Powder Skiing

March 12, 2019

As most people how are close to me know I am not the biggest fan of writing creatively on my own. Words for me have always be harder to create then an image, but after the winter wilderness course I saw the importance of this skill. Sometimes words can achieve higher levels of thought then even a perfectly composed images. So here’s my go at explaining skiing in powder accompanied by a picture of my good friend Beth Mixon getting pitted on a 24in bluebird powder day at the Glades near Stanley ID.

The crackle of white dendrites hitting your hard-shelled jacket and the cold penetrating your core means the snow is falling and you’ve been blessed with another extraordinary powder day. As you skin up the mountain through the Douglas Fir and Lodgepole Pine being buried in crystals, your inner child oozes through the oppressive goo of the realities of life. Worrying about grad school, homework, relationships, or even the day to day noise created by living dissipates as your lungs start burning, climbing, climbing up through the mountain air and into the blank monochrome forest. It’s only there where you can be so preciously played by gravity and snow. It’s only there one can truly understand the addiction to winter.

Being in the moment amongst the storm in the wildness of winter is more than challenging the innate human instinct to reject logic. It’s even more than being able to ski fast through the trees and thick banks of snow or being blinded by the pulsing waves of white as you turn. It is all of these things, but skiing powder is so much more because it is one of those times where one can focus so precisely that everything makes sense. A beautiful paradox of nothing that’s something, an out of body experience that can only be recreated in similar conditions. Deep light snow is not only rear but exceedingly fleeting a brilliant diamond that melts away almost as soon as one can start to appreciate it.

Williams Peak Yurt

February 10, 2019

So hopefully a lot more blog posts will be put up when I have time. Real brief this is what I was up to during the month of January: a one month trip to Stanley Idaho, backcountry skiing nearly everyday, literary analysis of creative works, learned about local history and land policy of the area, hot springs at night, journaling, great food every day, and a yurt trip at the end. That’s where I’ll start at the end of our trip up at Williams Peak Yurt.

The whole experience was absolutely unforgettable and had altered the way I think about the places I’m in. The approach was pretty impressive since the yurt is in the Sawtooth Wilderness Area everything for the two nights had to be packed up the six mile and 1500ft vertical foot skin track that follows a steep marian. With near 50 pound packs and weather so thick you could barely see, it became a true adventure. When we were just feet from the yurt we couldn’t see it and actually ran into the director of the National Sawtooth Recreation Area and the owners of the Sawtooth Mountain Guides (SMG) who pointed it out to us.

The reason for going to this amazing place was two fold: to live in actual defined wilderness and ski the unbelievable backcountry that exists nearby. On the full day two guides from SMG came to lead us to the top of Skiers Summit which is a flat spot just underneath Williams Peak. From there you could see the entire valley and the sharp granite that make the tallest peak of the range, Thompson Peak. The way down was fun passing through variable snow on the run called Garry Garcia and picking up some amazing snow on Tortilla Flat just above the yurt. It was truly an experience I’ll never forget.

There was a myriad of other things we did up at the yurt like building a snow fort to sleep in and a toasty sauna to bring you closer to friends. But the memory that I do not have images from was the full moon ski we did that night. It was one of those times that you must do without camera something you do with good friends to draw a tip to a close. We had no clue that the moon would even rise for the skin up, but as we got on our way in the pitch black night became bright as the yellow disk rise above the White Clouds. When we got to the top of Tortilla Flat the full moon lit the snow like a muffled sun. A magical experience with amazing people!

Stanley Idaho

August 17, 2018

After three years in Idaho and many before that traveling with my family I finally made it up to Stanley, ID. I spent three days and two night with my friend Anabel roughing it out in this majestic place. We were lucky enough to grab a stop at Lake View Campground right next to Stanley Lake. I think we got pretty lucky cause not only were our neighbors great (let us barrow their kayaks), but a spot never opened up in our site the whole time we were their.

The first day we visited Red Fish Lake and after a toasty nap we found a road that takes you up and over the hills adjacent to the Sawtooth that offered probably some of the best views in the valley. As the sun went down we saw Mars pop out and the milky way go vertical over the mountains as meteors streaked the sky.

After a late start (wanted to sleep more when it was still cool) we decided that a hike to one of the many lake in the area. After very little planning we settled on the beginner rated hike to Sawtooth lake. It turned out it was much hotter and longer then we both wanted but the cool lake at the top made it well worth it. After getting down and grabbing cold drinks and ice for the cooler we retreated to the side of the lake and recuperated. We went to bed early to catch the sun rise from the mountain overlooked we found previously and quickly packed up camp to end the trip in a hot springs. Definitely a trip to remember.