Backcountry Snowboarding in Montana,
Splitboarding is about a lot more than just snowboarding to me. It's about traveling through the mountains by foot and experiencing what they have to offer in the winter. If I get to do some backcountry snowboarding on some good snow that's just a bonus. It's my first winter in the mountains and I'm a total novice when it comes to touring and dealing with all the hazards that the mountains present in the winter. This series will follow my progression as I gain experience and detail the methods I use to stay safe out there.
Find the series on Youtube here,
Episode 1: First Tracks
I moved to Montana for the mountains and my splitboard is the best way to get around in the winter. Of course I'll be looking for good backcountry lines to snowboard down but splitboarding is about a lot more than just snowboarding to me. It's about traveling through the mountains by foot and experiencing what they have to offer in the winter. If I get to ride some good snow that's just a bonus. It's my first winter in the mountains and I'm a total novice when it comes to touring and dealing with all the hazards that the mountains present in the winter. This series will follow my progression as I gain experience and detail the methods I use to stay safe out there.
Episode 2: Good and Bad Snow
Now that I have taken my avalanche level 1 course I am putting those new skills to the test in the mountains. Taking the course actually made me less confident, because now I am more acutely aware of all the dangers out here. It will take a lot of experience to feel confident now.
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Episode 3: Staying Out Longer
My first time touring and camping in the same trip. I've plenty of winter camping experience, but touring and camping requires a lot more gear. I had such a good time exploring deeper in the Crazy mountains that I didn't put much effort in snowboarding.
Episode 4: Humbling Terrain
I took an opportunity to meet up with an old friend who was visiting Jackson Hole and we hit up a popular backcountry spot in the Tetons. The scale of the mountains blew us away. We climbed 3000 feet to our spot and the bigger peaks still loomed way above us. Many of them had tracks coming down.
Episode 5: Cabin Life
We finally gathered a good crew of friends to get away from our busy schedules and spend a weekend in the mountains together. Although the conditions didn't allow us to get very deep into the Crazies it was a blast.
Episode 6: Making the best of it
Sometimes things just don't go to plan. It's up to us whether we give up or try to make the best of it.
Episode 7: Going for Bigger Lines
My friend JR has snowmobiles and we take them deeper into the backcountry around West Yellowstone to find some bigger lines. He's more experienced in the backcountry than me and we have the confidence to go for some bigger lines than I've been hitting up until now.
Episode 8: Conditions decide terrain
The Coronavirus has hit in full force and Montana is on lockdown. Luckily we are still allowed to go outside. I explore an entirely new zone in the Beartooth Mountains. They are huge and intimidating and I'm forced to change plans based on the terrain.