powder and.. patience

Contemplating the proverbial question of 'when are things in?', I rallied back up Mt. Republic with a second rope, planning to have a look.  (read:  wait at the door until let in)

Ascending the south ridge I triggered this slide from about 200 meters away.  (a long ways)  

Crown in the 1-4' range.  

It didn't run far, but it was very exciting to watch Pop, 

and rapidly pick up speed (running about 3-400' vert).  

Thus, a tip of the cap, and something to look forward to.

And.  There is a grizzly bear on the Bannock (Silver Gate).  in case you haven't heard.

and a moose this morning up Irma, pictured here.

took the 6 milli up the local 'cano today...

40 meters turned out to be well short.

probably for the better though.  (the hills aren't going anywhere soon ;) as sustained 30-40 mph winds were moving mass amounts of snow  (the high-east snowfield shed during the 45 minutes I was up there).

Mary D. Ann

(noted about a half dozen of these today)

Old Man Ray

8 to 10 in town overnight...

so I set an escalator up Åsa's Meadow's

for a couple laps into the cirque and through Ray's Rock 

(photo from a while back.  much snowier right now)

the apron was chest deep today.

with sluff manny the name of the game above.

the new snow skied FAST (slash city, giant face shots ;)

What's new in Cooke City?  

Well, the bears are definitely out.  ANd, it's still snowing..

And on a side note, if you ever come across this '06 Cab Sauv, it's well worth your 20 bucks.

An incredibly good bottle of grapes.

Easter in the Spanish Peaks

Bridger Bowl

Had all kinds of crazy link ups and classic peaks planned this week...

 but alas, they'll just have to take a back seat to more mellow powder skiing.  

Gotta love Mother Nature!

Sean Jones, enjoying another 16" of fresh,

amid a fun Bridger Bowl circuit this morning.

Chico

Been soaking up the good vibes around Paradise Valley lately ;)

skied from about 10,000 feet on Emigrant Pk. today...  marvelous experience, but a mixed bag of snow conditions:  wonderful deep powder, knife/ zipper crust, corn, and about everything in between.

Also noted a gargantuan cornice (50'+ depth) perched atop the planned SE couloir, just before thick, wet quarters began falling from the sky at a rate of about 2" an hour..

REally look forward to returning.  

Probably in early June (for perfect corn.  and packrafting/ fishing of the 'Stone).

north Barronette Pk. from a moonlit ski in Pebble Creek yesterday.

a few turns off the Shoulder...

and the long calculated Cutoff!

interstellar conditions right now

new routes anyone?!

"In any scholarly work about skiing in the Cooke City area, such as this, it would be nothing short of immoral not to extoll the virtues of the Beartooths.  Any ski trip there can't be considered anything less than a pilgrimage."

-an excerpt from Larry Fahlberg's Nine Months of Winter

new routes in good style

appreciating the excitement of the unfamiliar..!

Moose.  4 laps in on Woody Ridge.

Been making the rounds.  As usual.  Though avoiding the Corn Fest crowds (and antics).

Great skiing (as always), but very volatile.  Best to keep things casual right now (IMHO).

Unless you are über hungry and meticulously calculated.

ski sequence

drinking mimosas, in Sheep Creek, with the ski club

community service

round two.  trail grooming up Republic Creek

Was planning a piece on the subtleties of altruism...

but my old man sent me this Gazette link yesterday, 

reminding me of a few local land management issues.

The one highlighted, pertains to a million dollar facility f#@k up.

the Gardiner RD Chalet.
straight out of the Yellowstone Club.

Now, I've spent a fair bit of time around cornices and seracs and such, but walking under this one (to access the front door) was down right scary.  

I'll spare you readers a long rant about the flaws I find with local FS stewardship

(and the bureaucracy at large), 

and just encourage conscious awareness, and small steps in the right direction.

ski mountaineering today in Yellowstone National Park

bighorn sheep

pine martin

Hoosier's ablaze

Around 8 o'clock this morning, a massive explosion rocked Cooke City.

I thought it was the Birdhouse serac (Suzy thought it was an earthquake), 

but it turned out to be the Hoosier's propane tank.  

Twenty minutes later and halfway up Town Hill, I looked back to see 'er ablaze.

Fortunately, the friendly proprietors were all right, 

but tragically their place burned to the ground...

a window of opportunity

G. Carl, on dawn patrol

Another classic day in Cooke City.

waist deep Town Hill laps with Hawaiian Brian...

though stability is still touchy.

And look who I found in the Birdhouse!