Thread: TR; this last weekend at Bridger

Bring the dynerfitters! I haven't even been skiing yet this year.

Ok, will do!

Last time I toured (or even skied?!) with you man, it was up Hyalite and looked like this:



Will be in touch.

Ahhh yes the ghost of Christmas past. A time much simpler than now.

This very night some 15 years ago nobody knew that the next day would produce presents that NOAA did not predict. Just a chance of snow would do. As I smoked resin, played fetch with a dog I was watching for the holidays, and cranked out Burning Spear in my empty 4 plex on Hunters Way.(Keep in mind this was when Hunters Way was the edge of town and my back door was fields to the west and north) By myself a lonely Chrsitmas Eve but it didnt matter I had some resin, beer, and a dog to enertain myself with . (Being early 20's this is good times)

The next day gave gift to fruitful presents only to be recieved by few. Unexpected storm brought snow up to my door handles with town recieving as much as Bridger, 24 inches of the lightest blower. Bridger had at least a 70 inch before the storm. I wasnt really early getting up. My bald tire Subaru wasnt going anywhere. Emergency routes were only plowed. Huffed it north to Oak? and stuck out a thumb. By the time I got there it was 11 the mountain opened at 10. It was ghost town and the roads were not traveled. D lot was where we parked. It was as some said that day the best day ever at Bridger. No liftlines and fresh for all who came up.

While most stayed home to open presents a few were rewarded with presence .

Just a tale which probably will never happen again. A tale from the ghost of Christmas Past.

Today I shredded some WROD and rode some super thin pow but I had fun. Some things dont change having fun being one of them.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Bozeman people .

Cold as a mofo too I forgot my mid layer that day and kept hiking to stay warm, think I busted a personal best at the time five hikes that Xmas & I recall a breakthrough powskiin kinda feeling at the end of that one, funny the details that stick...

MrryXmas 2all, yooltide familyski tmrrw -santullrman git our wishes?uknow the dealio homie...

That is the greatest Christmas story ever told...Except for the part about the resin, bummer dude.

I will always remeber my turns from Christmas 2007, of the now fondly remembered 07-08 season. 16 inches of the most perfect hero pow ever followed by 16" of blower in the next day or two. Cheers and a season full of good times ahead to all. Were gonna make it through this!

That was one good day >>> http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...78-Its-dumping!

Reliving the glory!

Deepest days I ever experienced. If you fell over it could be a long struggle to get upright and more than one
person got skied over as they struggled to get going again. nuts

treebomb talkin '96, I wasn't here for the '03-rip mikeyC...

bb patrol band upstairs eagles tues 27th

tree bomb, that story made my Christmas eve.
Thanks

Finally some heavy wet love for the poor ski hill.

Read the avalanche reports, guys. Last time I was out was a week after the Saddle slid. Kinda creepy.

Pow turns and lift rides among friends and all the good people of Bridger Bowl. Nice to see so many of you again, it's been too long. Fresh tracks down Boot Hill and North Bowl felt like the best pow runs ever for all I cared. Hope you all had a fun day and a good time tonight. Cheers.

south saddle today

gnarls saw the rockbands from the road but couldn't see crown...spicy
in no real hurry to get to my fave lines above the saddle cliff, hate 2be whooshed over if the world started movin...

wrang out 2011 w the 230-4 power hr, seems like my best bronco runs are after 4 when the lift aint movin, then at the griz my dog shat on some skis-sorry if they were yours I tried to clean them off lolz ...

hap twotwelve bitches

yesterday was fun. I've never been so excited to ride alpine and pk. good low angle freshies, hopefully we don't have to wait another 2 months for the next 'dump'

I gotta give props to bb playcare. me and the misses are stoked to be back on the slopes together again, and my little half pint loves that place. those girls do a great job.

base, we'll have to get the girls together for some runs (I sold her slowboard so she's back to riding for real again, lol) we looked for you guys during winter break but never saw you. we'll be out there both days next weekend

Originally Posted by Soft Booter

I gotta give props to bb playcare.

I've got a good story about the BB playcare.


My folks took my brother and me up skiing one day. I went to Mogul Mice in the morning while my parents followed my little brother through the rugrat trails off VC. We all met for lunch, where my brother had a meltdown tantrum. Occasionally he would kick and scream, but this time he was throwing his mittens and kicking his skis every which way, then just melted into the snow and wouldn't get up. My dad threatened him with Playcare Time, and when he didn't relent, off to the slammer for the little shit.

Later that afternoon, my folks names were on the chalkboards at the lift shacks... missing child! The entire place mobilized, with all the lodge staff searching through the base area and parking lots, and the ski patrol combing the mountain. All of Bridger Bowl was thoroughly searched for my brother. He was finally found by one of the playcare ladies who was searching every nook and cranny of the place... in a head-height cupboard. He had climbed in and hid there all afternoon while the panicked search went on around him. That's some serious grudge holding ability! I think only with some pleading was my family allowed to use the playcare ever again.

had a beer w yer pops the other week at the brewery norsey -funny story, my kids know your bro from lone mtn...& bootr we're sundays w kidski stuff, girls too old for playcare now boys will be in there tho especially my 3yo on a weekday pooder event...

funny story norse. my wife would be shitting her pants if that happened to us. every time on the chair up now she is always worried about getting the memo for us to report to playcare. our youngest boy just hit the playcare age of 18 months, so far so good. base, we''l keep an eye out for you. my daughter knows what your girls wear so she is always on the lookout. lately she's been riding with the neighbor boys from LF, but she needs some girls to ski with. here's a vid of her from feb 2011. she still has the same outfit. give a shout if you see us

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP8ZZqw6e2M

Glad to see that Bridger got some snow. When I saw 11", I was stoked. Still need lots more and the weather outlook isn't looking too rad, but at least turns were had and times were good.

Hard to believe 11" inches turned it into a respectable ski hill for the weekend. Good work being done up there, ski packing Bronco early season really helped out, and I have to give a shout out to my buddy Will, who has been working on snow sensor technology for the snocats. Now they can drive around knowing exactly where to move the snow around for hard times like this. Weird seeing snowguns running half way up the hill as well, but lower mountian would be way more hurtin if it wasn't for that.

I'm overall really impressed with how well things are going up there considering November and December couldn't have been much worse.

It was wonderful to land in town for New Years and ski 11" after the horror show season ya'll have had. Funny seeing the 1000000000 patroller tracks ripping down the nose/c-short. Must be ski compacting the ridge for all of us!

I Had some fun billygoating on lower nose and got 4th chair on Alpine, bra! I center punched the face! Sick!

JC

RIP David Gaillard. Bozeman has lost another great person to an avalanche. Our hearts go out to Kerry, Marguerite, Maryanne, and all of David's friends.
Services will be Friday January 6th, 2:00p.m. at the Springhill Pavillion.

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com...871e3ce6c.html

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Remem...6053048?ref=ts



"In Memory of Naturalist-Conservationist David Gaillard, 44
Northern Rockies Conservationist Dies In Avalanche
Written by Todd Wilkinson (Authors Bio)

Posted: January 2nd 2012

Heartbreaking is the only way to describe it. On the afternoon of New Year's Eve 2011-12, the American conservation community lost a young, fearless and inexhaustible advocate.

David Gaillard, 44, of Bozeman, Montana, died in an avalanche while cross-country skiing the Hayden Creek drainage, located in the Absaroka Mountains just beyond the back northeastern doorstep of Yellowstone National Park. He was with his wife Kerry Corcoran Gaillard, who was not caught in the slide.

A proud graduate of the Yale School of Forestry and Williams College, Gaillard came West in 1990 seeking to groundtruth what he learned in the classroom. He worked for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Predator Conservation Alliance and, for the last five years, Defenders of Wildlife. His special interest was with carnivores, which are key indicators of ecosystem health.

Gaillard was at his most passionate in giving voice to a suite of forest and mountain dwellers many of us take for granted because they are so elusive and seldom seen. The animals on this list include the wolverine, Canada lynx, fisher, and pine marten.

"People will protect the things that are right before their eyes," he told me in 2011 as I was writing a story about wolverines, then being considered for federal protection as a result of a listing petition that Gaillard himself helped craft. "If people can't encounter these animals directly, then I at least want them to realize they are out there—and they need our help. Otherwise, they could easily disappear without anyone knowing the difference."

Gaillard, a lanky, red-headed outdoorsman, loved traversing through snow on skis and snowshoes. He wasn't the kind of conservationist who saw himself as a town crier; rather, he was a celebrator of wild places. During the course of his career, he attended countless public meetings and dared to testify before hostile audiences that automatically equated species protection with loss of jobs. He delighted most in sharing anecdotes about the life histories of wolverines and lynx, encouraging folks to learn what their tracks look like in the snow and to take up the mantle of "citizen science" by sharing information they gleaned from their own backcountry adventures.

In 2011, as the U.S. Forest Service in Wyoming deliberated over whether it will open the Hoback Basin and Wyoming Range to oil and natural gas drilling—bringing industrial strength development to an important wildlife corridor—Gaillard erected remote controlled cameras. He wanted viewers to objectively see for themselves that the areas targeted for energy production were used by a wide variety of critters, including hunters and outfitters drawn to mountains unblemished by pumpjacks and air pollution. For an example of David's handiwork, enjoy the video below (click on the lower corner of player to bring it to full screen).





Gaillard had many friends in the conservation movement. Not long ago, Defenders magazine published a story about wolverines and global warming written by Douglas Chadwick and in it Gaillard was quoted: "Nobody can say for sure what the future may bring," he said. "But I want to be able to look my daughter in the eye and say we are doing everything we can to prepare lynx, wolverines and other wildlife that she loves for the big changes ahead."

Gaillard delivered on his promise. His daughter can always know that her Dad did everything he could to remind us that wild places matter. Condolences go out to David's family and close friends.

Here is a testimonial from Louisa Willcox, the Bozeman environmentalist a generation older than Gaillard, who was a mentor to Gaillard and, as coincidence would have it, a graduate of Williams and the Yale School of Forestry:

"When I met David, fresh out of college, what impressed me most was his openness to life and to learning, and his interest in making the world a better place. He had a kindness and freshness about him that never eroded over time, as happens to many in his controversy-ridden line of work, that of saving endangered species. He sailed through the waters of conservation and of life with genuine compassion and curiosity for animals and people alike -- and a wry sense of humor. David was distinguished by his red hair, but more than that, a smile that displayed sweetness and a deep soul. David's sweet, joyful spirit will be missed by all those who knew him."

If you have any memories of David, you are welcome to share them in the comment section, below. A special page set up on Facebook by his closest friends, "Remembering Dave Gaillard", can be accessed by clicking here."

Went out to the old South Gunmount to take some pics for patrol to see the results of control work done out at Slushman's.

Upper Ravine
[IMG] DSC_0581 by bobbywales, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG] DSC_0573 by bobbywales, on Flickr[/IMG]

Check out the big crown below the Bathtub along the Bitter End boundary area
[IMG] DSC_0567 by bobbywales, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG] DSC_0575 by bobbywales, on Flickr[/IMG]

Cool photos, I was wondering if the boundary area would go like that. Very interesting to see the carnage.

Soooo, tell me, there's not a chance that Bridger will like, shut down and send the employees packing if this keeps up another month, right? Have you ever seen them just give up on a season? Could it get worse than 06-07?

Today was a beautiful sunny day up at the Pavillion. Lots of tears and laughter as friends and family gathered for David. I hope peace is found for all.

During this dry spell it's a good time to brush up on rescue skills for everyone and rethink your red flag warnings when you're out in the backcountry.

Be safe all!