Monday, January 17, 2011

Dragon APX Bonnie Belle Cabin!!!



The last three days I was fortune enough to be invited on a backcountry trip to Silveton, CO by Dragon Alliance. Though I’ve been lucky enough to travel for work at porterstahoe.com to some of the best mountains in the world, this trip was like no other. In the matter of two days I snowboarded off snow cats, snowmobiles, lifts and helicopters.

I flew out of Reno, NV Wednesday morning to Grand Junction, CO. I meet the Dragon crew, - Mike from Transworld Business, five people from other retailers and Gabe Taylor, a Dragon athlete, at the airport. We packed the rental cars to the brim and piled in for a two hour drive to Ouray, CO. I’d never been to Ouray or even heard of it, but it’s a cool little mountain town that happens to be an ice climbing mecca. There is an ice climbing park in town that is built to attract tourists from all over the world, but we were just using the town as a quick stopover. Once we got into town we checked into our hotel then headed straight to dinner. We went to a Mexican restaurant called Buen Tempo, which at first I didn’t think a Mexican joint in the middle of Colorado would be that great, but I ended up being wrong. After dinner a few of use decided to hit up the Ouray Hot Springs. It was a great way to end the night.

In the morning we met for breakfast, all dressed and ready to ride. We were heading to the Bonnie Bella in the Silverton Backcountry for an overnight backcountry excursion. I only had room to pack a few essentials. We drove the last 20 miles up the sketchy Red Mountain Pass. The road is a step mountain pass with hundred foot cliffs off the sides with no guard rails. Once we got into Silverton, we drove straight out to the backcountry access area. The owners of the Bonnie Bella cabin were waiting for us with 4 snowmobiles to shuttle us up the canyon to the amazing cabin, but first we had to sign release waivers and show our beacons, probes, and shovels. The canyon is extremely narrow with 27 avalanche paths, so being quick was essential. We had to double up on the sleds, which I have never done. Each person needs to stand on a side and as the hill changes slope you need to lean from one side to the other to make sure the snowmobile doesn’t roll.

After the scenic 4.5 miles ride, we climbed a ridge and the amazing Bonnie Bella Cabin was finally in site. The cabin sits in complete seclusion from everything. Sitting on the top of Skull Mountain at 12,000 ft., there is amazing terrain in all directions. After arriving, it took about 2 hours to get the crew and all gear to the cabin and setup. I was starting to get impatient because I was one of the first to arrive at the cabin and had all that terrain just staring at me, but since there was about 14 people, it took awhile to get everything ready. The Dragon crew also surprised us with a pair of 2012 Dragon APX goggles. It is a rad frameless goggle.

Finally we were all geared up and were hitting up runs just 40ft off the back of the cabin. The runs were about 2,200 vert ft of step untracked powder. We were all screaming with joy as we ripped turns through the trees. The minute we got down we jumped on the snowmobile for a shuttle back to the top. We called one of the zones “Mario World“. There were perfectly spread out rollers and pillows of snow to fly off. After a handful of runs we moved zones to the front bowls of the cabin. It was just as fun. I felt like a kid in a candy store, I just couldn’t get enough. As fast as I could get down, I was on my way back up. Everyone was grinning from ear to ear. We ended the night with one last pow run in the woods behind the cabin, where the snow cat was waiting for us at the bottom. Once back to the cabin we were all beat from a hard day of riding. We got changed into our lounging gear - many thanks to Dragon for hooking us up with down booties and fleece pants. Everyone hung out and relaxed on the couches, reliving some of the day’s events. Alex Pashley, Dragons Team Manager and the man responsible for setting this fantastic trip, was cooking a tasty dinner of steak, shrimp and veggies. Every piece was devoured. Some fell asleep early, but others were partying hard. The 4 cases of beer were gone by 8pm. The crew was bummed, so Pashley got on his satellite phone and made a call to some friends in town. He got them to agree to meet him at the trail head with a few more cases. So Pashley and Drago jumped on the snowmobiles and raced down the hill to make the ultimate beer run. 45 mins later they were back, saving the party. The music was pumping and beer flowing, so someone had the bright idea of heading out in the dark and shooting a 9mm and 12gauge shotgun. There is a skeet shooter off the deck that they were using. About 20 skeet were thrown up and shoot at, but in the morning light we could see that only one was actually hit. The party settled down about 11pm when the solar batteries died, shutting off the music and lights.

Friday morning we woke up to high winds and snow. You couldn’t see more than 50ft in front of you. We were really bummed because we had nothing but blue skies the day before. Between the bad weather and the hangovers no one was fast to get up and get moving. One by one we all stumbled out of bed. When most of the crew was awake Pashley started cooking up breakfast burritos. As we finished eating, the wind started to die down and the clouds started breaking. This was our big break. Our plans were to get picked up by a helicopter and do a few bigger runs in the valley. Pashley called Silveton to see when the heli could come pick us up. Warren Miller’s crew was in town and had the heli for the morning, so we got pushed until midday. We were all cool with that since we could do a few more runs in Mario World. We had barley touched the surface in that zone and had plenty of fresh lines. Once suited up we were able to get 3 amazing runs. With the snow and wind overnight, our lines were filled back in.

We were all so excited to get on the bird. This was my first trip on a heli. We had to split into 3 groups of 4. We were all anxiously awaiting the chopper. Once the heli landed we quickly loaded and got our seat belts on. Within a minute we were in the air. The heli quickly flew up the mountain we had just boarded down. As we reached the summit we zoomed passed the Bonnie Bella and up the next ridge. It was amazing seeing all the terrain in high speed. We snowboarded on such a small amount of the terrain. The wind was gusting and the chopper bounced from side to side. Within a few minutes the pilot was spotting our landing. As you look down you wouldn’t think we could land on the small ridge, but we did. We had to wait for the last group to arrive before we could head down the hill. The ridge was really windy, so you had to sit on your board or it would fly away. We were just across the mountain from Silverton Ski resort, so the plan was to ride down then head through the valley to a road were a bus would pick us up and bring us to Silverton Mountain. Skyler, the guide, led the way. Once to the bottom, we were picked up by a bus and brought to the base of Silverton Mountain.

For those of you that don’t know of Silverton, it’s an amazing resort for backcountry terrain. Silverton Mountain is a unique mountain experience. There is one chairlift that takes you into a high alpine environment surrounded by amazing lines in every direction. There are loads of bowls, chutes, cliffs and wonderful natural terrain features to be discovered during a visit to Silverton Mountain. It is the highest Ski Area in North America with a peak of 13,487’ and it is also the steepest with no groomers to be found. The mountain is left in it’s natural state with the exception of the avalanche work. With the late start in our day we were only able to get one run at Silverton. Our guide Skyler took us to the top of the lift, then we hiked about 30 minutes up the ridge to 13,000ft. We took a run down a bowl named “Rope a Dope“. It was a nice untracked run with little hits and a natural half pipe. We again rode out to the road and took the bus to the resort. When we got back the lift was closed. There is a yurt, the only lodge, that has a great happy hour. With the trip winding down everyone was happy we had a safe and amazing trip. We had a few drinks in the yurt before heading to town to visit Montanya Rum Distillery. We only spent an hour there but the drinks were strong and the crew was wasted. The designated drivers, me being one of them, drove the crew back to Ouray. We got showered up and went out for our final dinner at the Ouray Brewery. The trip was an absolutely amazing time. I want to thank the Dragon crew for showing us Silverton in style. I’m not sure Silverton will stay so remote forever, so go enjoy it while you can.



Sunday, January 16, 2011

Sunday's Sunrise Snowboard Session





Instead of heading out to a resort to rub elbows with the giant crowds, we decided it would be more peaceful to snowshoe and snowboard by ourselves on Mount Rose. We could get some exercise and still throw in some snowboarding while we were at it. Jason, Eric, and I headed out Sunday morning to enjoy a beautiful sunrise over Reno. While it is of course fun to do endless laps at Squaw, there is something exciting about hiking up to the top of a hill and take the quick way down on your board.

Fat Cat Gone Wild



We were having a nice Saturday morning when our cat, Boots, decided he wanted to eat one of the plants that sits on top of our DVD tower. Well, the top is only 6 inches wide, not nearly enough room for a cat to land, so when he jumped, he and the plant came tumbling down, crashing right on top of our glass coffee table. Boots ended up with a tiny cut on his paw, but the plant and the table did not fair as well. As you can see the table is beyond repairable. The sight of a cat smashing threw a glass table with his back was as much frightening as it was amazing. He may have lost one of his nine lives that day as well as helping us realize he needs to go on a diet.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Happy New Year - yes we are alive!



Well the holidays came and went without a blog post. Shame on us! It was, in part, due to the amount of work we both have had in the recent months. Prior to Thanksgiving, Tahoe received a killer storm, kicking off our season with a huge bang. Since then it has been non-stop with orders, helping in the store, and when we can sleeping and eating. Besides being busy with teaching 8th grade English, Danielle graciously put in about 110 hours over her Winter Break, helping the Porter's Truckee Store. My craziness is just truly beginning, though. January is filled with trade shows, so I will be gone a lot. There is always something to look forward to of course...vacation. In April, we will be visiting Holland and a few other nearby countries. Though we haven't had a ton to blog about recently, we will be starting up our post again. Happy 2011!