Category Archives: Mystery Ranch Employees

After spending a long weekend in Cooke, I was beckoned once again by the scale and availability of its spectacular objectives.

I couldn’t get the images of some of those lines out of my head and was fortunate enough to be able to load up, once again, and drive south.  This time, with a solid crew from Salt Lake City, including my good amigo Jay Beyer.

We had decided to spend a few days camped up where I had spent the previous weekend, to put us in good position for a solid assault on some big lines at a moment’s notice.  I took a scouting lap on my sled into the basin and found a stellar campsite in the trees located right below the immense wall, that I am nostalgically referring to as Churchbells.  After a few laps of running the boys into camp, we set out to see if anything was moving, and show the SLC crew the spectacular arena surrounding us.  I think they were impressed.

We got back to camp and, after a few bouts of the Old Crow, we attempted sleep amongst the titans that surrounded us.  Morning 1; quick breakfast to ease the angst … READ MORE >

Something awesome happens when you finally decide to go for something you’re really passionate about.

Starting President’s day weekend, I embarked on the best vacation of my life…snowboarding for 3 weeks straight.  Equipped with my new fuze pack, along with a demo blackjack avy bag from Mystery Ranch, I began my assault at Snowbowl in Missoula.  Running into my buddy Tanner C was great, considering he was one of the first people to show me how to really shred.  (By the way, the ‘out of bounds’ cliffs…..not really out of bounds….whoopsy!)

Back home at Bridger Bowl, 13” fell on day two of my vacation which signified to me I was in Ullr’s good graces.  Madman’s, Psychopath, Cuckoos nest, and the plethora of lines at Schlashmans were enough to keep me choking on powder for the first few days, and since I was finally riding mid-week it was like having the Bridger’s to myself.

Before I knew it the temps took a turn for the worse and dropped into the minus 10+ range.  Waking up one morning and discussing with my roommate how to layer for the day, continue to hike, and stay warm I panicked.  The last thing I wanted to … READ MORE >

Sometimes, something beautiful happens in this world…

In some cases that may mean falling in love, getting your dream job, or finding out that you didn’t actually break your back when you smoke a tree at 30 miles an hour…  On that note, the term Sunday Funday has a lot more credibility when the beauty of 2,500 foot faces littered with pillows, cliffs, and 2 feet of fresh are all of the sudden staring you in the face.

SW Montana can have a tough time staying consistent as far as snowpack goes.  The Bridgers can get pretty bad, pretty quickly, when 90 mph winds pillage any new snow that may have fallen in previous storms.  Gallatin Range, same thing…  And don’t get me started on the Crazies….  But fortunately, with a little exploring, some serious vert, and a couple hours trying to keep 4 wheels between the lines, something beautiful indeed, can happen.

A strong trio and a good sense of the terrain, Meg, Ryan and I cranked our way up switchbacks, through Cascade-esque pillows, perfectly spaced pines, and dozens of photo worthy cliffs.  It’s always a pleasure skiing with new people and I was stoked to get to be … READ MORE >