New Trails in WF!
Fri May 15, 03:46 PM
Pippo and I rode two hours worth of new (to us) single track just ten minutes from Pippo’s place.
These trails are offer good fire road climbs with sections of trail that are similar to Ewok and the trails of the Rattlesnake. We spent several hours riding every trail we found. The trail network doesn’t seem new, but it looks like it doesn’t get much use. I have never heard the trails mentioned as a mountain biker in Whitefish.
Phil and I are planning a “white trash” ride leaving from his trailer after work on Thursdays. Post ride includes Budweiser and some grub on the porch.
Better join us, these trails are sweet!
Pictures from the last few weeks
Tue Apr 28, 04:26 PM
The Great Northern Cycling tent at the Rocky Mountain Roubaix.
Jason Kiester and I finally make the summit of McDonald Peak.
The slog to the top of McDonald Peak outside of St. Ignatius. This was a 7.5 hour, 6500 vertical foot climb. We then got to ski almost 4500 vert. We had to bushwhack the rest.
The Girl at Pike Street Market in Seattle.
Heading for the pond (and certain death) with Addy at the Pond Skim on Big Mountain.
This is how Addy and I became famous in the Flathead Valley! We actually made it across on the tandem ski.
Flathead Update
Thu Mar 19, 06:10 AM
I have been a bit negligent on the blog because I haven’t been able to pick up any wireless signals at the house. This hampers the internet surfing! Work is busy, so no time there either.
Recently, I ran the Snow Joke Half Marathon in Seeley Lake, which doubled my miles for the year. I could barely walk for about four days!
Addy and I have been making the most of generally crappy snow conditions at the Big Mountain. We go up out of general obligation to skiing. Even if the skiing is terrible, I go up because I blocked out four months of weekends to ski. Lately has been better though.
I made it down to Bozeman to ski Bridger Bowl with Ben Ruffatto a few weeks ago. We rode the new Schasman’s lift, hiked all over the Ridge, but then Ben took a nasty “Tele-Tumble” and went head first down a rocky chute. We cut the day short to drive to the emergency room to get his leg stitched up!
Sunday worked out as Bridger got 10” of new snow, but I skied with Allie and it was more like 20”. Probably the deepest of the year!
Tuesday nights in Whitefish are spent climbing the Big Mountain, then grabbing a bite and a beer. Anyone that wants to join us, give me a call.
The next few weeks will be spent making the most of riding the chairlifts on the weekends, as there are only three weeks left! Work has been busy enough that I haven’t been able to sneak away during the week. The recession is certainly not putting Montana Build down. We are currently very busy and have several large projects in the pipeline. I just need to survive the work week so I can meet up with Addy and play every weekend.
Flathead Road Riding Update
Sun Feb 22, 07:46 PM
For those souls desperate enough to get on the road bike this time of year, I just want to offer up an update on current road conditions.
I recently rode a sheet of ice through the Whitefish Hills development. I usually don’t mind riding in crappy conditions, but I took my new road bike out on Saturday morning and rode white knuckled for about an hour and a half.
It might need a few more weeks!
In Search of Snow...
Sun Feb 22, 07:40 PM
Addy and I made plans for a trip to Castle Mountain over a month ago. She got out of work at the ski hill and I took some time off work so we could go to Canada for a ski weekend. As the first week of February approached, the conditions looked bleak. Big Mountain, along with most of the west, was looking for the next storm cycle to help the atrocious skiing conditions.
We were planning on heading to Castle Mountain until we got a call from the owner of the bed and breakfast we planned to stay at. “Ahh, we have had about 10cm this January and last night there were 160km/hr winds at the ski hill. I’m not really a skier, but I’m not sure the conditions are very good.” I thanked the guy for his honest advice and we now had a vacation with no place to go.
After some brainstorming, Lake Louise and Banff came onto the radar and seemed like the best bet. We found a great place to stay in Canmore and packed our bags. The drive is only about five and a half hours, and we made it with no problems.
The skiing at Lake Louise is very good. It didn’t have much fresh snow, but we didn’t have to ski very much ice. Lake Louise has incredible terrain, but I don’t think they get as much snow as some other resorts. It doesn’t hurt that it is in a national park and has stunning views when the clouds clear out.
Here are a few pics from the trip:
Addy coming out of a gnarly chute
A picture together after a day of great skiing
A view from the top of the Lake Louise Resort
Lake Louise and Me!
More Skiing
Mon Jan 19, 07:04 PM
Inversion on the Big Mountain
Addy and me enjoying the sunshine on Chair 5
This weekend was pretty cool on the Big Mountain. There was an inversion on the mountain, so the valley was cloudy and crappy, but the ski area was mostly above the clouds and in the sunshine. Big Mountain has a few days like this each year, so we had to go up, even though the snow was terrible.
I also met up with my brother and a few guys filming with Poor Boys Productions. We skied together Saturday, but my pants and coat weren’t baggy enough, so I let them do their thing on Sunday. I’m told I am a soul rider because I would rather ski than stand around waiting to set the camera up and get the great shots. I still showed those kids a thing or two.
Sunday afternoon I went down to practice for the ski joring competition coming up in a few weeks. Last year was my first year ski joring and it was a blast. This year, with Luke Cummings riding Fish, the horse, we should be a pretty good team. Here is a picture of me ski joring last year.
A few gates, a few jumps, and hold on for dear life!
Tuesday Nights on the Big
Thu Jan 15, 10:14 PM
I have been telling anybody that will listen that there is the opportunity to climb the Big Mountain every Tuesday night. We meet in the upper parking lot by the Hell Roaring Saloon. We skin/snowshoe up the run Tony Matt. We generally start about 7 pm. All are welcome to join us. We generally finish the skiing and go for a burger and beer.
New Years and Radley wedding
Sun Jan 4, 01:24 PM
For New Years, we had a bash that included dinner at Wasabi, night skiing on the Big Mountain, then ended at the Hellroaring Saloon. Thursday and Friday were powder days on the hill and we had a crew of 8-15 powder farmers harvesting freshies. Having a great crew and great snow made for some fond memories.
Last night was Shaun and Cassidy’s wedding and it is the first time that I have seen sport coats on any of my friends. Coincidentally, the supply of sport coats at the local thrift store is currently at an all time low.
I don’t think that the Whitefish Lake Lodge has seen many of the dance moves that came out last night. Adam Jensen had the ladies swooning over his swing dancing moves, Halpin busted out the “sprinkler,” the “crazy chicken,” the “monster,” and many other unnamed gems that only Halpin can pull off. Elliot, Pat M, and Matt Shryock showed us all some smooth moves when Michael Jackson came on and continued with a few breakdance moves throughout the evening. The bride and groom were right in the thick of the dance floor and had a tough time leaving as every song that came on was a “must dance.”
I want to again congratulate Shaun and Cass on their marriage and thank them for the great time.
Here’s to tandems!
Roger's Pass
Sun Jan 4, 12:36 PM
After having a great Christmas in Whitefish, Ben, Doug, and I made the pilgrimage to Roger’s Pass. This is a backcountry skiing Mecca on the pass between Golden, BC and Revelstoke, BC. We drove six hours north from Whitefish and caught the front end of a big storm. The Glacier Park Lodge is at the top of the pass and offers ski in/ski out backcountry skiing. There is also an avalanche center at the top of the pass, offering current snowpack data and avalanche hazard analysis.
Heading up to Canada, we knew the snowpack was (and still is) crappy. The region has been experiencing very cold temperatures, but until recently has seen very little snow. We knew the avalanche conditions would be bad, but by staying in the trees, we managed the risk. Saturday we made three runs. The first was approximately 3100ft, then two of about 1300ft. We found deep turns on the Grizzly Shoulder and some mediocre turns in the Teddy Bear Trees.
This trip is really treated as a scouting trip as the terrain is spectacular. There are mountains that offer 5000-6000 vertical feet of skiing right from the lodge. This makes for a long climb, but there are few places that offer that kind of vert from the hotel.
Because of the increasing avalanche danger on Sunday, we drove down to Golden to ski Kicking Horse Resort. This was a new ski hill for all three of us and was worth the drive! The gondola from the base climbs 4100 vertical to offer great skiing and again, lots of relief. This makes for long runs and burning quads.
As it turns out, we made the right call bagging the second day on Roger’s Pass. The avalanche danger increased on Sunday and nearby in Fernie, eight died in a multiple avalanche incident. The avalanches in the area reinforced the decision that we made to leave the backcountry. It hits pretty close to home when events like that happen.
There is a tough issue that all backcountry travelers that face: the terrain will always be there, but wait until the conditions are right. Making the decision to not ski something because of the danger is a hard one to make, especially because we drove so far to get there. We will be back and hopefully the conditions will be better. In other words, “we can live to chicken out another day.”
Skinning up for our first run.
Ben and Doug at with the lodge in the background.
Ben and me breaking out a gourmet lunch at the top.