Goggles!

 

From L to R, old to new...

 

Good goggles make a big difference when riding… which partly explains why I have 3 pairs right now.

Granted, I never needed anything more then new lenses and frame foam. But new goggles are really exciting. That is most likely why I keep getting new ones. I do keep my old ones for spares and for different conditions. Until they really break, I’ll keep using them…

Last spring, I got an awesome pair of goggles, with light sensitive lenses (which darkened in light!). Just in time for dirtbike riding. What I did not realize at the time was that the inside of the dual lens was prone to scratching. Several months, and many dusty rides, they were scratched to the point where I couldn’t see thru them. Lesson learned. A new, shiny lens, and they were better then new…

So I’m equipped for all conditions, as far as goggles go. We’ll see how they fare over the summer….

 

51 years, and he still won’t slow down.

 

my dad laying it down in the flats.

 My dad has been my mentor with sledding, as well as my riding buddy. Almost everything I know about snowmobiling came from him. Even though he’s 51 now, he’s not slowing down at all…

 

Today, he kicks over another year of backcountry riding refinement and advancement. Although he leaves the big air to me now, I leave the technical and/or sketchy riding to him. He’s the one who searches for new routes thru the trees, climbs that no one else even thinks about trying, as well as seemingly endless sidehills. For some reason, most other riders (yea, including me) don’t try to follow his technical lines…

 

We feed off of each other’s confidence and successes. One of us uses that to bail off of cornices, the other goes for the hairiest lines in sight. And so we take turns being the photographer…

 

We’re also a team in the backcountry. We both know we can depend on the other if something goes awry – or not. We’ve got different styles of riding, but riding on the same terrain, we’re able to give each other pointers and ideas for jumps and lines.

 

He’s an awesome mentor and rider, and I feel quite lucky to ride with him. Every year, he goes bigger and bigger and takes crazier lines . For him, age is going to have a hard time catching up…

Happy birthday!

 

looking back down a chute. (photo by rider...dad.)

Ride 3/21/09!!

 

Looking towards the head of West Lost Trail.

Late spring conditions. A month early from last year, but conditions we’ve had many springs before. Hard getting there, but good going in the highcountry….

Getting to the highcountry was the problem. The road was mostly dirt, and what snow was there, was ice-hard. We had to fight with both riding on dirt, as well as having issues with our sleds overheating. Apparently, we were desperate to ride…

Once we finally got to the base of Timber Hill, the conditions improved. After only one more section of dirt, we made it to the snow of the highcountry. But since we couldn’t go back the way we came, we also had to find another way to get home…

Despite that fact, we went to the Stony Pass and with a little bit of route-finding, dropped into Maggie Gulch. After checking a couple mine shacks there, we got back into the familiar terrain of Pole Creek.

Even though it was getting somewhat late, we decided to reattempt climbing out on Pole mountain. We tried last year, and didn’t get close. But this year, we were able to climb right to the 10-foot gap in the rocks. That gap led right onto a sidehill ledge, with cliff above and below. From lower, that ledge didn’t look that steep, so I went for it… After I got there, however, I found out that it was a lot steeper then it looked. I also found out why my dad didn’t want to go up there… After some “road” building, I was able to get back across the ledge, and back down to safety. Sure, I might be the first person ever to get to the top of Pole Mountain on sled, but I really had to work at coming back down…

After that, we continued on across to Lost Trail Creek. Considering our only other route required a lot of hiking trudging six miles in rotten snow, we dropped into Lost Trail Creek, and got on the trail for home. Because we had packed that trail in earlier, it was half decent, and not too rotten – and we only hit one patch of dirt…

For a late season ride, it was pretty good. We got to some new places, found some new routes, and had a great time on what might be our last ride of the season.

 

 

The line i took to get to the top of Pole Mountain...

Spring is slower here…

 

 

A dirtbike, on snow...

 It’s that time of year. The snow is disappearing at an alarming rate, and soon we’ll have to put the sleds away for several months. It’s a sad time of year, as any sledder knows…

 

But even with ten inches of snow on the ground, I figured it was a good day to get out the dirtbike and get a head start on the next seasons riding… after all, in another two months it’ll be all dirt around here!

 

Spring is a lot later in coming for us then elsewhere, for better or worse. While we still get a couple more rides in, most people are done for the season. When other places are starting to green, we’ve still got snow/mud on the ground….

Goals Accomplished

This season, I’ve gotten to the point where I’m dropping the biggest cornices I can find. I’m learning how to do tricks in mid air. In general, I’ve become more willing to try bigger maneuvers – not blindly, but with skill and confidence. I haven’t always been at this point; it’s new to me, and I really love it.

 

In years past, I had been too cautious to try harder lines, or bigger airs. I didn’t have the skills or the experience that I have now. But after a steady progression, this season I’ve been more confident to take educated risks. It might be a confidence in my skills, knowledge, and sled. Experience probably has a lot to do with it as well. Whichever it is, I’ve increased my comfortable drop range tenfold (going into the season, my biggest drops were only about five feet, now they’re 50).

 

Even though the season’s not over yet, I can say it was awesome for me. I’ve gotten a good balance between caution and confidence. I set goals, and have been able to reach them. I really like the point I’m at now; I know I’ve never been here before. Maybe tomorrow or next year I’ll set new goals, but for now I’ll revel in the success of accomplishing what I’ve dreamed of doing.