Little St. Joe: A "big" tour cut short.

Vertical: ~3,800ft
Distance: ~6.25mi

When I say "big" tour I mean relative to my own ability. I said a while back that if I logged a 7,000ft tour I'd be happy; well, I've been happy but I meant to deliver on that 7k today. I had Wednesday off, and before I began a two week dry spell, I plotted out a tour just over 7k. This would have entailed Little St. Joe, along the ridge, off the north ridge to gain the north ridge of St. Joe itself, then back the same way. The forecast was "partly cloudy". I was hoping A) Cloud cover would be above 10k, or B) "Partly" enough that I could catch glimpses of the planned route.

Turns out neither occurred.

Top of Little St. Joe

I was off to a great start, feeling good and ready to log this 7k finally. The skies also seemed to be shaping up nicely for partly cloudy status. By the time I reached the cabin toward the bottom of the SE bowl on Little St. Joe I began having doubts as I worked into the clouds/fog. As I topped Little St. Joe, there was no sign of clouds lifting. Undeterred I scurried along the ridge which sucked an entire hour worth of rock scrambling to get to the intended ridge to drop north.

Part of the ridge along the way.

After getting to the ridge, I sat... and waited. Being solo (and not quite adventurous enough), I wasn't quite sold on dropping off into an abyss I had never seen before outside of Google Earth. I waited an entire hour, just waiting for some little open space in the clouds that would allow me to scope the intended route. Nothing. By this time, the tour was scrapped. I stood there pouting; trying to place my misguided frustration towards something. This didn't last long though, you can't stay angry long in the mountains. :)  At least now I have a better understanding of the immediate area behind Little St. Joe. I also skied the NE bowl, which was a nice experience, think I'd still prefer the SE bowl though.

This was my waiting spot for about an hour. (Bear tracks btw, he just goes straight down the mountain.. zero f#$ks were given by this bear.)

Kept getting glimmers of hope.

Little crags along the ridge.

And this was about as good as it got on my way back out, then more clouds blew in.

Didn't take a picture, but got eyes on Lappi Lake for about 10 seconds.

Exhilarating descent in whiteness.

Stats.

Sorry this lacks scenic pictures. Even though the weather didn't allow great views, being out in the mountains is always a great time. I imagine this ridge on a clear day would be amazing! I'm lucky to have my health, and confidence (for the most part) to explore new areas, feeling like a kid in a playground. Taking up trail running to help condition for longer tours next year.

North Lolo Peak - Your standard Bittrroot ski tour.

Vertical: ~4,800ft

Distance: ~8.5mi

My wife is from Norway; and she astutely pointed out the Montana mentality of solidarity. When average Montanans go out on an outdoor adventure, they don't often expect to see people. When they do in fact come across others, even a small group, their thoughts become something like, "This place is packed!"

By this measurement, the Lolo Peak area is "packed", and for good reason. Gated early winter, and open again for late spring skiing, it offers great skiing into the summer months with easy access. Today was a Wednesday and we saw a group of five from across the lake, nearly rubbing elbows by Montana outdoor standards. 

I won't go into too much detail, we just did your standard North Lolo Peak tour. Scouted the Lantern Lake Couloir, and after much deliberation, left it for another day. Treated ourselves to some fast sweeping turns down the east face of N. Lolo Peak, and then I scurried up near the summit of Mormon Peak to gain a vantage point of the 'pinch' of the Lantern Lake Couloir (see below).  In the process I lost my first-generation Go-Pro, sooOOooo, if anyone comes across it up there...

Also, I apologize for the pictures, I was stuck using a less than stellar camera today.

Topping out at Carlton Ridge

Good look at Sweeney Peak
 (Sweeney Peak Tour - April 19th, 2014)

North Lolo Peak, true summit sits SW.

Matt

Dumb ski photo.

Another dumb ski photo. :)

Looking North from near the summit.

Can't blame me, these Dynafit Cho Oyu skis are so photogenic.

Sweeney Peak looking dapper.

Summit of North Lolo Peak

Found ya!

Looking down to Lantern Lake

East from the top.

Mission range looking intimidating. 

scoping the couloir, hard to guess what the pinch looked like.

Matt getting another angle. 

Just as we decided to leave it for another day, a bus sized cornice broke off to help solidify the decision.  

St. Joe

Sweeping turns down the east face.

Oh, what wild animal is this? 

Lantern Lake Couloir as of 5.21.2014

the 'pinch' - lots of talus waiting at the bottom. 

The short-cut is ski-able all the way to the Mill Creek junction, and can ride about .5mi passed that. (5.21.2014)

Stats

Thanks for looking!!!

Camas Peak - Overnight and early turns

Vertical: ~4,500ft

Distance: 8.5mi

I acquired some winter camping gear and I've been itching to use it. There was talk of going out early Sunday, but things just didn't work out and I took that as a sign to break out the camping gear. The weekend entailed a forecast of gray, while Monday looked clear. Not entirely necessary on a trip to Camas Peak, but camping made for an easy way to get in a run before the sun cooked the snow.  Anyhow, this post may have an unduly large quantity of pictures, to aid in the experience I guess. :)

Side note, Marshall and I went for a hike up Big Creek Saturday.. The trail is, well, slightly wet right now (about 3 miles in). 

As of 5.11.2014 the furthest one can drive is about 2 miles before the trail head. There are deepish bits of snow left on the northern shaded sides of the road, followed by long stretches of clear road. I didn't discover until later, and thanks to the tracks of another individual up there, a game trail exists along the ridge-line that will take you up to the trail just before it makes the 90 degree left into the canyon. I was oblivious to this trail, or even the thought of taking the ridge, so I merrily strolled along the stretches of bare road. It was about 1pm when I parked, so I had plenty of time to make it to the camp spot.

Selfie with the falls! I should mention I got a new phone that nails the selfies, sorry.

Hidden pond above the regular trail.

Camp Miles

I retired early and slept fairly soundly in the Direkt 2 Mountain Hard Wear tent along with The North Face Snow Leopard sleeping bag. Although it quickly became apparent I need a different sleeping pad. In all my giddiness, I forgot to set the alarm for 4:30 and ended up waking up and being out of the tent at 5:30 instead. 

Morning

Missed being on top before sunrise. :(  Guess that means I'll need a do-over.

Up to the pink mountain!

The last couple hundred feet was wind-blown and ended up side-stepping the rest of the way.

Upon reaching the top, I was so fixated on the beauty and ensuing descent, I entirely forgot about taking northern/western pictures. :(

Also, nothing will disappoint an individual quite like getting the GoPro head-cam out thinking "man, this is going to capture a beautiful run.", only to find you left the memory card in your computer. *dumb*

Looking south, slightly west

South.

My only western shot, N. Lost Horse Canyon

Summit of Camas, looking SE.

East from summit, and a mysterious green dot...

What's ahead; Montana is a dump. :)

About three turns in I see a shooting crack propagating at least 50ft out, taking my breath away. After stopping in a panic and looking, it was just the 2-3" packed snow from the previous day sitting on the refrozen corn... sure was startling though. Otherwise, the snow made for some terrific turns. Lower down, where the wind was generous enough to leave more, it was about 4-5" and silky smooth!

Lines = Art

After dropping in just before 7am, I was back at the camp and drinking the best cup of instant coffee ever by 8am, out at 8:30, and back at the car just after 9:30. Received some really good turns back down to the trail as well, but it was heating up FAST! Snow was melting quick and it was only 9am!

I found a skiers' hat (Blake?) along the trail heading up the day before and stuck it on a stick, anyways got a nice message in return. Thanks to him though, I followed his tracks down a ridge-line trail I'd never known about back to the car saving at least an hour of walking along the road.

Some bear tracks! 

Route down the ridge.

btw, if anyone wants a car, this one is on the market! :)

Camas from the road.

Route.

-Thanks for looking, happy spring riding!!