Today, June 1st 1971, a skier was born. It took him a few years to realize it, but by the age of 4 (and the immeasurable thanks to his parents) he had experienced his first turn. As as child, his banzai, high-speed snow-plow descents were the entertainment of his family and friends, and he remembers […]
Broken Link to Photo/Video
Note: With respect to the caving community…I have removed the photos and map of the Wind and Ice Cave that were once in this post. My Memorial Day weekend was interrupted yesterday with a call-out for an overdue group from Utah who where believed to be attempting a through-trip of the Ice to Wind Cave […]
In January, skier Josh Anderson had an unfortunate mishap with a tree at the bottom of ‘The Claw” on the south-side of Teton Pass, and he unwantingly was forced to call on Teton County Search and Rescue for help (see previous post). Josh suffered a compound fracture of his left femur, and a piece of […]
Good luck to John Griber, Amy Bullard and company who are currently making a push for the summit of Mount Everest! They left Camp IV at 10pm (Nepalese time) for the top under clear and calm skies. CONGRATULATIONS!!! THE WHOLE CREW MADE THE SUMMIT AND ARE BACK AT CAMP IV!!!
Note: Many of the routes on Prospectors (including this one) are closed from Nov. 1 to April 30…to protect bighorn sheep winter range. Rimrock Lake is one of the more difficult places to get to in the Tetons. It sits high on the northwest side of Prospectors Mountain and holds some cool terrain to be […]
While the Tetons are looking pretty thin right now, the rest of Wyoming is sounding pretty good. I got word that conditions out of Elkhart Park are prime right now. J-Holer’s Mike Calla and Kyle Steger were able to drive to the trailhead and then skin all the way to Titcomb Basin last week. They […]
Gabe gets back to skiing after a short down-climb as Zahan looks down the Bubble Fun Couloir The Bubble Fun Couloir on the north side of Buck Mountain has to be one of the hairiest descent routes in the Tetons. It is extremely steep, has a very exposed entrance, and ends in a 200′ foot […]
The Northeast Snowfields is probably one of the most coveted routes for a ski mountaineer here in the Tetons. It is big, committing, and depending on conditions, requires at least one rappel. Lucky for me, I was invited to join climber/skiers Hans Johnstone and Brendan O’Neil for a ski descent in May of 2005. We […]
Before rallying to California and Mt Shasta, I got with Brian Ladd again for another trip into Avalanche Canyon. Amora Vida on the South Teton had been haunting me after getting a good look at it on an attempt on Mt Wister a few weeks ago and a descent was in order. Taggart Lake was […]
Mount Lassen erupted twice in 1915 on this northeastern side. Lava and pyroclastic flows, mixed with melted water from avalanches caused by the eruptions, combined to form a highly fluid ‘lahar’, which cause massive devastation for over 10 miles. On our last day in Mt Shasta, Reed and I awoke to clouds high on the […]
While we have been out in Mt Shasta, Reed and I have been sleeping at the Bunny Flat trailhead to make it that much easier to get after it in the morning. And although it is very beautiful (and sometimes humorous), there is pretty much a steady stream of cars coming and going due to […]
I’m off to Mount Shasta with Reed for a few days of California sun and will be blogging when I can. Last week I saw the Mountain Khakis Land Rover parked on the road on my way to work. Now this is not surprising, since the Jackson Hole based company recently relocated to some office […]
One of the cool things about having this blog is all the interesting people it has allowed me to meet so far. I often get emails, like daily, from total strangers interested in finding out more about Teton ski conditions and specific route beta. This past weekend, some skiers from Colorado and California were in […]
Warning: These modifications to the Black Diamond Whippet are in NO way endorsed by Black Diamond or any of its employees and will nullify any warranty possibilities. The use of the Whippet in any other way than that intended by Black Diamond is NOT recommended. Ski mountaineering, backcountry skiing, and climbing are dangerous. Please…ski, climb, […]
Last April (2006), Dustin Lemke, Chris Figenshau and I ventured into the Ross Lake area of the northern Wind River Range in search of steep couloirs and general exploration. Randosteve skis Crystal Lake Couloir in the Wind River Range, photo: Chris Figenshau I only had two days off of work that week, which isn’t much […]
Can you find the skiers/climbers in this photo of the Grand Teton? Today’s trip to ski the Ellingwood Couloir on the Middle Teton evolved from many options that we put on the table both the night before and as the day progressed. It was my first day skiing with Dustin Lemke since he came back […]
I’ve been eye-balling this line back in Avalanche Canyon for the past couple weeks, and at least one other person noticed it too…cuz they emailed me about it. Well last Friday looked like it was going to be nice, so I figured I’d give it a go. Fellow rando racer Zahan Billimoria had called me, […]
This Saturday, the 14th, is the anniversary of my first ski trip ever into the Wind River Range in 2005. I put a little piece together about the trip and sent it to some magazines, and ended up getting two pages in Backcountry. I was really hoping to get a feature slot, so I had […]
I was fired up to get out by myself and at my own pace last Friday, but I was bummed when the temps were still above freezing at 5:20am when I left the trailhead. I knew the temperature would drop a little bit more before the sun came up, and things had to be freezing […]
A light rain greeted Reed Finlay, Chris Figenshau and I at the Bradley/Taggart trailhead this morning. Valley temps were hovering around 38o, so only a thin crust had formed on the snow. Luckily our line was north facing and the clouds and wind were on our side…for the time being. This was my first attempt […]