The other day my good friend Zak Anderson with the Montana Ski Company asked if I wanted to get towed around the canyon to do some exploring to see what we could access with sleds. Zak, Billy, Dave and myself headed out the resort and poked around looking for some places to ride. Avy conditions weren’t the best so we stuck down lower but had to deal with a wicked rain layer under the foot of fresh snow. As always Mystery Ranch Backpacks was with us. Here are some images from the other day.
Zak catching some air off a little hit we made. He is wearing the Fuze by Mystery Ranch Backpacks.
Billy can’t make up his mind to ride switch or regular wearing the Saddle Peak pack by Mystery Ranch Backpacks.
Chance and Billy head back up the gully for another round.
Zak bouncing off a dead tree.
Zak hangs on to Chance as they zoom up hill. Zak is carrying his Montana Ski Company skis on the Fuze.
Billy rotating off the dead tree hit.
Chance and Zak going back up.
Never a bad day in the backcountry, right Zak?
Dave skinned up higher for a longer run down the side of the gully we played in.
Zak heading down the lower part of the gully wearing the Fuze pack.
Zak starts to open it up a little bit, but the ice layer held us back from shredding to much.
Zak boots back up carrying his Montana Ski Company skis to the top of the kicker wearing Fuze pack by Mystery Ranch.
Billy rocking some Montana Ski Company skis and the Saddle Peak pack by Mystery Ranch Backpacks.
Billy spinning off a hit showing off those Montana Ski Company skis.
Two of our images from opening weekend at Whitefish Mountain Resort are currently being used on the resort’s home page rotator slide show for the week of December 6th 2010.
Conor is image #1.
Amy closed out the slide show at image #5.
This weekend Whitefish Mountain Resort opened for the 2010/11 season with a great base of 50″+ and blue sky inversions. It’s a great way to kick-off the season. Here are a few images from this weekend.
Amy checking out the amazing views towards Glacier National Park from the summit of Big Mountain.
Birthday boy Conor O’Neil airs off a pillow line near First Creek.
The Summit House got a fresh coat of red paint this summer. Looking good!
Sunny lift ride up on Chair 7.
We have been having some odd weather here in the Flathead Valley this summer and one of these events was a huge wind storm with no rain or clouds. Our friend Erick Gelke with SUP Montana invited us to come along with him, Sarah and Jay Dobbins for an afternoon paddle session. After an hour or so of shooting them paddle out and surf back in we noticed someone launching a 16′ Hobie cat to see if they could get airborne in the high winds. Turns out they broke the rudder assembly, jammed their sails and flipped a few times on a 22 minute ride from hell across Bigfork Bay before washing up on the shore. I couldn’t help shooting some of their sailing and capsized float. That’s how I met my new friends Andrew Crawford and Dane Hollinger.
Erick and Jay walking down to the beach area.
Erick padding out to catch a few waves.
Sarah padding out in the whitecaps.
Erick surfing his way back into Bigfork Bay.
Jay and Erick paddling around in Bigfork Bay.
Erick and Sarah pass each other.
It’s hard work padding out so Erick takes a break and swims out.
Erick riding another good sized wave in.
Andrew Crawford and Dane Hollinger racing across Bigfork Bay.
Dane and Andrew cruising and splashing around.
Andrew and Dane at the turning point with the Nor Easter in the background.
Andrew and Dane splash while flying across Bigfork Bay.
After rudder failure they were in for a ride from hell across Bigfork Bay.
Dane and Andrew get help from witnesses along the shore as they splash on the rocky beach.
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!
