No More Roads

Snow Kiting in Idaho

Hand Cut- Sweetgrass Productions

Plastic Problem

Everyone knows how big of a problem our consumption of petroleum based plastic water bottles is, both in terms of the waste stream and the chemicals that leach into the water. Here is an exciting solution option that addresses the convenience of bottled water without the harmful repercussions of consuming petroleum based plastic. Check out this post from my friends over at Earthpure Organics/NextGenVending.

Idaho Rivers are Calling me

The Idaho rivers have been calling my name this spring and I've been on a 3 weekend-in-a-row spree of day trip floating. It began with a beautiful float down the Cabarton section of the North Fork of the Payette River from Round Valley to Smith's Ferry.

We spotted a bald eagle, osprey, and other birds but not a single other float party. It was a blissful day. Howard's plunge near the take-out got our hearts beating as the lead cat got pushed hard into the rock on the bottom left causing one passenger to swim and the other to quickly jump on the high side to prevent a flip.


The next weekend we hit the Middle Fork of the Boise above Arrowrock Reservoir. The float from the confluence of the North Fork and the Middle Fork down to Willow Creek Campground is an easy float with some fun wave trains and beautiful scenery. Our group of 40 were floating in opposition to the proposed gold mine near Atlanta, ID upstream of Boise and in the headwaters of the city's drinking water supply. It's an annual trip that I've loaned my boat for (check out this post from last year's trip or this one on Idaho Conservation League's blog to learn more about the issue).


Here's Bill and his two kids who I floated the Middle Fork and the South Fork of the Boise with on two weekends in a row. Jack and Isabel enjoyed their first rafting trips and definitely preferred the white water of the Middle Fork over the mellow float of the South Fork.

The third weekend we hit the South Fork of the Boise just below Anderson Ranch Dam. This stretch is known for its fly fishing and easy access. It's only an hour and 15 minutes from Boise and the roads are easy traveling compared to the unbelievably bumpy and windy road out the Middle Fork of the Boise. We had never been and realized that next time we should float the canyon section below Danskin Bridge or have double the flow for the section we floated below the dam.

3 weekends and 4 days of rafting. This is why I love Idaho so durn much! Now I've got the bug to do some longer trips on any number of wonderful river stretches we have here in this amazing state. And it's known as the potato state?! What a misnomer!

Snow Camping in the Salmon Mtns

It began with the usual rush and chaos of getting out of town. It didn't help that I had planned an open-house for work on Thursday evening and hadn't packed before as I had hoped to. The purpose of the whole adventure was to get some head space out in the wilderness and meet up with my good friend Paul from Missoula. There was a lot of intention going into the weekend simply because I needed a change in scenery and a chance to breathe deeply for a while.

The wilderness is very soothing and therapeutic for me and at the same time it's extremely mysterious and challenging. Somehow it seems to clarify and put my life into perspective (at least one perspective). A long road trip by yourself is always a good thing to do when you need to think things through deeply. Unfortunately, due to my extremely late start, the nature of the route, and the distance I needed to travel, the drive out to Salmon ID from Boise at night didn't allow my mind work through my current troubles and past at all. It took me 6+ hours of white knuckle driving at an average speed of 45 mph due to the incredible amount of deer and elk on the windy roads. I arrived in Salmon at 2am and passed out in a hotel room Paul had secured for us that night.

We woke late and had a leisurely breakfast at The Coffee Shop (the only place for breakfast in Salmon besides Burger King and convenience stores) and proceeded to make a plan for where to spend the next 2 1/2 days skiing and camping in the mountains. I gave Paul the 15 minute run down on my life then we purchased a couple of maps and got some good recommendations from a local sportsman shop. The interaction with the shop owner was the first of many to bring up the wolf management and de-listing situation in Idaho. He told us that the people in town never were happy that "The Environmentalists" came into their town and shoved wolf re-introduction down their throats. He said wolves were making a natural and steady comeback and many had been sighted before re-introduction began.

After a quick stop for whiskey and a few key grocery items, we headed off to Williams Creek Summit just 20 miles or so south west of town. The drive up was beautiful and my excitement started to build as we climbed up towards the snow level. Shortly after reaching the snow line we stopped to help a fella who had slid his truck into the snow bank. Paul threw out his chains under Tom's tires and he was out. He had been cutting wood in the forest and had smashed the passenger side of his truck with a log. The back window was broken out and he proceeded to tell us how he was just standing there and a tree came rolling down the hill and crashed into his truck. Likely story Tom, but it's always fun to meet mountain characters.

A few more miles and we were at the top of the pass where we began gearing up for snow camping and skiing. It was ridiculous and sort of funny how ill-prepared we were in terms of food and cook stuff. We had one heavy small pot for cooking and melting water (ALWAYS TAKE 2!) and had all kinds of heavy, hard to prepare food for meals. I won't go into the details, but needless to say the next time I go snow camping in the woods I'm taking only dehydrated foods and plenty of whiskey.

Once we hit the trail it was a great feeling. It's always that moment that I think to myself- I need to do this more often - why don't I get out here more? One obvious answer that came to mind was my family li. With two young sons and a wife with a full-time job as well, it's amazing I can get out on trips like this at all. It was perfect to be out there with just Paul. He's so mellow and happy to not have any agenda at all, which was exactly what I needed to be able to unwind my hectic mind. It also helped that he's a really good listener, has great insights and is more sarcastic than any person I've ever met, yet sincere at the same time.

We found a perfect spot in the woods protected from the wind and blowing snow, set up our tent, gathered some wood and went for a short jaunt to explore the area. It was a great location for views of the Bitterroot Range, the Lemhi Range and the Bighorn Crags over in the Frank Church Wilderness.

Dinner that night was a huge disaster and I have to take full credit for screwing it up. Paul put a lot of effort into preparing some of his hand picked morel mushrooms only to have it ruined by a risotto mix that should have never been for sale in the first place. The problem was that I never read the ingredients until after we both decided that the food was actually inedible. It reminded me of my trek through the Pyrenees with my brother when we ate only awful pasta primavera for 8 days. My brother still gives me a hard time about that and I have a feeling that Paul won't let me live that risotto meal down either.

The next day we found a great burned-out northern aspect with great powder and about 1,000 ft vertical only a mile or so from camp. We took our time touring and enjoying the incredible scenery and the rhythmic sensation of skinning up the mountain and through the woods in silence.

The tour back to camp climaxed with the skies opening up and revealing the distant Bitterroots in their full alpen-glow glory.

The meal of salmon and whiskey finished us off well and we were in the tent and asleep like babies before my kids usually are.

An early ski out punctuated by a pleasant conversation with a local backcountry skier and his wife out for a day tour ended the skiing portion of our trip. We headed back down the mountain to town for some small town food and our final goodbyes.

It was early enough that I had the time to take a great side hike up to Goldbug Hot Springs south of Salmon. It was a nice contrast to be hiking in shoes with no snow around and headed up to the headwaters of Warm Springs Creek for a soak in the hot agua. Shortly after I arrived at the springs after the 2 mile climb the only other visitors packed up and left. It was sunny and I was alone soaking in one of the most spectacular hot springs I've ever been to. The situation was hard to beat really.

I was back to my car in time to be able to drive the 5 hours back to Boise in full daylight. Finally I had the road-trip time to let my mind absorb the passing landscape and contemplate how my life had gotten so complicated and hectic and what I could do about it. After it was all said and done the trip was an incredibly fun adventure that I really needed.

Ski session in the Sessions

My brother Mike and I had a fun bc excursion into the Session Mtn's which is a small section of the Wasatch Range just east of Bountiful UT. We hiked and skied up Mill Creek Canyon -- a close 5 minute drive from his house -- climbed the ridge north of the canyon and followed it east for a while exploring our descent options. Mike had spied what looked like an ideal slope he coined his "secret run" on google earth and was excited to get his first in-person glimpse of this perfect run only a 2 hour hike from his house. 

The ridge was beautiful with significant cornices and wind-loaded northern aspects and it provided great views of the surrounding peaks as well as across the valley to far off ranges jutting out of the desert. Isolated storms drifted across the flat land below us dragging their skirts of precipitation along the earth. After traversing the ridge and negotiating a narrow boot-pack section near the cornice we came to the "secret run". To Mike's dismay it consisted of a very steep and short drop to a flat bench. He concluded that google earth had misinformed him by showing an average of the two slopes steepness combined. The good news was that there were plenty of great options from anywhere along the ridge including open bowls and slopes with evenly spaced fir and pine trees.

We skied the north side down into Holbrook Canyon and while we had planned to return via our approach we opted to try to ski out Holbrook and catch a ride back to my car. The bottom of Holbrook had a trail and was fairly navigable on skis for the most part, although at one point I thought Mike was going to dive into the creek head first during one crossing. 

All in all we probably covered 7 or 8 miles and 3,000+ feet of vertical. The weather and views were spectacular going from sunny and warm one minute to windy, cloudy and cold the next. Mike saw a snowshoe hare and we followed fresh moose tracks on our way out Hollbrook.

In Idaho...Smokey Mountains

Rawmin came over from San Fran, Mike came up from Salt Lake and I drove over from Boise for a fantastic trip exploring the Smokeys over four days last week.  We found great powder on the north facing aspects and loved skiing the burned forest areas near Fox Peak. Tornak is an awesome hut northwest of Sun Valley operated by Sun Valley Trekking.  It was recently rebuilt to accommodate wheelchair access and is very comfortable and well stocked with materials. 

The mountains, skiing, weather, forests and hut hang time reminded me why I love bc skiing trips so much.

Wolves to be Killed in massive numbers

Wolves have been de-listed from the Endangered Species List and the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming are assuming responsibility for management of the species. The grey wolf was reintroduced to the Rockies in the mid 90's after we decimated the population out of fear and greed. Now they are destined for more killing by the public in planned hunts.
A gray wolf. (Credit: Tracy Brooks/ Mission Wolf/ USFWS)

The Jughandle Lady

The hut is nestled into the tree line directly west and below the southern nob of the mountain known as Lady Bug. These photos were taken by Eric Pfeifer on a ski tour with Josh who is the owner/creator of the Jughandle Backcountry Silo. Custom bunk beds, a wood stove and insulated walls round out the rustically cozy accommodations perched on Jug Mtn's flank.

Elke and the Boys

Yes Elke (elk-ey) is her name and she's a little bundle of joy. With sharp teeth and a rambunctious attitude she keeps the boys on their feet. 

Larry Craig Publicly Chastised

The Senate Ethics Committee officially rebuked Larry yesterday for soliciting sex in the men's bathroom at the Minneapolis airport. Fortunately, in my opinion, they did stop short of requesting his resignation. While this is a satisfying development for someone who has lied and cheated Idahoans and catered to corporate special interests for many years, I just hope it doesn't push him over the edge to resign. I think the Dems will have a much better chance to gain his seat if they don't have to run against Governor Butch Otter's appointed replacement.

A Snowmobile for George

A Snowmobile for George
is playing in Missoula at the Wilma Theatre

Tuesdsay Feb 19th

**This post is quoted with permission from the filmmaker's recent press release**

"A Snow Mobile for George" is a rambunctious road trip that collects the stories of fishermen, cowboys and firemen who have to face the consequences of environmental de-regulation by the Bush Administration. Starting with a question over the filmmaker's used two-stroke snowmobile engine, the documentary uncovers the political strategy and rationale behind a massive sell-off of public resources.

But if close ties between corporations and the Bush White House don’t surprise you, the film’s approach may. “A Snow Mobile for George” begins modestly as a one-man, one-machine road film that simply asks why rules to clean up a smoky off-road machine got shelved. With no presumption of guilt or blame, filmmaker Todd Darling tows his family snowmobile across the United States What starts off as a loopy personal quest steadily morphs as this petroleum Huck Finn takes the viewer to the sites of more serious environmental changes.

Told with a dry sense of humor, the film traces rule changes back to key Administration players. On this coast-to-coast journey, the filmmaker goes to the Klamath River along the drought stricken California/Oregon border where politically inspired rule changes by the Administration helped cause the nation’s largest fish die-off in 2002. A thousand miles East, in Wyoming, he discovers a range war between ranchers and oil-companies that started when political appointees in the Interior Department suppressed clean water rules for natural gas drilling. and persists in asking that question. The film’s humble point of departure gives little hint as to its ultimate destination.

And finally, he and the snowmobile roll into lower Manhattan. There he meets New YorkWorld Trade Center. firemen, Wall Street workers and residents worried about their health and their lives because White House environmental officials ordered the EPA to side-step toxic waste protocols in the collapse of the

The common thread among these stories is de-regulation – the notion that common citizens benefit when “the government gets off their back”. But the film uncovers how the Administration worked efficiently to match up the goals of select industries with the political demands of the White House at the expense of the little guy.

Through out the journey the original question about the resurrection of the smoky two-stroke snowmobile engine becomes the tragic-comic relief. Bouncing from smog checks in Salt Lake City, buffalo in Yellowstone, college engineering contests in Michigan, and lobbyists in Washington, viewers discover that the snowmobile has some powerful allies. And oddly enough, this seemingly obscure off-road vehicle pioneered one of the Administration’s most sophisticated computer-based political strategies.

At times beautiful, at times wacky, “A Snow Mobile for George” takes the viewer on an American odyssey that poses thought-provoking questions about the deterioration of the public good.

I encourage you to go see this film and show support of its environmental message. For more information about the film please email snomo4geo@gmail.com or visit http://www.asnowmobileforgeorge.com/.

Back to My Roots

It was an unbelievable weekend in Steamboat of seeing old friends, making new connections and skiing in the copious amounts of snow that they've had this season.

This is me talking with my high school geography teacher about the route plans for the day on Hahn's Peak in North Routt. Jim had surgery on his shoulder a few weeks ago and is already out skiing the bc like it's nothing!

Here is Chris enjoying some turns in the Northern Glades.

On the way back to Columbine we made a quick loop up and over the Porphyry Ridge which was a great treed aspect with good pitch for our final turns. It's the knob in the background of this photo.

It's hard to beat a good day in Columbine on Hahn's Peak, especially for me since its the mountain where I learned how to telemark and respect the backcountry.

Wowa

Greenville Tour

Greenville Mine Road, Routt National Forest, CO

Backcountry Film Festival Promo

A huge thanks goes out to Darren Sand for putting this promo video together for our Backcountry Film Festival. It was a fun project to work on with you Darren!

The Snowy New Year

Sunday we were blessed to wake up to more fresh snow on the valley floor so we headed over to simplot hill for some sled runs. The only down side is that there's not much room to slow down or stop before the road. Parents line the bottom just waiting to dive and tackle their flying children before the street. Hay bales would be helpful.

This friendly couple was outside on their lawn and greeted us as we drove by en route to our house. I love the friendly snow people in our neighborhood.

A Windy Climb

One day a friend and I followed our boys into the foothills for a steep adventure that took us to the top of Castle Rock. The wind was howling and biting and the boys loved it. This shot turned into one of our xmas card even though 2 of the boys aren't ours, but are close friends.

Tane', River and Qi are surveying the townscape below from the Castle Rock perspective. An old volcanic plug, Castle Rock makes for some fun rock scrambling and a nice view only 10 minutes walking from the house.