Good Time, Spring Time

A few weeks ago four of us went out skiing/boarding before our summer season gets increasingly busy.  We had planned on going for a day in Turnagain Pass but web cams and rainy forecasts influenced our decision to go elsewhere.  So, we headed for the bowls around Mount Harp.  It was a relaxed day of hiking, shredding, drinking PBR, enjoying the wildlife (moose w/calf) and skinning in the warm spring air.

Here's my edited footage from that day.  I think I'm actually getting better at this stuff.  

Good Ol' Harp

Mt. Harp never dissapoints. It is my 'Go To' mountain, when I'm in a hurry.  I've been riding this mountain since I began snowboarding in the backcountry, before I even considered it being 'backcountry snowboarding' but rather, just plain, snowboarding.  Being out there reminded me of one of those early years of riding.  I boot-packed up because there was a lack of snow, but it is the same way I ascended in the earlier years.  Also, I did a run on a part of the mountain that I hadn't done since the beginning of my love for backcountry snowboarding.  What a hit!

Good Tour, Bad Descent

I went out with my back country snowboarding partner, Sergei, today.  He came up for a few weeks from Portland, so we went to our usual hangout, Harp Mountain.

After a week of non-stop wind the week before last, we knew the conditions were going to be awful, but we wanted to get out anyway.  The wind hammered snow made it out to be a great tour on the low angle approach, but gaining the ridge at the higher angle and breakable wind slabs reminded us that the conditions were not ideal.

The descent was brutal, but fun (I've yet to have a descent that isn't).  After the first turn, trying to get an edge in was unsuccessful and sent me on my backside sliding down the first 30 yards.  Just when I thought I was getting close to becoming a pro rider, the run shattered my ego.

Here's a couple pictures I got of Sergei on his descent: