Montana Skiing

Max skinning up to East Boulder Photo by Matt Morgan

After saying goodbye to friends and family in NB I was on my way west. After 3 1/2 days of driving I made to to Missoula Montana to visit and ski tour with my friends Matt and Alli.

Matt was my roommate when I did the Canadian Outdoor Leadership Training Program in 2003 and we have been on many adventures since.

I arrived at about 2:30pm friday and as soon as I walked into the door Matt said we have a few options for skiing this weekend..... there was know hey how's it going it was all business. So we decided to head into the Bitterroot Wilderness and ski a 4000ft line on East Boulder Mountain.

The Bitterroot Wilderness is public land located in mid-western Montana and is managed by the US Forest Service. If you're ever in there area it is a great place to visit and do a multi-day trip. A couple areas in the Bitterroot to make note of are: Blogett Canyon an amazing granite alpine climbing destination, Trapper Peak another great alpine climbing spot and hike or ski into the Boulder Creek trail (this is where we were).

One other thing you should know about the Bitterroot is that the approaches are long and the skin out can be a brutal when the snow hasn't filled in the creek. You definitely earn your adventure. Fortunately we had good conditions.

Matty boot packing Photo by Max Fisher

At 5am Saturday morning we got up ate breakfast and loaded into the car for the 2hr drive to the Boulder Creek trail head. Once there we made our up to Boulder Point and up the ridge to East Boulder Peak about 5000ft vertical gain. The weather and views were fantastic. It took use 5hrs to get to the top of the couloir we wanted to descend.

Matty on the ridge of East Boulder Photo by Max Fisher

      Max hiking on ridge Photo by Matt Morgan

Matty on the ridge Photo by Max Fisher

    Max climbing down to the rappel Photo by Matt Morgan

Max climbing down Photo by Matt Morgan

We scouted things out and had to do a short rappel into the couloir to a point where we could put on our ski's and board. We checked the snow pack and found it to be extremely well bonded and were very confident nothing was going to slide on us. The decent was 4000ft of variable snow conditions with the lower half having the best snow.

        

     Max getting on rappel Photo by Matt Morgan

        Max rappelling Photo by Matt Morgan

Matty rappelling Photo by Max Fisher

Coiling the rope Photo by Matt Morgan

       Matty exiting the pinch at the top of the couloir Photo by Max Fisher

  Max exiting the bottom on the couloir Photo by Matt Morgan

    Max getting some turns Photo by Matt Morgan

      Matty rippin' it with our couloir in the back ground Photo by Max Fisher

Matty again!! Photo by Max Fisher

Matty enjoying the turns Photo by Max Fisher 

Our couloir is in the middle. There is a right pinch that doesn't look like it has snow we descended that one. Best ski mountaineering day I have had! Photo by Matt Morgan

Max on the way down Photo by Matt Morgan

When Matt and I got to the bottom we filled up on creek water, found the trail and skied out to the car. We arrived at the car just before dark, loaded our stuff, headed for Missoula to have burrito's with Alli, and dry our stuff out for another day of skiing in the slack country at the local ski hill Snow Bowl.

Skinning out Photo by Matt Morgan

After and early night and a great sleep we where up at the hill by 8:30am. Matt and I skinned up the hill and meet Alli at the top at 10:30am.... she had things she had to do before coming up. We snaked 2 quick free runs on the upper lift and then headed for the slack country. Oh I forgot to mention the hill got 20cm overnight and was still snowing when we arrived and left.

We skinned over and skied Another World, a fun pitch with really nice snow. We skinned back up for another run this Time on 3 Tier which for me were my best turns of the day. Our last run in Snow Bowl slack country was down Jenny Bowl. A quick skin back up to the hill and down to the Bar for pizza.

 Max in the goods! Photo by Matt Morgan

 A little deeper in the goods! Matt Morgan

Alli kickin' it!! Photo by Matt Morgan

What do you get when you have 20-30cm of fresh powder snow + good friends + pizza + beer???
= UM UM GOOD!!

Thanks to Matt and Alli for letting me sleep on the futon and go skiing with them the past few days.... love you guys!

St Martins Ice Climbing

Marty Theriault looking at Fundy Gully WI3 100m Photo by Max Fisher

For the past few weeks I've been getting to ice climb in some great places in NB and this weekend I got to go to St Martins another wonderful coastal NB ice climbing area!

St Martin's is a coastal community located in south central New Brunswick, 50 km south of Sussex. The community doesn't have much happening in the winter the said the summer brings numerous tourists from all over the world to walk under the massive sea cliffs and observe the highest tides in the world(The Bay of Fundy).

On friday we headed down to the cottage we rented for the weekend. Friday night we had a pretty significant snow storm so the drive took about 3 hrs. Once there we enjoyed a number for beers.

Saturday we went to Quaco Head a great area with lots of ice! Do to the tides we had to head out early but because of the cottage we headed back for a late afternoon climb. We climbed/led S&D WI3, The White Cottage WI4, Less is More WI4+ and Know Your Place WI3. Most of the routes in the area are 30m to 40m.

       

 Luc Gallant ice bouldering in Quaco Head Photo by Max Fisher

 Less is More WI4+... my favorite lead of the season! Photo by Max Fisher

Sunday we headed to Berry Beach to see if Superbowl WI2+ 50m was in and Fundy Gully WI3 100m..... both these routes are super fun and fortunately they where in. Luc Gallant and Dom Caron climbed Superbowl and Marty Theriault and I climbed Fundy Gully. I have to say it is one of may favorite ice climbs! After we climbed those routes we headed back to Quaco Head and wanted to get into the Flower Pot, the most concentrated area for moderate routes, but the tides where to high so we went down and climbed Know Your Place again.

 Marty seconding the first pitch of Fundy Gully Photo by Max Fisher

 Marty starting up the second pitch Photo by Max Fisher

Marty climbing strong Photo by Max Fisher

Marty on the last steep step Photo by Max Fisher 

Marty topping out Photo by Max Fisher 

Thanks to Marty and Josiane for organizing the cottage and all the others (Franca, Dom, Luc, Jon, Joceline, Delphine, Melissa, Mike and Pierre) for another great weekend!

NB Ice Climbing

After an fun christmas holiday of visiting family and friends I was itching to get some ice climbing in. 

If you walk an extra 15minutes to around the corner in Cape Maringouin you get another present!!

Who wouldn't want to climb in this setting? Photo by Max Fisher

A combination of snow covering the ice making it rotten to above seasonal temperatures has led to a slow start to the NB ice season. Finally just after christmas we had a few nice cold days and got out to a few different places: Cape Maringouin and Parlee Brook.

Cape Maringouin is coastal ice located on the northeast side of the Rockport Peninsula. I first explored this place in the late winter of 2007 we climbed 5 new routes that year. 2008 had no activity. I came home for a few months again in 2009 and hiked in there a few more times and climbed 4 more routes. Now this season I have been in there twice and 4 new routes have been climbed..... there are still a few beautiful lines out there!! 

Sick? Why Not WI3+ in the centre Photo by Max Fisher

Plates WI3 on the right in thin conditions Photo by Max Fisher

    A Frozen Morning WI4 on left and 2 Planes of Ice WI4 on the right in lean conditions at Cape Maringouin Photo by Max Fisher

The approach is about a 1hr hike/ski into the climbs. The climbs vary in difficulty from WI2 to WI4+ and height from 7m to 20m. This is one of my favourite places to climb because of the coastal aspect and the solitude, I have never been there and had others show up.

Parlee Brook, located in Sussex Corner, is the premier ice climbing destination in NB! It has a very high concentration of routes for all levels of climbers and is in early and late season.

The approach is about 1hr and it can be approached from both the top and the bottom. Sometimes people get lost looking for Parlee so if you're looking at heading in there go with someone that know's or get some good directions. 

Max Fisher climbing Patrick's Choice WI3+ Parlee Brook Photo by Dom Caron

Max Fisher on Patrick's Choice Photo by Dom Caron

Thanks to Marty Theriault and Dom Caron for the belays and great days of ice!

After these past few days Cape Maringouin is going to be in great condition! The snow in Parlee doesn't make for the best conditions... still worth a trip in my opinion.

Joe Kennedy's Ice Climbing Guide to New Brunswick is a excellent resource!! You can pick it up at Radical Edge in Fredericton for $10-$15. Also check out the Climb Eastern Canada link.