiting for their turn to cross this slide path.
The group getting ready on ridge and looking for breaks in the clouds.
Conor airing off a cliff we found poking our way down to Bell Lake.
Craig, Erick, Dan, Dave, Trevor and Conor on Bell Lake during a powder day. A great place to be on a powder day!
After dinner on our last night the sky cleared so we skinned up to Bell Lake to check out our lines on the ridge and stars.
Moonlight over head and time for second dinner.
The next morning we skied out from the yurt towards Pony. This image is looking back towards Bell Lake near the saddle in the right center.
Thanks again to Andy, Kevin and the crew at Ski MBA Bell Lake Yurt!
One of our images was picked up by Mystery Ranch Backpacks of Bozeman, MT for an ad in the regional magazine Bomb Snow spring 2010 issue. The photo was taken at Whitefish Mountain Resort. These packs are top quality handmade in Bozeman. Designed by Dana Gleason who started Dana Design.
All inversions should end in POWDER DAYS. Looking back at the images from the holiday week its hard to ask for more than inversions followed up by powder days at Whitefish Mountain Resort . Enjoy the images.
Rob loving life in the fresh powder.
Rob popping off the ridge.
Dave presents MONTANA!
Amy and Dave at the Summit House.
Kyle shredding the ant hill at sunrise.
Summit view looking towards Glacier National Park.
Kyle picking his line down North Bowl.
Kyle running the cornice at Elephants Graveyard.
Inversion trees.
Dave testing the snow in the early A.M. soon it will be bright!
Dan getting a taste of the backside early A.M.
Trevor finding his line in the early A.M.
Finally getting bright about the time Trevor found this line in Evans.
Well it’s May now and most people are mowing the yard and planting gardens. But I’m still going for my endless winter adventures of skiing year round. I’m on month 18 in a row now and its snowing today. I do plan to get back out a few more times in May.
Below are some images from a recent trip on the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park. The road is closed at Lake McDonald Lodge so T.J. and I biked up to just below the loop and headed up a run out path for some turns.
TJ biking towards the Garden Wall.
TJ riding between a massive avalanche debris path that took out tons of new trees.
The path came across two sections of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, this being the lower section.
It must have taken crews days to clean up this debris and snow from the road following this 100 year avalanche cycle. Must have been a HUGE slide.
TJ booting it up where we plan to ski.
TJ is always looking for a jib or feature to bounce off. Here he throws a grab in for good measure.
Conor asked if I wanted to come on a yurt trip with him and his Jackson Hole crew. Oh ya! I was eager to hit the trail for this April late season trip. A trip full of fresh snow, steep lines and even a backcountry rescue. Below are some images from trip.
The Jackson and Whitefish crew hanging out on the porch.
Evan and Kaci inside the main yurt.
Drying skins, boots and melting snow.
Dan reading up on the area near the Williams Peak Yurt.
Main yurt at night with heavy headlamp traffic.
Yurts with stars and only one headlamp trailing to the sauna.
Dan skinning up to the basin to play for the day.
Sam and Dan heading off to the chute Jesus Christ near Thompson Peak.
Sam and Dan in the basin.
Evan and Trevor putting skins back on to go higher.
Aric going to see if he can join Dan and Sam as they start there boot pack up J.C.
Sam and Dan booting up J.C.
Sam on top and Dan just below the top of J.C.
Sam heads down J.C. first.
Sam in J.C. with Dan looking down.
Sam opening it up below J.C. with the shadows of Thompson Peak.
Sam freeing it in the bowl.
Sam heading to another gully below J.C.
He is one tall tele skier!
Dan bombing it past his boot pack up J.C.
Dan ripping a turn below J.C. with Thompson Peak shadows.
Dan looking back at J.C. chute that he just skied.
Sun dog over Thompson Peak.
Dislocated hip at 4:00 with approx. 10 miles to the cars, plus another 60 miles to the hospital.
Thankfully we all came together at the same place and had two wilderness first responders in the crew.
It was slow going for the 8 hour backcountry rescue. Everyone pitched in and helped out our friend.
