Luckily we got lots of snow while they were here. We also carried our Circuit Powder surf up the chair, this was E2′s idea and it turned out to be a good one. It was pretty deep and kinda heavy so the powder surf was right at home.
The igloo was a bit harder to find this time around. Will be interesting to see what it looks like after a few more dumps.
Hiking laps in the backcountry is my favorite thing to do.
Our conditions have been nothing short of amazing considering how the rest of the country is fairing. Not that we are getting huge dumps but when Utah and Tahoe are still bare, 6” feels deep. I don’t preach as much as I used to about WHY you should snowskate. I think you should do what ever gets you stoked. But for me,(preaching) riding with my kids on a snowskate is way more fun then other options. I think it keeps us on the same level and I’m able to help them out if they have trouble with their gear which always seems happens. It started with the massive laps we used to do on the bunny hill, which on a skate feels more like intermediate and now I find that taking my sons into the backcountry on a skate is kinda the same. We aren’t hitting extreme terrain just fun little pow fields. When they get stuck or need a break from carrying their gear its so easy to help out when your not strapped down. Anyways here’s another short vid of the Igloo zone. Cole is the one launching.
We made an igloo in the back yard with our Ice box igloo maker last year. But the backcountry turns are a little fickle in the yard so this year we put it in a more turn friendly place. This spot is about 1/4 mile out of bounds and is at the top of a small mound with turns all the way around it. Seemed like a good location.
We packed it down with our snowshoes and leveled out a spot. The first row is the slowest and most important because it sets the angle of the dome.
The second row things get going a little faster cause the packer doesn’t have to be on his knees the whole time.
The snow was pure sugar, which makes a really strong block when you pack it carefully. The downside is it takes almost twice as long to build. With wet snow you can build an igloo in 2-3 hours. After 4 hours we still had the final top to do and the sun was setting so we had to leave it unfinished. I figure it still has about an hour of building time left. Will post a completed pic as soon as I can.
Ps: if you look right above Cole‘s head in the last picture you will se a tower on the hill in back. That is the resort boundary.
With the igloo done and stocked with sleeping bags and pads the only thing left to do was sleep in it. The weather after Xmas was kinda finicky and we passed on two scheduled dates which had moderate temps but rainy conditions. That left New Year’s Eve as the next option but the temps at 6000’, the igloo elevation, were going to be around 15 degrees. I wasn’t sure I had that much faith in the igloo to keep us warm, but folks who knew assured me that we would be cozy. Dec 31, turned out to be a beautiful sunny day, perfect for our hike in. We would at least start out the night dry. Arriving around 2 pm we started work on a wind break wall to the south. This got us warmed up and having fun.
We hiked a bit from the igloo and dug a couple of test pits. Pulled out our probes and measured the snowpack at 120 cm. We did an extended column test and found that the snowpack was looking pretty stable. It started getting dark around 4:30 so we headed in to cook dinner. We all felt pretty warm but the outside temps were dropping fast. In the igloo the boys pulled off their ski boots and put on their hut booties we had bought the night before. This turned out to be a huge comfort to their toes and no one complained to me about cold feet. With the candles lit things started to feel pretty comfortable, but it would get a lot colder and the thin door of the igloo with a 3” gap at the bottom didn’t look capable of stoping the cold. We had it pretty cush, thought, with ipod and speakers, DS game machine, tons of chocolate and stash of fireworks, Around 7 pm we went out to light em.
I jammed the first rocket into the snow and lit it. It quickly became evident that I had jammed it too far cause it wasn’t going airborne. Oh crap exploding rocket in our faces! We ducked towards the igloo as it blew up! Ok second one not so deep and it launched and exploded with flares. After the light show we returned to the igloo and felt how much warmer it was inside than outside and I knew we were going to be ok. We pulled out the sleeping bags and hunkered down with the “stuff you should know” podcasts playing on the ipod. We slept pretty good and stayed warm and dry, I was amazed! The next morning brought clear skis and nice temps. We had oatmeal and hot chocolate for breakfest, then got our gear on. We got some visitors, Cole and the Munro Family, Chris, Kathleen, Marshal and Owen. The boys started building jumps and we started doing laps. It was a blast!!
We got back out on Sat to wrap up the roof and get some laps in. Everything worked great and I think this Igloo will last the season.
Its pretty cozy inside, especially if you are sitting on a pad. We’ve stocked it with some candles, chocolate, area map and the latest issue of Starfish for anyone who happens to find it while tromping around in the backcountry.
After we were sure the roof was settled we remove the building jig and dug a trench down the middle so you can sit comfortably with your legs down. All that’s left now is to spend the night in it. Me and my sons, Max and Teig, are planning on spending a night this week. They are up for the adventure only because they have no idea what’s in store.
The new issue of Starfish has an article by Jeremy Jensen about the sawtooth trip. Great pics and text so check it out. To go along with the article I uploaded the sawtooth video to youtube. Its pretty close to the original I posted right after the trip but with a few additions and some new music courtesy of audio swap.
The snow is just barely holding on in the backcountry. Still finding untracked stashes and solid snow to build jumps with. My boys built this kicker using our snowsaw.
Cole launching an early grab.
Today was pretty darn fun. They opened the backside for the first time this year and there was some good, albeit old snow to be had. Check it out.
Its been a great start to 2011/12 season. Friday started out with 10 inches of new snow. A bit wind blown but really fun. Found ourselves a little patch of pow and built a jump. My boys built an even bigger kicker off to the side that we ended up having fun on. Its great when you get to the point where your kids do the work for ya.
Been meaning to post some video on how to swap out subs with my trucks. Here’s a short bit with some riding on the new 145.
Well, its been awhile since my last post, but I’m back and at least for the first part of the winter will be posting weekly updates. Its been a pretty hectic month getting ready for the season. I think this is the most prepared I have ever been before the lifts have started. The new shop has been great and it has afforded me the luxury of a curing booth for the decks and subs. After pressing they all go into this 70 degree room for another 5 days to insure the epoxy cures completely.
Although the recycled graphics from the last few years was fun I’m glad to be rid of someone else’s logo on my stuff. This season we’re looking at white, with some soon to be added stickers.
The sliding truck plates are black but other then that I’m pretty much sticking with the same design. Three hole locations and two height options with a quick release pin.
Black and green grip for the tops, with a built up tail option available too.
The subs from last season worked great but there is always a tweak that can push them even further. I reworked both the 145 and 135 forms for the better. I most excited about the 135 with the slightly longer base and lower sweeps to the nose and tail. Always looking for that short board that will float deep pow. The new subs are in white.
One great thing about the Chiller shop is that there is a great testing zone in the back. Just need a bit more snow to soften those landings.
The shop is clicking right along but the website is badly in need of a product page and that is next on the agenda. Expect more pics and prices next week.
Sorry about the lack of updates but this last month has been a whirlwind of big pow days, pressing decks and another epic road trip. After our last visit to the sawtooths I emailed Cory Smith at mtnapproach.com about his new approach skis that fold up small enough to fit in a pack.
Cory, who lives in Sun Valley and works at Smith Optics, checked out my post on the Sawtooths and extended an invite to come down for a few days of riding and filming at the Smith Optics private back country zone. Well I may be busy with work and family stuff but a invite like this doesn’t come along very often and so I jumped at the chance. I got the ok to bring along a friend and Cole happened to be in the right place at the right time so he scored the second seat. Not sure what exactly was in store we loaded up the car and hit the road. All we knew was there would be another group of riders hitting some jumps and that me and Cole would be able to explore the zone and hopefully find some pow. We got into Smiley Creek late and found the bunkhouse, which was a really old two stories cabin that had been patched up just enough to keep the heat in. After introducing ourselves to the crew inside we found a spot on the floor to throw down our bags and go to sleep.
The next morning the crew was a little confused about what to do we us. We didn’t have our own sled and the snowcat with the crew cab wasn’t working. Luckily a few of the guys tandemed us up to the zone. Our first day was great, we were able to catch a couple of rides up the mountain from the crew and caught deep pow turns on the way down. They were all pretty busy scoping jumps and making sure they were ready if the sun peaked out so any rides we got we really appreciated. We even hiked a couple of laps too just cause the cat tracks were so easy to travel. The next day we woke up to high winds and grey sky and every one in the bunkhouse was in no hurry to get going except us. Luckily we had left our skates at the yurt so they had to give us a ride up. Somehow it ended up just being Cole and I and two brand new sleds on loan from Ski-doo.
It was officially on!!! We rode non stop for the whole day, doing as many laps as we could. About half way through the day it even started dumping which really made it seem like we had stumbled upon a gold mine of opportunities.
All the terrain in this pic is part of the Smith Optics private reserve. With the help of the cat they have built tons of big hits into soft powder landings. All they needed was a little sunshine to make it all pay off.
The last morning brought blue skies and no extra sleds for us. This was okay seeing how our visit was pure luck in the first place and we were just thankful for the amazing two days we got. We packed up and headed home, stopping off briefly for a soak at a roadside hot springs. Big thanks goes out to Smith and Cory for letting us sneak in the back door of Prospecting Idaho, lets hope we can find a way to get back there next year.
