Castle crag via Nipple Knob

Leah and Natalie nearing the summit.

I had another fantastic day in the Bitterroot, skiing the north face of Nipple knob, touring up Sheafman Creek, then skiing the South face of Castle Crag and exiting Mill creek. The weather was great, the company was as good as it gets, and the tour flowed smoothly and had plenty of spice to keep us engaged. There was a healthy dose of canyon slogging time, but it was filled with interesting conversation on a variety of topics, as expected from a party of four with advanced degrees.

We did have to get a little creative to avoid northeast facing wind slabs, but were able piece the tour together without doing anything too slow or dangerous. This was my fifth time on top of the crag, and I was able to re-confirm my opinion that the summit view is one of the best in the range. Both runs were quality, and we were able to score grabby but good conditions from top to bottom on the 3,000 vertical foot south face of Castle Crag. With all the snow, the egress was quick and almost painless. Tacking Nipple knob on to the front part of the day bumped the quality of this tour somewhere just shy of classic status.

Approaching Nipple knob. Photo: Ben Irey

Mill 1 and 2 from Nipple knob. Photo: Ben Irey

Safety meeting (seriously) before engaging the slopes above Knack lake. Photo: Ben Irey

The ladies, skinning all the way to the summit.

Leah cruising on Castle Crag. Photo: Ben Irey

Leah near the bottom of Castle Crag. Photo: Ben Irey

Dressed for spring during the exit.

Back in the Bitterroot - Glen to Sweathouse to Big Creek tour

Jeff and Jeffrey climbing in front of the Mystery chutes.

I took advantage of a rare break in the weather to rally a strong group of Missoula skiers for a day of exploration in the Bitterroot. The firehose of precipitation has finally abated a bit, so we were all excited to get out into some more interesting terrain. As it turns out, avalanche danger was still on the spicy side, but we were still able to ski some new-to-us terrain. We started out by climibing to Glen Lakes at sunrise. This was a new approach for all of us except Jeff, and I relished in discovering a new and surprisingly spectacular little cirque tucked just out of view of the valley.  From the top of the unnamed 8,400 peak west of Glen Lake, we spent about 20 minutes debating the merits of dropping in to Sweathouse peak via the most prominent south facing gully. We decided to go for it, skirting slabs where possible, and were rewarded an icy but stable run all the way down to Sweathouse.

Basking in sunrise on the approach to Glen Lakes.

Jeff at the top of the first run. The entire Gash
complex and the Mystery chutes are visible behind him. 

The zone as seen from Gash. Our first run was the sun/shade gully.
Our second run was the sunlight face off the obvious peak on the left skyline.
It is possible to ski both of these objectives from Gash in a full day.

I had planned on moving on to north facing terrain, but wind slabs seemed too touchy, so I suggested we point up drainage for a look at Hidden Peak. On that subject, it seems like it has been unusually windy, and avalanche danger has been uncharacteristically high this year. Or maybe I am just getting soft, or old and wise? Anyway, everyone was on board, and after a good hard push we were soon ripping skins at our high point. The run was good, if not a touch generic.

At the base of the Hidden peak run.

Aftere a long break at the bottom, we made another push back to 8,400. I must not have eaten enough, because I had a real low energy patch on the last climb. With a squall blowing in, we decided to start the involved exit process. We ended up skiing a long (almost 4,000 vertical feet!) and interesting peak to creek run, which which was difficult to find, and harbored persistent, unsettling wind slabs at the top, even in the trees. We worked our way down slowly, and soon the scary slabby snow changed to safe but challenging powder over chunky avalanche debris in the main gully. The gully was a grand adventure with a few powder turns, a lot of chunky avalanche debris, and a lot of sideslipping around obstacles of all kinds including brush and waterfalls. And there was a healthy sampling of not-too-bad skiing through alder, thin snow navigating in the forest, and a all-hand-on deck search for a safe crossing across Big Creek. It was a great adventure, and I enjoyed every minute of it, aside from the slabby snow at the top.

In the thick of it during the exit to Big Creek.

The ski out Big Creek was fairly long but enjoyable, and we were soon back at the car lounging in lawn chairs (thanks Blake), and consuming massive amounts of beer and potato chips in full Montana style.

Random Snippets:

This is a pretty good zone, but it is limited by the extra long approach compared to similar areas (Gash, nipple knob, Camas, Mill point, etc). Also, a deep low elevation snowpack is required to ski easily down into Big Creek. Still, I will be back o ski the mellower terrain directly above and below the lakes, and to explore more of the north facing terrain toward Big Creek. I really enjoyed the crew today - thanks guys! Of note, everyone has been out skiing a lot this year, and was on light gear, which translated to a strong and fluid day, where about 9,700 vertical feet of touring flew by fairly casually. It was my first day on a new pair of G3 C3 Zen Oxide skis, and aside from grabby tips and tails (to be addressed with ski tuning in the near future), I was pretty impressed. Certainly not the flashiest ski out there, but light enough, nimble enough, floaty enough, and totally solid. I’ll check back in with more details. 

Jack 'n Jill Race report

I was not surprised to hear that the Jack 'n Jill randonee race was postponed by a week due to the blizzard, but I was surprised that no fewer than four other Missoulians were game to make the drive over to the Rocky Mountain front to have a go at the re-scheduled course. I have heard good things about this ski hill, and was excited to check it out. Teton Pass ski resort has a cool vibe and impressive sidecountry touring terrain when conditions are stable. And they did a great job hosting the race.

Post-race mug shot. Thanks for the battle Ben.
Photo: Teton Pass

After a warm up and brief pre-race meeting, the gun went off. A Le mans start gave an appropriate, old-school flare to the race.  Blake made it first off the line, with Ben and me in hot pursuit. Within a few minutes, Ben had taken the lead, and I was sandwiched betwen him and Blake. To my surprise, Ben was unable to open a gap, and I was able to get out ahead of him, but was not able to open a gap to the top of the first climb. Ben got out of the transition first, and we both skied hard to the bottom of the run. Ben had another good transition, and started up about 30 seconds ahead of me. I took in some fluid and calories at the bottom, then just rallied with all my might to the top. I was only able to close the gap by about 10 seconds during the short climb, and Ben held on to his lead at the transition, and through the descent. We finished within 25 seconds of each other. Blake came through a few minutes back, then Leah cruised over the line in first for women, and 4th overall.  The rest of the Missoula crew was not far behind. In terms of excecution, I felt good going into the race, and was able to push hard without any real bobbles. Any day where I can stay within striking distance of Ben is about as good as I can ask for. The rest of the Missoula crew had strong races - Blake and Natalie are going to be deadly if they are able to scrape together full race setups, and Janine completed her first ski race of any kind in good style.

Coming into the finish line. No helmet, no problem. That's how we do it
 in Montana (and Europe, I suppose). Photo: Teton Pass

Team Missoula all back at the finish line. Photo: Teton Pass

We spent the remainder of the day hiking to the top of the mountain and riding lifts. The awards were fun, with plenty of prizes to go around. Good times, and a big thanks to everyone at the resort for putting on a great event. Results are here.

Checking out the big explosive triggered crown from the night before
during our sidecountry excursion to the summit. Photo: Blake Votilla

Still waiting with baited breath for stability to improve in the Bitterroot...

Return to the Swans - Lick Lake couloir

The Lick lake couloir in spring 2012. The Maola face is a more
exposed line that I skied a few years ago in memory of my grandmother.

Leah, Ted, and I took advantage of the late January high pressure system to ski the stellar Lick Lake couloir from the summit of Ptarmigan mountain. As skiers like to say, it did not disappoint. The road approach is over 5 miles long, but with kicker skins, we made good time through the eerie early morning inversion. The climb up to Ptarmigan was fairly slow, especially since we were forced out of the main avalanche path. Even with a late summit time, everyone was still OK to drop East into the great Bob Marshall wilderness.

Closing in on Ptarmigan.

The top of the run involves exposed skiing down the East ridge, and we put our steep skiing game faces on and took our time. The couloir itself was great. It is big and beautiful, and would get skied all the time if it were not for the long approach. From the lake, we took a long snack break and began the long haul back up to the crest. A massive slide had released just a few days prior, leaving a 10 foot crown and impressive debris pile at its base. We decided that the safest way back to the ridge would be to climb the bed surface of the slide, which went without incident. On a stability related note, the snow was much less stable in the Swans than in the Missions and Bitterroot. Just thinner and weaker, with more scary lurking glide avalanche potential. I wonder if this is a common trend? But I digress.

Leah, dwarfed by the Lick lake couloir.

Leah and Ted on the way out to the Swan crest, looking back at the couloir,
and feeling the vast wildness of the Bob Marshall wilderness.

From the crest, we took the big 4,000 foot west facing avalanche path back to the road.  The top had great shallow powder skiing, and the lower gully and alder exit were surprisingly fun. Even the ski out went smoothly, with about two miles of kicker skins, then a quick schuss out to the car. We returned right at "very, very dusk". I turned my headlamp on for the last quarter mile or so, and Leah and Ted decided to just pound it out in the dark. What a day.

Leah skiing down to the sea of clouds.

Ted skiing down to the sea of clouds.

Back at the road after surviving the bushwack unscathed.

Thoughts
With stable snow, this is a great tour. I still think that the Lick lake couloir from Ptarmigan mountain is one of the best ski lines around Missoula. The road approach could be eliminated with a snowmobile. It was great getting out with Ted, and I was glad that we were able to venture into his beloved Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Bridger Bowl Skin to Win - 2014 Race Report

This year's iteration of the Skin to Win race was fun as always, but first, a public service announcement for all randonee racers within driving distance:

PSA:
The Skin to Win is one of the best courses I have raced.  Endless technical skinning, challenging descents, and miles of ridgeline traversing are the highlights. The resort does a great job hosting the event, the prizes are generous, and the food is good. I would highly encourage anyone within striking distance to put this event on their calendar for next year, especially strong backcountry skiers in Bozeman and Missoula, Canadians, Jacksonites, and SLC folks.


The race itself was great. I had a pre-race crisis when the cord closure on my ski boots exploded just a few minutes before the starting gun, but Reed from Bozeman had a spare cord and bailed me out.  Thanks Reed!

The blow by blow was as follows:
The LeMans start always shakes things up, and Nate Brown was first off the line, I was second, and everyone else left in a group.  I was briefly in the lead before Ben Parsons blazed by.  Knowing he would be fast, I let him go, and settled into a bright but sustainable pace.  Alan Adams passed me before the North Bowl road, and John closed in but didn't pass until the top of the road.  I transitioned to the bootpack mid-way in a group of 5, and we all hammered up the bootpack.  I was able to maintain position, and caught Alan at the top of Hidden.  Alan and Dave got out of the transition before me, but I was able to pass them both in Hidden couloir with some aggressive and slightly impolite skiing.  Dave and I charged down through cut up powder on the Apron, and somehow managed to stay on our feet. We transitioned with John and moved as a group up the Motor Room bootpack. John got out about 30 seconds ahead of me, and I got out just ahead of Dave. I think Dave started having skin troubles, because I would not see him for the rest of the race. I was running full width nylon skins, which allowed me to almost catch John on the way-too-steep skin track up Bridger Gullies. Sluice Box skied well. I think John was getting face shots. John wisely switched to nylon skins, but he had to rummage through his pack to get them, which allowed me to get out of the transition just ahead of him. The third climb reverses the Right Side/Tight Squeeze exit track, and is super steep and challenging, and I was able to work my steep skinning magic and open a 50 second gap on John to the ridge.  I pushed hard up the ridge to the Nose transition, where Becca was working.  Thanks for volunteering, Becca! The Nose skied well, and I got out of the transition about a minute ahead of John. Using my "if you don't feel like you are about to die, you should go faster" mantra, I pushed hard up the last climb, and focused on skiing smoothly along the technical ridgeline all the way to Slashman's. At this point, I was pretty much in no-man's land. It would take gear failure or an especially magnificent crash to catch Ben, and John was out of sight behind me, so I throttled back a notch and focused on not making any mistakes.  Soon enough, I was bombing down the last run and trying to skate efficiently on the long cat track finish.  The little uphill stinger was painful as always, but I was soon over the line, in second place, and glad to be done. John came in about 2 minutes later, then Dave, Nate Brown, and Alan, with tales of epic skin failures.

Starting photo, with everyone pondering how much they are willing to suffer.
http://instagram.com/p/j7X0NsEYLu/

Results in hours.minutes

1	Adrian	Michela	3.02
Male
1	Parsons	Ben	2.03
2	Story	Brian	2.08
3	Curry	John	2.10
5	Hoffman	David	2.19
4	Brown	Nate	2.19
6	Bestwick	Michael	2.23
7	Adams	Alan	2.27
8	Watson	Reed	2.30
9	Magajna	Joe	3.20
10	Witt	Jeff	3.29
11	Wood	Edward	3.18

Thoughts:
I had a great race. Even pacing, adequate fueling, just enough clothing, and strong skiing all went off without a hitch. Transitions were slow, but that is kind of the way of it. I have not been as motivated to train hard as in years past, so it was encouraging to see that my fitness has not fallen off too much.

Ben took the lead early on, and pretty much skied his own race out in front. Strong work Ben! Were it not for skin carnage, it would have been a battle between about 5 of us the whole way. John gave a good fight, as always. Thanks John! The race organizers worked especially hard this year to set the course during a snowy and cold week. The course was well marked, and the skin tracks were in, so thanks to everyone who helped out.

This is the third consecutive year of low turnout at the Bridger race, which is too bad, because the course is really, really good. As I mentioned in the PSA above, I would heartily encourage locals to support Bridger, grab your lightest setup, and just give it a go next year. Also, any racers looking for a good new course should make the drive and check it out.