2012 Montana Conditions, Stoke and Whatev Thread

[byates1]

Yeah should be rad. Heavy cash tips. Spending 10 weeks on flying d is a privilege

[Bunion 2020]

^^^ you will probably end up with some meat out of the deal as well. The D is beautiful especially the Cherry Creek trail, will you be able to get out and roam a bit?

[byates1]

Should. But they seem like its not free reign.

[Bunion 2020]

No matter. Cherry Creek is open to the public but not heavily used.

[byates1]

They are paving huge and expanding/dirt working parking at Bridger bowl.

[Bunion 2020]

Oh shit!
What if they stripe the lot and force people in between the lines? The horror, will someone think of the children.

Actually if they do pave all those lots it will help with the sedimentation from runoff. Not a bad thing. But paving IS expensive and BB needs to spend some of its cream, so why not.

[byates1]

Looks like no lots thus far just widening and all the way up to the lodge. Looks like grading and expanding the lowest low. They knocked a bunch of big trees down on the left approaching the lots. New culverts

[byates1]

https://www.aspentimes.com/news/aspe...ed-to-montana/

Maverick getting a fixed grip quad

[swimmy]

Trip got cut short. Water filter plugged so boiled water until I ran out of gas. Last day was a big push, approx 18 miles out. Here are a few pics

Hike starts in the trees. After about 5 miles you get the first views



Pass a few lakes along the way



Lots of ups and downs along the way which makes the trail a bit strenuous



Pass more lakes



After about 10 miles or so, things finally start to open up



Finally, the pay off.



Just a spectacular spot to pitch a tent



Did make it to the upper basin...which was the goal. It got a little smokey the last day but views were still pretty good.



Next time I'll try and spend a night here.



Spectacular spot and will be back next year for the golden trout.

[Norseman]

Nice dude, Winds are awesome. Thanks for sharing.


I'd like to politely suggest a UV steri-pen in lieu of the filter. They outperform filters in every way, except when needing to treat truly turbid asswater.

[swimmy]

Nice dude, Winds are awesome. Thanks for sharing.


I'd like to politely suggest a UV steri-pen in lieu of the filter. They outperform filters in every way, except when needing to treat truly turbid asswater.

Thanks! My buddy broke out a steri-pen a few years back on a trip into Yellowstone. Seemed weird.

I have two filters: Pur (Katadyn) Hiker and the MSR gravity bag. I've been using the pump since early 90's? But I do like the bag on bigger trips as it is nice having water around camp.

I'm anal about cleaning my gear. But maybe I didn't dry out the cartridge after the last use and the whole thing was clogged with mold. So gross and I was really pissed I didn't check it before I left.

I'll check out the steri-pen though. Would've been handy to have this trip.

[googledidoo]

Thanks for the stoke, swimmy. Absolutely spectacular!

[406]

Nice photos! I'm a fan of the Sawyer mini filter, small and light enough you could pack 2. Easy to back flush. I found the steripin to be heavy/large and hard to get to work and never liked the old school pumps.... maybe newer ones are better.

[byates1]

I'm an aqua Mira guy. Small easy

[yeahman]

Great pics swimmy. We did our honeymoon in the Winds, what a great way to start our marriage. Have not been back since but it's on the list!

[byates1]

Total snowfall last year 62". Jeez.

Maverick would be a rad place for a mag meet. They would be fine w lot camping, 2100' vert straight down. Local hot springs 5 min away, included w lift ticket almost positive. Low key real ski hill vibe.

Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk

[telefreewasatch]

Love your photos Swimmy.
The Titcomb: Jackson, Fremont, Sacajawea, Helen, Warren.
What a wall, eh?
Traversing the backside of them on the glaciers is a pretty good trip, too. Nobody over there.
Used to take a week to traverse the range, now it takes two!
I don't put in as long days anymore, and I'm certainly no faster.
If you camp in the upper basin, Gannett is a day trip...

Second what Norseman says about steri-pen. Just check your batteries before you go out the door...

[swimmy]

Great pics swimmy. We did our honeymoon in the Winds, what a great way to start our marriage. Have not been back since but it's on the list!

Man, that's awesome. I wish I could get my wife to go more with me. She's just not comfortable tent camping but at least she digs the travel trailer/day hike stuff.

I think I shared this but a few years ago I convinced her to do a backpack with me into Yellowstone. I told here don't sweat the bears, encounters are somewhat "rare." Of course, we saw 5 that trip.

Love your photos Swimmy.
The Titcomb: Jackson, Fremont, Sacajawea, Helen, Warren.
What a wall, eh?
Traversing the backside of them on the glaciers is a pretty good trip, too. Nobody over there.
Used to take a week to traverse the range, now it takes two!
I don't put in as long days anymore, and I'm certainly no faster.
If you camp in the upper basin, Gannett is a day trip...

Second what Norseman says about steri-pen. Just check your batteries before you go out the door...

Thanks!

I lived in WA state for 7 years in my late teens/early 20's. I became obsessed with climbing. I used to read about the Winds and at that time, Todd Skinner was crushing it. Ever since, it has always been a bucket list trip even though my climbing days are long gone.

But yeah, the upper basin is really cool. I heard Gannet is a MONSTER day. Bonney pass is a lot further than it looks. And the glaciers on the backside compare to some of the stuff we used to play around on in the Cascades.

So much cool area to explore. I can't wait to get back.

Oh and this one looked interesting in black and white

[swimmy]

Headed up into the Crazies today for a hike with the wife. Hope the smoke isn't too bad over there.

[Trackhead]

Great pics Swimmy. Love the Winds. Had a lot of good climbing trips there in my youth. And yeah, Skinner and Piana were the guys back then.

I met Skinner in Yosemite when he was working on freeing Half Dome. We we're both bivi'd on Half Dome, him on his route, us on regular NW. Fourth of July launching small fireworks off from Big Sandy ledges. Back in Camp 4 had my 15 minutes of fame as the other climbers thought we were working with Todd freeing Half Dome, that was NOT the case. Not even close. Good guy, tragic death.

[lifelinksplit]

Looks like a great trip swimmy!

Saw this work truck the other day. Truth in advertising.

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[Name Redacted]

Suck it Montana!

https://www.summitdaily.com/news/mon...ge-photograph/

[swimmy]

Great pics Swimmy. Love the Winds. Had a lot of good climbing trips there in my youth. And yeah, Skinner and Piana were the guys back then.

I met Skinner in Yosemite when he was working on freeing Half Dome. We were both bivi'd on Half Dome, him on his route, us on regular NW. Fourth of July launching small fireworks off from Big Sandy ledges. Back in Camp 4 had my 15 minutes of fame as the other climbers thought we were working with Todd freeing Half Dome, that was NOT the case. Not even close. Good guy, tragic death.

This story is cool on so many levels. Thanks for sharing.

Great hike yesterday and nice way to wrap up a solid week. Logged a bunch of miles and got to explore new areas.

[byates1]

https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/lo...rt-this-season

Wasn't a gondi from the base to team supposed to go in this summer?

[Bunion 2020]

My understanding was the lower 1/2 was suppose to be built this summer with the upper 1/2 next summer. Have not been on the hill all summer so no idea. I am psyched that the new 8 pack will be operational. Not sure about the completion of that damn gondola out of the O&O.