Mountain Living in the Spring...

At first glance you may think to yourself, "what is this a picture of?" This is a picture taken moments ago from the front seat of my truck driving to work today! Now you may also be asking yourself,"what is the date today?" Answer: April 30, 2010. That's right, almost May and it snowed over 18 inches so far with NO signs of letting up. It would be easy to view this as negative but instead let's look at this in a more positive manner. Snow equals water, water equals growth of vegetation which equals happy and healthy animals in the forest this summer. Well now I feel much better about all this snow! Margarita anyone?

Turkey Hunting Spring 2010

Now that the snow is melting and the slopes are closed I have to be more creative on how to fill my days off from work. I took a few days and headed to eastern Montana to do some turkey hunting with a friend. This was my first turkey hunt and I was extremely impressed by how great gobbler hunting is. Calling in the birds and watching them strut is truly amazing. I ended up filling my tag (2 Toms) over the weekend. This spring hunt has me excited and already thinking about the fall elk hunting season!

Easter in Big Sky, Montana

This Easter we woke up to more snow! I think we got over 20 inches in the past 48 hours which equates to powder day on Easter Sunday. We woke up and headed straight to the mountain for some great powder turns. We started off the morning taking some turns with my cousins and their son on the Explorer lift. We met up with other family for lunch then Whitney and I ditched everyone and headed straight for some turns down bone crusher then the tram. We got on the 2nd to last tram and skied the 1st Gully. With 20 inches of fresh snow the tram was epic. We ended the day at dinner with a few friends who live up the street from us. Happy Easter 2010

Bike Ride Through Yellowstone National Park

Since it was such a nice day yesterday we decided to pack up our bikes and head to Yellowstone National Park. Every year they open the park a few weeks early to non-motorized traffic. We rode about 14 miles and saw the usual elk, bison, geese, etc. while riding (no grizzlies or wolves this time). I must say that seeing a 900 pound bison 15 yards away on a bicycle is a different experience than seeing one from the front seat of a pick up truck!

Spring Skiing at Big Sky Resort

You can ask anyone living in Big Sky, Montana and they will tell you spring skiing has arrived earlier than usual this year. Instead of worrying about the snow I decided to enjoy the warm weather. On Tuesday a few of us did the Bonecrusher hike/run at Big Sky Resort. Without a cloud in the sky I found myself hiking without gloves, helmet, and outer shell (jacket) on. Once we reached the top we took a minute to soak in the views then took a few great spring skiing turns headed to the base for a Yetti hot dog and a cold one. They are forecasting snow later in the week but until then bring on the sunshine!

Cross Country Skiing Forest Service Adventure

One of my presents for Christmas was an overnight adventure up Spanish Creek to stay in a Forest Service Cabin. On Saturday my wife and I loaded up our packs and cross country skied uphill 4 miles to the above cabin in the Gallatin Canyon. The weather was close to perfect and it got down to just below zero at night. Luckily an enormous wood burning stove was there to greet us as we found ourselves in shorts and a t-shirt after a few hours of burning wood. On our way down we saw a moose out in one of the many snow fields we passed through. One undiscovered treasure in this valley in my opinion are these Forest Service Cabins scattered throughout the surrounding mountains. If you are looking for a little adventure I highly recommend experiencing this type of expedition.

Super Bowl Sunday

A good friend of ours drove down last night for dinner and stayed the night so we could get up early and do some back country snowboarding. We woke up, had a big breakfast, then drove to Beehive Basin to begin our expedition. After hiking for about an hour or so in we found a nice un-touched face to hike up and ride down. We made two trips to the top and had fresh tracks all the way down the powder filled mountain side. As you can see from the pictures (taken on my phone) it was a beautiful blue bird day. After snowboarding out I had lunch, took a nap, then headed over to some friends house for the Super Bowl. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday! Congratulations to the New Orlean Saints!