personal | splitboard adventures at paradise on mt rainier

I know, I know. Winter is over. On sunny days like this though, I can't seem to stop thinking about winter adventures. See for me, summer is my working season. I can barely find the time to leave my computer screen, let alone go on a hike or make it to a happy hour with friends. With that season rapidly approaching, I've been trying to savor every last bit of free time I have. Taking a walk through the neighborhood, going on a weekend bike ride, whatever I can fit in before my time is taken up by editing, shooting, traveling, answering emails, uploading photos, writing blogs, connecting with vendors, and all of the other wonderful things that my job entails. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but like everyone else, I do savor my days off.

This winter, in fact, was terrible. And winter the time that I usually look forward to the most. It's pretty depressing to see snow levels the way they are. Cherry blossoms were blooming in February, it was raining instead of snowing in January at Crystal Mountain, and I can only imagine how it's going to impact the wildfires this summer. That being said, I do think it's funny when people look at me cross-eyed after I tell them I went snowboarding in April. Yes, it was bad, but it doesn't mean there was NO snow! When you spent five years of your life living in a ski town, sliding down snow simply becomes a way of life. With ski resorts having sub-par conditions for most of the end of winter this year, I found that it was absolutely necessary to go hunting for powder in other ways. Enter Jeff and Kelly Steele. Basically I met these two through Instagram. Sounds crazy, but a mutual friend commented on some of Jeff's photos and I realized he had a wife that was a splitboarder. I've been desperately hoping to find a lady friend to splitboard with in Washington. Not that I don't like going with only boys, or girl skiers for that matter, it's just different to have another female around that is doing the same thing you are. I recognized Jeff on a particularly poor weather day up at Crystal this year. We were all lamenting the bad weather over beers at the Snorting Elk. It seemed like the best way to spend the day at the time. We got to talking and planned our first trip up to Paradise on Mt. Rainier.

Our first experience was probably one of the best days I've EVER had snowboarding. We only took a couple of lines but the powder was totally incredible that day. It had snowed about a foot and the trees looked like tasty marshmallow-ice cream cones against a brilliant blue sky. Really I couldn't think of anywhere else I wanted to be at the time! The next time we went up was just a few weeks ago in April. Visibility was nearly nothing with the fog and clouds as we were skinning up. Barely being able to see, we decided to stay low on the mountain and dropped into a skinny little chute that Jeff and Kelly named "Happy New Year Chute". All of us were completely shocked that the snow was so good. And it was April! After that it warmed up into some pretty sticky snow but the companionship and the feeling of being out in the mountains made for a pretty amazing day. 

I have to say, I'm pretty stoked to have met these two. I love having Kelly around to tell me "You can do it!" as I'm struggling up a slippery kick-turn or to high five after an amazing line. There's just something different about the energy that girls bring to the table when they snowboard together and I have really missed is since leaving Jackson Hole. I can't wait to see what other memories and stories we can all create together, no matter what Mother Nature decides to hand us next season. Cheers to wonderful days in the mountains.

jackson hole backcountry | 25 short

Yet another adventure to check off my Jackson Hole bucket list. I finally had the opportunity to snowboard in Grand Teton National Park! With skinning being the only way to access, doing this mission on a splitboard is the only way to go for snowboarders. Our goal to make it up 25 short seemed very reasonable, until we slept in. After waking up late and loading up our stuff, we didn't make it to the Taggart Lake trailhead until noon. Yikes! The ascent required 3500 feet of skinning uphill, and I knew I'd be slow since most of my skinning missions have been on the flats. Regardless of the intimidation factor, it was a beautiful sunny day and hopes were high.

The trail wove around through the woods for a while before starting an abrupt ascent up the slope. Lots of gorgeous views greeted us along the way, including tracks on the Grand Teton! Can't even imagine skiing that...

Our final push to the top brought us to one of the most breathtaking views I've ever seen. Buck Mountain loomed above Avalanche Canyon in the afternoon light.

Beautiful turns awaited us after taking in the views.

a celebratory beer was in order at the summit.

a little crusty, but still amazing!!

the views on the way out weren't so bad either.

We got back to the car right before sunset and soaked in the view as we rested in the back of the pickup. What a glorious day!!

jackson hole backcountry | three days of powder.

Wow am I one lucky girl! This week has been simply amazing. With my friend Kristina coming to town (you can read about her skiing/climbing/mountaineering adventures here) I was really hoping to show her a good time and had been praying for fresh snow. Well, the snow gods have answered with over a foot falling over the last two days! Our first day was spent at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, and the conditions were questionable. A hard crust lurked underneath what looked like fresh powder and the skiing was super variable with a fresh fluffy turn here and then hitting a patch of hard ice there. Yuck. At least it was snowing! The next day we awoke to gorgeous bluebird skies and decided to hit up Teton Pass for the backcountry. What a great decision. Breaking out the splitboard for the second time, I tried to keep up with Kristina and David on my first side-hilling attempt out to The Claw on the south side of the Pass. Luckily I'm getting better at this two-planking thing and didn't even fall when the track went downhill! I just slipped a lot while trying to keep my edges in the slope. Regardless of my skinning abilities, the views were stunning and the weather was perfect.

photo by Kristina. skinning on Teton Pass.

reaching the top of The Claw.

We got out to our point of descent, David and I put our "skis" back together as snowboards, and off we went down the steep chutes of The Claw. Just wow.

Kristina took this one while she was waiting for me to put my board together.

Kristina on the left, David on the right. get some pow!

Kyle -- not a bad way to spend a morning.

Me & Kristina with The Claw in the back on the left.

So much fun! Kristina and I just couldn't get enough so we decided to do another lap by ourselves. The late afternoon sunlight was so beautiful and it was even warmer than before. The Claw was also equally as fun. So much pow!

that glorious late afternoon sun. photo by Kristina.

finally a photo of me snowboarding! photo by Kristina.

our way down.

After that we drove north to take some photos of the Tetons. That view seriously never gets old.

The next morning we woke up and it was snowing pretty hard. Another lap on The Claw was in order! There were no stunning views to take in but there sure was a lot of snow to shred.

another photo of me snowboarding! this didn't suck. photo by Kristina.

Kristina fully enjoys here Wednesday morning.

David getting some of the fresh stuff. Love how there is so much snow coming down in this one!

the rest of the way down. dreamy...

I unfortunately had to go to work after all of that last night but we woke up to eight inches of fresh snow today. Another day at the ski resort was in order with avalanche conditions in not such good shape. Several tram laps and gondola rides later, we ate some delicious Teton Thai and are now resting our legs by the fire. Today was one of the best days at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort all season! Oh and last I checked it was still snowing :)

the maiden voyage of my splitboard.

Not only was I incredibly excited to finally buy a splitboard, I was even more excited to use it! Now, I should probably explain what a splitboard is for starters, being that many of my friends and family may have no idea what I'm talking about. A splitboard is basically a snowboard cut in half. You need one of these (or learn how to ski!) to access deeper backcountry than what can only be accessed on foot or dreaded snowshoes. When your splitboard is split apart (like skis) you can throw on some skins to ascend snow-covered slopes. Skins are skinny pieces of fabric with glue on the bottom that stick to the bottom of your skis. They glide forward when you want them to and basically "stick" to the slope due to the fabric when you are climbing uphill. Think of what it feels like when you rub a short-haired dog's hair the wrong way. That's what the fabric does on the bottom of the skins, allowing you to not slide backwards in the snow.

People have been skinning and skiing deep backcountry for years, but it's only recently that some more love has been put into the splitboard industry -- including women's specific splitboards!! Yayy!! After hearing that GNU was coming out with a B-Pro split (my normal board of choice) this year, I knew I had to get one. In the past women have been limited to the "shorter" men's boards (way longer than what I would prefer to ride). Some may argue that you would want a longer splitboard than what you normally ride since you are going to be always riding powder but I beg to differ. Most of the exits for some of these backcountry runs that I like to frequent are icy, banked-slalom, roller-coaster-like wild rides through tight trees, creek beds, and sometimes sticks, logs and rocks. A shorter board is much easier to navigate such terrain with!

Anyway, I got a 152 GNU B-Pro Splitboard, complete with Spark bindings that slide right on to the Voile conversion system for splitboards. I couldn't wait to take it on its maiden voyage this weekend! We decided on a very familiar run, Tittymouse Ridge on Teton Pass. The skin track is nice and mellow with only a few dips and a shallow grade. In the past I have walked this track when it gets packed in but boy was I surprised how much easier it was with skins! My strides were longer and I didn't get out of breath from having to constantly catch my balance when my feet sunk in. Granted, I still managed to fall down. Being someone that's never skied, even the slightest downhill in the track was terrifying and I totally ate it at one point (or two). This is something I will get better at with practice I'm sure :)

Once out to the ridge, we made a very easy transition transforming our skis back into snowboards. It was a very easy process and I am so thankful that this technology has improved so much! Next it was time to see how the board would ride. Being that it is technically cut in half, I was surprised at the stability. Our powder run through the trees was perfect with a ton of fresh powder. The roller-coaster exit was very easy with only one snow bridge to deal with over a small creek. The snowboard was very stable, with only a bit of chatter on the Old Pass Road when it got a little icy and choppy. Other than that though, it was a fabulous day and I can't wait to see what adventures this new toy is going to take me on!