2012 Montana Conditions, Stoke and Whatev Thread

[ODHGABFE]

This north face south of the Sphinx is visible from town, actually a shorter mission than we thought. Still work though, just thought we’d be more scared of bears.








Forget about snow being normal or not, access is the issue for the west side of the Madison Range. Plenty of good skiing, not many places for the public to start from. It’s all worth it though. Springtime is your friend for snow, not for mud though. Oof.

[byates1]

Teton pass Montana. Ski arear. Open snow says 18" base. Thier website says 33"..

We should do a mini in late March.

I may be on the Pass but may also go on some bigger missions depending on what happens w/ snowfall & viz.

[Talisman]

Teton Pass looks like fun!

Teton pass Montana. Ski arear. Open snow says 18" base. Thier website says 33"..

We should do a mini in late March.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Never thought I wouldn't care to be missing the snow.

[Trackhead]

Never thought I wouldn't care to be missing the snow.

age/wisdom = broader thinking, realization that beaches and sun can be > skiing same old shit

[corn dog]

Access from 287 difficult?

I seem to recall a small amount of guesswork in terms of route, and then some back and forth between booting/skinning lower down, but not too bad.

[total_immortal]

Access from 287 difficult?

Pretty straight-forward, I always used the summer trailhead. I think it's called bear creek.

I've looked at Gallatin for 20 years. Think I'm going to get it done this spring.

It's been about 10 years since I was last up there. I'd be happy to revisit with you if the timing works out this spring.

[Norseman]

it snowed on me both times I stood on the big G... in early August.

[Bunion 2020]

Looked at the webcams and it was sunny looking with a dusting of new at the really big so I pulled the trigger and went down. Chilly but not bad, sun was out and the tram line was short so up I went and skied a Marx lap. It was chalky/carvy on the upper 1/2 with no evidence of new snow, the lower 1/2 to the right was pretty good so I decided to do another lap. Ran into a buddy (Jon) playing hooky along with his daughter and they were on the same car. Headed back to Marx, gave Dictators a glance. Next lap.

Crossed the short traverse to the top of Marx. To get to skiable snow you must navigate a short section that is about 20 ' long and as wide as a sidewalk and dished out down to the rocks. Or edge along a short (3' high?) wall that is about 70 degrees but edgable or so I thought. As I was about 1/2 way across my edges lost purchase and I slid sideways down onto the sidewalk. In doing so I planted a pole downhill and my right ski slid sideways until it hit the pole and then I launched to my right and directly into the fall line and my right ski came off. I started to slide and gain speed. I ditched my left pole and tried to use my right pole to self arrest. It is something I have practiced in the past when working and made all of my staff practice as well.

Problem was I was tumbling a bit end over end. After 3 or 4 rotations I was able to twist and stop the tumble and just slide but I was head down hill and still gaining speed. I managed to grip my ski pole just above the basket and dig in and that brought my head around and my feet downhill but I was on my back. I managed to roll onto my belly and dig in with the pole tip and that began to slow me down. I then spread my limbs out to create more surface areas and dug in with my boots and slowly came to a halt. Took maybe 15-20 seconds.

My skis were about 600' above me but my buddy and his daughter brought them down. We chatted a bit and after making sure I was OK they went right and skied the good stuff. I got my shit together and skied down and then stopped by a patroller and told them if they got a report of a long slide for life in Marx, it was me and I was OK.

Then I skied to my truck to call it a day. I called my Ortho and made an appointment for tomorrow, my right shoulder is a bit jacked and I may have dislocated/relocated during the fight, so I am probably on light ski days for a little while. It could have been much worse and my buddy said it was terrifying to watch. Thanks Jon, appreciate the help.

FYI If you ski steep chalky terrain, practice your self arrest technique.

It will snow this week now for sure. All you fuckers are welcome.

[byates1]

Holy fuck man. Glad you are not wrecked.

[Norseman]

Holy fuck man. Glad you are not wrecked.

x2

[cat in january]

Well dang that wasn’t what I was expecting to read coming in here. Glad to hear you are mostly all right. Hopefully nothing too serious. Heal up. Time to go to the hot springs

[Talisman]

I am glad you are reasonably OK. The skis 600 feet up hill is my classic move. Get well soon and reach out if you need anything.

My skis were about 600' above me All you fuckers are welcome.

[skaredshtles]

<snip>
Crossed the short traverse to the top of Marx. To get to skiable snow you must navigate a short section that is about 20 ' long and as wide as a sidewalk and dished out down to the rocks. Or edge along a short (3' high?) wall that is about 70 degrees but edgable or so I thought. As I was about 1/2 way across my edges lost purchase and I slid sideways down onto the sidewalk. In doing so I planted a pole downhill and my right ski slid sideways until it hit the pole and then I launched to my right and directly into the fall line and my right ski came off. I started to slide and gain speed. I ditched my left pole and tried to use my right pole to self arrest. It is something I have practiced in the past when working and made all of my staff practice as well.

Glad to hear you're mostly OK, man.

This is the kind of shit that mentally gets me gripped - those long, steep, chalky/smooth slopes that can result in a slide like you had.

First time I really got mentally thrown around like that was on the rollover into the main shot on Highland Bowl. All I could think was if I blew it, I was really gonna have a bad time... for quite a long distance. And that's not even really *that* steep...

[toast2266]

Ooof. Glad it wasn't worse!

Those falls that start as a small, seemingly inconsequential fumble but then turn into an accelerating shit show are never fun. Not that any crash is fun, but those slow motion awkward crashes give you so much time to think about how much this is going to suck.

[Bunion 2020]

Thanks all, I have 2 300 mg Ibuprofen on board and and chilling out for the rest of the day. My right shoulder is going to be sore for a while. It has already had 2 low grade shoulder separations that have been giving me trouble for the past 10 years or more, maybe this will help it heal or at least get me an MRI to see whats up in that joint.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Remember what Tuco said - "Don't die until later!"

[Trackhead]

I watched a friend slip, slide, and tomahawk over a small cliff and down a mtn in AK. He flew out of sight, no reply, silence. Was absolutely terrified and was sure he was dead. He wasn’t and got out on his own two feet. Terrifying seeing that kinda stuff. Glad you’re not lying in a trauma center somewhere.

[yeahman]

Damn bunion, that sucks. Good job keeping your wits about you and arresting your slide. The smooth chalk is fun to ski but a slide for life is always possible in the event of a freak fall on those steep slopes. Vibes man, hope to see you back out there soon.

[upallnight]

This north face south of the Sphinx is visible from town, actually a shorter mission than we thought. Still work though, just thought we’d be more scared of bears.

Forget about snow being normal or not, access is the issue for the west side of the Madison Range. Plenty of good skiing, not many places for the public to start from. It’s all worth it though. Springtime is your friend for snow, not for mud though. Oof.

Good info. Yes, Montana in general seems to be criss-crossed with private land. Navigating that seems to be important.

Teton pass Montana. Ski arear. Open snow says 18" base. Thier website says 33"..

We should do a mini in late March.

Ah.... duh. I knew there was a Teton Pass ski area in Montana (just learned that in the last year). Sorry!

I seem to recall a small amount of guesswork in terms of route, and then some back and forth between booting/skinning lower down, but not too bad.

Copy

Then I skied to my truck to call it a day. I called my Ortho and made an appointment for tomorrow, my right shoulder is a bit jacked and I may have dislocated/relocated during the fight, so I am probably on light ski days for a little while. It could have been much worse and my buddy said it was terrifying to watch.

Damn. Hope you heal quickly.

[The AD]

It will snow this week now for sure. All you fuckers are welcome.

We thank you for your sacrifice!

In all seriousness, hope you heal up fast.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Damn Bunion! Heal up!!!

[Harry]

Healing vibes sent for Bunion. Glad you are ok.

[homemadesalsa]

Thanks all, I have 2 300 mg Ibuprofen on board and and chilling out for the rest of the day. My right shoulder is going to be sore for a while. It has already had 2 low grade shoulder separations that have been giving me trouble for the past 10 years or more, maybe this will help it heal or at least get me an MRI to see whats up in that joint.

Holy smokes buddy. I lurk in the Montana thread cause we live so close. Didn't expect to see this! Glad you had trained that move. Ouch! Heal up!

Sent from my SM-A536U using Tapatalk

[tgapp]

Fuck bunion I am so sorry man.

Here's hoping you heal up quickly and are back at it in no time!!

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk