Activity Type: Backcounty SkiingDate of trip: Jan 21, 2013
Mountain Range or Region:Boise National ForestState: ID Country: USA
Skiers: Cody Feuz and Brad Nelson
Total vertical gain: 3,200 ft. Total skiing vertical: 3,200 ft.
Starting area: Mores Creek Summit on ID 21
General Description:
I always love getting out in the backcountry and exploring new terrain. My partner on this trip was Brad Nelson, (he has skiied the area that we were in multiple times), but this was my first trip in. I wanted to accomplish two things with this trip:
1 – Get in some good fitness training for some Teton Peak skiing later this winter/spring.
2 – Ski the steep chutes off the NW side of Pilot Peak.
Check, check. Mission accomplished.
I had a great time with Brad and we made two laps in the NW chutes. The total trek was 8.5 miles and we did it in 5.5 hours. It required several skinning/skiing switches, which was the only downside. Many would consider the snow conditions of our East Bowl run on the return to be a downside too – breakable crust on top of week-old, sun burned powder. But, I see this as good training to handle variable conditions of any kind on the same trip. When skiing the backcountry you have to be able to handle the good, the bad, and the ugly. The video illustrates this.
All in all, a great day: Arrived back at the vehicle safe, had a great time with a good friend and got to ski some new terrain. (Oh, and one more thing – I spent the day above the inversion).
GPS Data:
