Category Archives: Mystery Ranch Employees

The First Day of the Rest of the Season.

By Ben Nobel | Published February 1, 2011

So after a few injury laden weeks from an episode involving a stubborn tree and my hip, I finally made it back into the mountains.  Tradeshows brought me down to Denver for SIA and Salt Lake City for OR, to ride some pow with my good friend Jay Beyer (jaybeyer.com)  The Wasatch doesn’t disappoint even with an ice layer from a rain sequence the week prior, as we found good snow on the backside of Mt. Superior.  Sunny skies and decent wind deposited enough new snow to cover up parts of that ice layer and make for some good photo opportunities and easy skinning.

My Fuze and I are attached at the hip throughout most of the winter and finally got a chance to ride my new DPS Lotus 138′s after staring at them for weeks.  A few laps on the north side of Superior on wind affected, but silky smooth snow, and a final push back down to Little Cottonwood.  If you haven’t ridden in the Wasatch….  You know what exclamation comes next…

That night, forecast called for a mild storm to roll in and we aimed our sights at the Y-Not Couloir on the North side … READ MORE >

Posted in Dana DNA, Mountains & Trails, Mystery Ranch Employees, Skiing, Trip Reports | 3 Comments

“Seacat Season” Slideshow

NWT Mountain Caribou
By Mark Seacat | Published January 31, 2011

… READ MORE >

Posted in Backpack Hunting, Dana DNA, Mountains & Trails, Mystery Ranch Employees, Trip Reports | 5 Comments

Behind the Pack – The Artistic Talents of Some of our Mystery Ranch Employees

By Erika Matsuda | Published December 23, 2010

Your Mystery Ranch backpack arrives and it is a dream pack, sturdy and well built. Behind each pack is a crew of super skilled production employees, who meticulously hand-make and inspect each product that Mystery Ranch produces. The design was originally created, then prototypes were tested. The fabric is hand-cut, the pack is hand-sewn, the foam is hand-stuffed and many eyes have looked over every nook and cranny of the pack. Mystery Ranch employees sew through multiple layers of tough fabric and a myriad of fastenings and straps. The crew behind the packs are outstanding. Rigorous high standards and a crew known for their technical precision are what sets Mystery Ranch Backpacks beyond ordinary outdoor packs. Each pack is finely hand-crafted right here in the USA.

Many of the employees are artistically creative and detail oriented, even outside of the usual workday. The “ranchers,” as Mystery Ranch employees are nicknamed, are a crew of artisans and craftspeople. Nearly every artistic discipline is represented by the current staff. One sews beautiful corduroy messenger hats and lined handbags, while another knits natural colored hats and mittens for the chilly Bozeman winters. A long-time rancher brews homemade beer, named Love Potion #9 and … READ MORE >

Posted in Mystery Ranch Employees, Stories from the Floor | 2 Comments

Introducing the “BlackJack”

By Kyle Christenson | Published December 2, 2010
Featuring: Blackjack

We’re going to be introducing a brand new pack to the Ski Industry this winter… for now, all we’re sharing is this advertisement.  Check it out.

… READ MORE >

Posted in Dana DNA, Mountains & Trails, Mystery Ranch Employees, Skiing, What's Hot | Tagged | 1 Comment

My Rifle Gives Me Little Advantage

drake-fire
By Steven Drake | Published November 2, 2010

The elk have moved out of the high country and into the thick and dense low lands.  The bulls are grouping up and have quit bugling.  My sight and sound advantage has been taken away.  A positive attitude and the liklihood of snow are all I’ve got now.

This year I’ve been blessed with drawing a limited entry elk permit in a unit with high potential for big bulls.  I am able to archery hunt AND rifle hunt.  Previous years I’ve only been allowed to archery hunt.  Last September, I was fortunate enough to take a beautiful six point bull the third week of the bow season, in this unit. My success left me optimistic about this fall’s opportunities.  So far, that opportunity has been just out of reach.

Elk season started off with me walking up on another archer’s kill that was never recovered.  The meat was too far gone by the time I found him.  I left the bull hoping that the hunter would eventually find him and punch out their tag.

I hunted the low country the first two weeks of the season with a few chances on smaller bulls.  The rut was slow to start so … READ MORE >

Posted in Backpack Hunting, Mountains & Trails, Mystery Ranch Employees, Trip Reports | 3 Comments

2010 Montana Archery Antelope Hunt – VIDEO

Pronghorn at sunset
By Steven Drake | Published August 25, 2010

The learning curve in hunting as an archer is steep.  Many seasons of spot and stalk techniques have left me close but empty handed. After years of hard work and persistence, I was fortunate enough to harvest my first Pronghorn Antelope with archery equipment.  This short video documents my first two weeks of the season – from stalk to harvest. Enjoy!… READ MORE >

Posted in Backpack Hunting, Mountains & Trails, Mystery Ranch Employees, Trip Reports, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Big Fish and Lasting Memories

By Steven Drake | Published August 21, 2010

Sockeye Salmon on Lake Creek

21 years ago in April, while my mother was in labor with me, my dad was out fly fishing the Missouri River. Perhaps I was born to fish. When I turned 21, I held my dad to a ten year 21st birthday promise – we’d go to Alaska for a fishing trip.

Growing up, my hunting and fishing buddies were my Dad, Paul, and my Dad’s two friends, Phil and Denny. Every summer Phil, Denny, and my Dad, would go on a fly fishing trip into Yellowstone Park. I was never invited. They said that when I turned 21 I’d be of age to join them on such a trip.

Recently, in the first week of August, I found myself along with Phil, Denny and my Dad, in Alaska in pursuit of big fish and an unforgettable experience.

We started our trip in the small town of Hope, on the Resurrection River, catching Humpies on fly rods. Humpy is the nickname for a pink salmon. The Humpies were running hard. We had no problem hooking and inadvertently snagging dozens of these fish with our fly rods. Male pink salmon have enormous hump backs, hence the … READ MORE >

Posted in Mountains & Trails, Mystery Ranch Employees, Trip Reports, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Camp Patriot’s Summit Challenge 2010

patriot
By Kyle Christenson and Ben Nobel | Published August 6, 2010
Featuring: G5000G6000GlacierTrance XXX

Mystery Ranch is proud to have sponsored Camp Patriot’s 4th annual Summit Challenge,  an attempt by 4 disabled veterans climb 14,411 ft. Mt Rainier in Washington’s portion of the Cascade Range.  As part of the marketing team at Mystery Ranch, we went along to outfit the veterans and organizers with U.S built backpacks, and to assist the team with photography and cinematography during the 4 day climb.

This year’s team included a heroic squad; Navy Seals Mike Day, Jason Redman, and Brian S, and Corpsman Kevin Ivory, all of whom received Purple Hearts for their services in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Their inspiration to climb Rainier was facilitated by heroic stories from past attempts, especially the iconic summit by Camp Patriot Vet Ryan Job.

The kickoff to the event was hosted by the Seattle Seahawks at Qwest Field in downtown Seattle.  The event featured speeches from previous summits, other Camp Patriot adventures, and a spectacular presentation by climber and astronaut Scott Parazynski, who joined the team on the mountain.  His inspirational presentation about his 5 shuttle missions, an Everest summit, and life as a medic was a motivating speech that stirred adrenaline in all of us as we prepared … READ MORE >

Posted in Mountains & Trails, Mystery Ranch Employees, Trip Reports, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Fire and Corn

By Steven Drake | Published July 7, 2010
Featuring: Saddle Peak

“We are having way more fun than they are,” said Jake. He wasn’t kidding!

On the 4th of July weekend, I found myself perusing through Yellowstone Park en-route to my family’s cabin just east of Cooke City. I had no expectations for the weekend and expected nothing more than a lackadaisical few days, all while enjoy the beautiful scenery that the Beartooths have to offer.

With that said, you’d be a fool to drive into the Beartooths not toting ski gear. I’m no fool! On the morning of the 4th I drove up to the Beartooth Plateau in search of snow. Things were looking grim at the Wyoming summit. After descending the last switchback before the Gardner Lake pull out, I turned around and was treated to a pleasurable sight. Gardner Headwall’s north and south lines were very skiable!

With my gear on in minutes, I hitched a ride back up the switchbacks to the summit and then anxiously trekked across the plateau to the top of the southern aspect of the headwall. The line hadn’t been skied for at least a week – I was more than happy to track it up with some big GS turns. Smooth, steep, … READ MORE >

Posted in Backpack Hunting, Mountains & Trails, Mystery Ranch Employees, Playing with Fire, Skiing, Trip Reports | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Blaze

Spanish Peaks from the Flying D
By Ben Nobel | Published June 24, 2010
Featuring: Fuze

Nothing like springtime in the mountains.   You ever been sitting around early on a Saturday morning sipping black juice with your buddies trying to come up with a plan for the day?  Should we head to the Gally?  Maybe run the Kitchen Sink, ride Leverich, or try to find some north facing couloirs to boot up?  It’s the fortunate problem we all run into living in Bozeman, and especially during the spring months.  As the snow continues to melt faster and faster with the warming days, we thought it would be wise to try and get in some big lines prior to full blown summer.  Gallatin Peak looks good, as does the Y Couloir on Big Black, but we thought that instead of the classic descent in the later months of July and August, we decided to have at the big NW Face of Blaze Mountain.

I was off the couch after a 3 week stint of travel and work so needless to say I was psyched to stretch the legs a bit.  The sun was blazing by 9 am and we trudged through the venerable stream that was the Spanish Creek trail, past one fork, and approached another.  Years … READ MORE >

Posted in Mountains & Trails, Mystery Ranch Employees, Skiing, Trip Reports | Tagged | 2 Comments