Cooke City Chronicle: December 2012

12/31/12

out of the blue

There is pack of wolves cruising around Cooke City right now (eight?), which is very rare, with a mid winter snowpack. And elk in Silver Gate (common, but good luck getting an eye on them ;)

Just got this email out of the blue. From a fellow that flew over the AB yesterday and made some photos of our ski tracks.

'Flew over your home surf today scouting, saw some pretty tasty zones. Hope to come out soon enough to make some turns. (faster farther link) Cheerio'

Love that last part. And how he saw Ben and the gang up at Goose Lake as well.

12/29/12

To dissect the the Fin...

Interesting/ ongoing dialogue with this one. Science, philosophy, art... An iconic feature. I'd call it, the premier powder face in the region. Mesmerizing. Skied by two parties over the last three days. (their tracks are just out of view, in today's photo) In head scratching style.? Would it be worth skiing the first four turns on belay? Then digging a snowpit? Would that compromise (or enhance?) the style? Is it worth the commitment? the risk? the reward?

12/28/12

wind like acupuncture

300 additional snowmobiles in Cooke City today. Give or take. Also observed a herd of fourteen ewes and a ram today. A record for me.

12/26/12

Currently out east with my family; drinking lots of fine wine, enjoying early morning ski tours around RLM, you know, the usual holiday sorts of things.

Word on the street is that the powder skiing is remarkably good around Cooke City right now, but there is also talk of recently buried surface hoar. (stay on your toes).

Mid December Mix-tape (video) to drop in the next couple days.

12/23/12

dancing with the hippo

12/22/12

happy holidays!

12/21/12

Yule tide

Midwinter new routing north of Cooke City.

Celebrating the Solstice.

12/20/12

a handrail

split a cord or so for the Woody Creek Cabin today.

12/19/12

Is the Fin In?

12/18/12

Hayden Mountain Holiday

12/16/12

I awoke at five-fifteen the next morning, jolted by the thought that someone had broken in with a chainsaw. Of course, it was just the snowmobile traffic outside my door. It kept coming intermittently, but somehow I fell back to sleep. By the time I stirred, ate breakfast, and wandered down the street for some fact-gathering, I’d been overtaken by events... (continue reading ;)

photo from this afternoon.

12/15/12

A watercolor from today. South of town.
You can't tell, but I am wearing a ball cap, and about to go underground.

12/14/12

12/13/12

100 Miles as the Crow Flies

Ski touring in the Bridgers...

Cool how regional mountain ranges commonly exhibit similar patterns of avalanche activity

(particularly within a 100 mile radius)

There has been some deep slab activity down in the Tetons lately (alpine NE aspects), with at least 3 similar events observed in the Bridgers today...