Category Archives: Backcountry

The Devil’s Bedstead (Shredstead)

The Devil’s Bedstead Unfortunately, I was relieved of much of my camera equipment in Argentina, so I had to scrape together some pictures from the few I had uploaded on other sites.  (I am aware there are no pictures of us actually skiing):   I’m already regretting my decision to bivy at the base of [...]

The Sickle Couloir on Horstman Peak

Pretty belated, but I was just going through some pics and it reminded me of how cool this line is- despite skiing it in less than all-time conditions. The Sickle from the Fish Hook drainage Approximate date: May 26, 2009 There are a lot of epics in the Sawtooths, but for whatever reason the Sickle [...]

Cerro El Plomo

El Plomo Up until six weeks ago I had never killed an Ostrich and I had never been skiing above 14,000’.Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, only one of these goals came to fruition during this expedition to South America. Apparently the former, despite the rumors we heard from other gringos, is not exactly a tourist [...]

Heli Skiing Patagonia

I’m constantly trying to determine my favorite places on earth, and Patagonia has just messed everything up. I thought I had things pretty well organized until this place, which had been little more than Yvon Chouinard’s legacy to me, came along. Patagonia is truly like nowhere else on earth. Giant, turquoise lakes enclosed by pine [...]

Sled Skiing Caviahue

“Brrraaaaapppp,” goes the 900 Polaris RMK as we tear across the frozen lake in a volcanic crater. I watch with amusement as little pieces of white shrapnel eject from beneath the sled, harmlessly hitting the rider I am shuttling to the top of a 3,000-foot face on the Argentina-Chile border. It is September and through [...]

Cat Skiing El Arpa

“We would like to make invitation to make cat-skiing on Thursday,” says Trinidad, director of marketing for The North Face Chile. While there were a few words missing from her statement, I got the gist of it and the answer was pretty simple, although I tried to act like I was busy and could possibly [...]

The Line

We skied Horstman Peak, via the Sickle Couloir a couple weeks ago and I got my first real good look at “The Shield,” the face of Horstman Peak. It’s gnarly, to say the least. It’s been skied once, with a rappel. I think, under the right conditioins, you could ski it without the rappel. I’d guess [...]

Chalkstone Shredding

With spring temperatures and fresh snow into June and for those willing to slog a little further, summer is merely an option in the Sawtooths. While most of the Custer County population was content drinking PBRs on the lake, we had our eyes set on the remaining snow in the Chockstone Couloir at the northwest [...]

Last Turn

The top is a good place, be it ideological or physical. In our case, as we sat on top of the chute that ran across Cobb Peak’s north face, it was particularly good, for several reasons. First off, we are skiers and as such are permitted to celebrate the achievement of a goal, regardless of [...]

Skiing the Smoky’s

After a month and a half of intense competition, empty miles on the road, and countless Coronas it was time to, well, ski some more. As the hangover from Crested Butte ebbed, we loaded up the sleds and headed north, home to Idaho to tap into zones in the Sawtooth National Forrest that had been [...]

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