Having a gas at Washington Pass

And some of us had more gas than others (you know who you are...)

What do you get when when you mix great people, sunshine, wilderness, and awesome skiing? A peak experience (no pun intended). Definitely one of the key things that I live for... Met up with Stephen, Jeff, and Doug for a super-sweet weekend of ski touring in the North Cascades. On Saturday we did the Birthday Tour and found some great spring conditions, a party in the alpine, peace and quiet, plenty of turns and amazing scenery. We started at the Blue Lake trailhead, below Liberty Bell and ended up at the hairpin on Highway 20 after a full day of touring.

On Sunday I forgot my camera battery in my car, sadly, but the kick-ass day in the backcountry will be forever etched in my cranium (or wherever memories end up). After working our way through some dense forest we ended up below Silverstar Mountain and skinned up to the high country where we found tons of great skiing and more massive views culminating in an exciting singletrack descent through forest and glade to get back to the car, with enough time to chow on brats then make the 6 hour trek back home.

Make sure to check out Jeff's Javasport blog for more pics and prose...

May Days

It's been a fun and fast week. On Tuesday I took a couple of local reporters out to the field so they could do a story about migrant workers that do tree planting in burned-over areas, which was a pleasant way to spend a day. Tomorrow I'm heading out to the North Cascades for some backcountry skiing with friends for the weekend, which will be wonderful, especially since fresh snow has been falling. Yippeeee!

Maintenance Month

On Saturday I rode my bike up Mount Sentinel via the Crazy Canyon singletrack. In all it was 15 miles with 2000 feet of elevaion gain, all from the beauty of my back door. The ride is about 2% street, 70% fire road, and 28% singletrack.

Otherwise it was all about maintenance. Clean the moto and auto, organize garage, mount an attack on the spider mites colonizing my rubber plant, etc... The weather has been perfect and it's only gettin' better.

Back from Butte

Just got back from a spur of the moment week in Butte, where I trained to be a wildland fire information officer. Butte is a fascinating town, full of history and interesting relics. Apparently, Butte boasts the largest St Patrick's Day celebration in the country, and at one point had more Irish people than any other city in the union. I personally find it pretty unsightly, but you can't help and wonder in awe at the open pit mines surrounding the town, the crater 1800 feet deep and over a mile across filled with acid, and large white statue of a religious icon looking down at it from a nearby mountain.

Got back to Missoula today and went climbing after work with my friend Sean, and was surprised at being in fairly reasonable shape given how little I've been getting out lately... On my way to meet Sean I came across a critical mass bicycle ride with over a hundred kids rallying to the cause of cyclist rights. It definitely makes car drivers mad. The cyclists say they are not getting reasonable accomodation on the streets and cyclists get killed often here. Whether or not they are right, there's no question that our society is more represented by overweight people driving huge cars much more than is necessary, and cities like Missoula do hardly anything to promote safe bicycle infrastructure.

Another weekend on the West Fork

Another fun weekend hanging out with Max on the West Fork of the Bitterroot. Rode the moto down for some target shooting to get sharp for hunting season. I'm looking forward to bringing home my own steak, especially the organic, free range, venison kind.

April Showers

Been swept away in the spring rush of work, great weather, and more work. Finally, I have found a great niche where I LOVE the work I'm doing, not just in concept, but in the day to day nitty gritty aspects as well. The Lolo is a superb place to be, and the issues are sooooo interesting. In the course of a single day I deal with everything from the internal budget situation, to the local newspaper wanting to do a story on our contractors that hire seasonal migrant workers, to a big contentious ski resort proposal in town and so much more. My job is all about people, their opinions, values, and how it all fits into managing forest ecosystems. Thus is the life of a public affairs officer...

Turned 31 on April 12, and Max helped me celebrate over good food and drink. After that I went canoe camping with a bunch of coworkers in the Gates of the Mountains. 7 of us met up for a weekend of canoeing up to Meriweather Gulch, about 20 miles N of Helena. This area was 1st discovered by westerners when Lewis & Clark paddled upriver on the Missouri. After a long trip through the plains of E Montana, they remarked on how entering the canyons here was like going through the gates of the Mountains. Later, in the 50's, 13 smokejumpers died on Mann Gulch, a truely tragic event.

Been getting out a decent amount since April started. Mary visited for a few days from Seattle, and we went climbing, dipping in the hotsprings, and feasting with Brett, Merica, and Mike (and Tyler and Seamus, the dogs). At the same time I started a new job on the Lolo, and that's been busy and exciting. Check out Mary's climbing photos from her sweet camera here: http://picasaweb.google.com/merrymaryk/RockClimbingInMontanaYeeHaw