Early Season Skiing in the Waning Days of 2017

Since returning home from Denmark and wrapping up the fall semester at the University, I've been focused on skiing. It's been the best start to a ski season that I can remember, with lots of powder days so far. Most of the outings have been just Jen and I getting up to Snowbowl, but we did make one family trip to Elkhorn Hot Springs, followed by a day of skiing at Lost Trail. Both were great, but I especially recommend Elkhorn if you like a rustic experience.

2017 has been action-packed, with a lot of challenges. Looking back on my life, there have been a few years in which 'everything' seems to happen. 1996 was one of those years, filled with family death & drama, college graduation, and marriage. 2017 seems to have been one of those years as well. It'd be nice if the challenges tapered off in 2018, but I'm not going to count on it.

Here are a few mixes of music I've been listening to over the past couple of months:

Rockin' Women

R&B

Ambient/Electronic

Teaching A Short Course at the Danish Technical University

My host Per Christian Hansen in downtown Copenhagen.

This past week, I was in Copenhagen, Denmark, teaching a short course - called Computational Uncertainty Quantification for Inverse Problems - to graduate students at the Danish Technical University. I taught the same course at UM this past semester, preparing the slides for the short course as I went. It was a big effort, and I had a few periods of panic and stress worrying about the short course during the fall term. But as a consequence, by the time I left for Denmark last week, I was well-prepared, and so the course went well. It was still an intense week: teaching went from 9-4pm, Monday-to-Friday, and I got a bad cold - probably a culmination of my stressful semester - early in the week. I write this blog post at the beginning of my journey home, sleep deprived and feeling unwell, but also feeling blessed to have such experiences and to be returning to Denmark for 4 months of my sabbatical next fall.

The Math and CS Dept Xmas party. This is what happens at a well-funded university.

Stanley Hot Springs, Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness

This fall, work has been all-consuming, and I've lost the drive for adventure. So our trip to Stanley Hot Springs last weekend was at Jen's urging. I've heard that the creek crossing 1/4 mile from the springs can be sketchy when the creek is high, and this time we experienced it. The log-shimmy we had to do to cross the creek can be seen in the video below. Everything was coated with a thin sheet of ice. It was nerve wracking, but nothing too terrible. On the way home, we grabbed food at Lochsa Lodge, making for a great day.

A Restful Fall Season

The fantastic view of the Mission Valley from Sonyok Lookout, which Jen and I hiked last weekend, prior to soaking at Hot Springs, Montana.

It's been nearly two months since my last blog post, when the fumes of summer were still in the air. This past summer was so full of activity that at the end of it, I was physically and psychically spent, making the transition back to work challenging.

I'm learning that I need soothing experience mixed in with intense experience; that if all I have is intense experience for weeks at a time, it takes a toll, and my mind and body eventually retaliate. 

So these past two months I've done soothing things, mostly within sight of Missoula: fall bike rides, Sentinel and Jumbo hikes, and days at home on the weekends. It's been as pleasurable a stretch of time as was the summer.

Here's a Spotify mix of some music I've listened to during this time: Recent Listening: Country/Folk.

An Attempt at Koch Peak, Bitterroots

This post also appeared on the Rocky Mountaineers trip report blog.

This September 16th Rocky Mountaineers trip was first meant to be to Bare Peaks, but the Nelson Creek fire closed that trail head, so I changed it to Koch Peak. Koch Peak is the first 9000+ foot summit along the ridge starting on the north side of Lake Como and heading west/northwest. Further along that ridge are Whites East and Whites Mountain, also 9000+ footers. 

And then a cold, wet storm front came through two days prior to the trip, and it turned out to be a cold, cloudy, snowy day, with snow starting almost immediately out of the car, at about 6000'. Joining me were Kara Daume, Fintan Maguire, Jen Meyer-Vaughan, and Elizabeth Moore. 

Once we got up into the talus and boulder gardens that are typical of the Bitterroot high country, there was more than a foot of snow, which made the going very slow. About 1/2 mile from the summit, at 1pm, we were staring up at a hillside of large snowy boulders to gain the summit ridge, and I opted to turn us around, as it looked like even slower, and more treacherous, going. 

The day was great, regardless. It's a privilege to be able to spend a long day outside with good people: new friends were made and old friendships were strengthened. It's the whole experience that counts, after all; the summit is just the cherry on top. 

Edith and Baldy Mountains, Big Belts

 I flew in to Missoula late on Friday night, September 8, from a conference in Minneapolis. The smoke in Missoula was terrible, so after taking care of business on Saturday, including finding a renter for our downstairs apartment, we decided to get out of town Saturday evening and Sunday. We drove over to Helena, had some dinner, and continued on to the Big Belts east of Townsend. We camped at 7250 feet Saturday night, in blessedly clean air, and then climbed Edith and Baldy Peaks on Sunday. The climb to Edith is pretty easy as peaks go, while the walk over to Baldy is significantly more challenging, but is spectacular and well-worth the extra effort. There was still a bit of smoke over there, but it was better than what Missoula had been on Saturday. However, we learned upon our return to Missoula that it had been clear as a bell all day Sunday. Oh well, we had a great 24 hour mini-vacation, and we can thank the smoke for that. 

Heart of the Missions: Glacier, Icefloe, and an attempt at Mountaineer

Matt walking down from Panoramic Peak with Lake of the Clouds and the glaciers of Glacier Peak as a backdrop.

The month of August was chock-full of outdoor recreation for me. It started with the week trip to the Thorofare; then after two nights at home, I went up to the Glacier Classic for three nights; and finally, after another two nights at home, I did a two night trip with Matt Roscoe up into the heart of the Mission Range. I went into it physically tired, but this turned out to be a truly spectacular and special outing. We set up a high camp below Panoramic Peak, and then on the in-between day, hiked out to the Garden Wall and across it to Mountaineer Peak. We weren't able to summit Mountaineer, because we were both sketched out by the class 4 ledge that you have to tackle when climbing Mountaineer from the Garden Wall. However, we backtracked and then bagged Glacier and Icefloe Peaks, both of which were on my must-do list. Staying out of the grizzly bear closure zone required hiking back up and over Glacier Peak on the return. It was a long, brutalizing, awesome day, and once back to camp we relaxed before dropping back down to the cars the next morning. As is always the case with Matt, the trip was one to remember. 

Matt and McDonald Peak

Heading up toward the Garden Wall from One Tree Pass.

Sunrise Glacier

Sunrise Glacier again, after crossing it.

Resting on the Garden Wall

Walking the Garden Wall out toward Mountaineer Peak.

Matt looking at the class 4 escape ledge that we opted not to do. Technically it isn't hard, but once you're there its loose with big exposure - a fall would be deadly.

Back along the Garden Wall at Matt and Mountaineer Peak.

The Summit of Glacier Peak, with McDonald in the background.

Lake of the Clouds and Panoramic Peak (left) and me traveling the ridge out to Icefloe Peak.

The summit of Icefloe, with McDonald and Sheep's Head int he background.

Glacier Peak and Mountaineer Peak on the back right.

Hiking back up to Panoramic Peak after a long day.

The Rocky Mountaineers' Glacier Classic

Attendees of the Glacier Classic. The photographer, Bryan Kercher, is in the upper-left.

I've mentioned here before that I've become involved, as a board member and trip leader, with the Rocky Mountaineers. Every August, the Rocky Mountaineers put on an event called the Glacier Classic. It lasts a weekend, and several trips are offered in Glacier Park for mountaineers of all levels of experience and appetite. 

This year, I led a trip on Friday to Mount Grinnell (or Grinnell Mountain). We had a good group and a great day. If you want to know more about the outing, I've posted a trip report on the Rocky Mountaineers blog.

On Saturday, I joined the Rocky Mountaineers board president, Forest Dean, on a trip up the Citadel. It was a punishing, awesome day. For more detail, read Forest's trip report on the Rocky Mountaineers blog.

And finally, on Sunday, we did the Trifecta, which is a ridge walk connecting Piegan Mountain, Pollock Mountain, and the Bishop's Cap. We were all tired, but this was a great cap to the weekend. If you want to learn more about this great ridge traverse, see my trip report on the Rocky Mountaineers blog.

All in all, it was a great and uplifting weekend - one of the best of the summer in fact.

The Thorofare, Yellowstone National Park

August has been an extremely busy month, filled with various expeditions into wild country. For a week in early August, I did the Thorofare and South Boundary Trails in Yellowstone with my two good friends Al Parker and Dave Sumner. It was a fantastic trip, starting at the northeast corner of Yellowstone Lake and walking for seven days, first south along the lake, and then continuing south along the upper-Yellowtone River into the Thorofare region, where Thorofare Creek and the Yellowstone meet. There we spent a rest day (two nights at one camp), day hiking on our off day to Bridger Lake, where the fishing was good. This region is the wildest seeming place I've been: we saw grizzly bears, many birds, and caught big (but wiley) trout. After our rest day, we turned west and walked three days along the south boundary of Yellowstone, over the Continental Divide, and eventually to the Snake River, which we walked out to the South Entrance of Yellowstone on our seventh day. It was a great trip on every level, both in terms of country and company. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

My phone died early in the trip, so I only have photos from the first couple of days.

Mount Jerusalem, Bitterroot

Matt signing the summit register on Mount Jerusalem.

At work a week or so back, Matt Roscoe, who works in the Math Department with me, asked if I wanted to get out for a big day in the Bitterroot. Needless to say, the answer was, "Yes!" A couple of peaks that are on my list, and that I suggested we climb, are Mount Jerusalem and Peak 9169, or Mount Jerusalem North. The trail head is Watchtower Creek, which is quite a ways up the West Fork of the Bitterroot. We walked up the creek, first on trail, and then off-trail, to just below the saddle between Jerusalem and North Jerusalem. Then we hiked straight up to the saddle, bagged North Jerusalem, and then walked the beautiful ridge south to Jerusalem and continued on, following the ridge south to near the Wilderness boundary before dropping back into Watchtower Creek. The stats were 17 miles and 5300 feet of gain, but this was an especially physically demanding trip, with lots of off-trail walking through talus and boulder fields.

Heading up.

 

Looking south toward Jerusalem from the southern flank of North Jerusalem.

Jerusalem and Matt from the summit of North Jerusalem.

Ridge walking over to Jerusalem.

Navigating the crux along the ridge.

The summit of Jerusalem.