Had a blast skiing in the Crested Butte Extreme comp this March. Day one presented a hard, chalky and thin venue with day two being just as thin but a little softer. After getting a sick bird nomination from my day one line, I sat in 12th heading into day two. My day two line was a big anticlimactic but I stood it up and ended up finishing 14th overall. What a fun weekend! Looking forward to getting back their to compete again next year.

Pushing that weight forward to avoid disaster on my Day One line. Headwall.

Dropping into angle gully, Headwall Crested Butte, CO.

Check out a gallery from out tour in Glacier National Park with Glacier Adventure Guides right here: http://www.glacierlife.com/2013/04/24/elk-mountain-with-stormcycles-crew-from-skiing-magazine/

After an awesome trip to Whitefish, MT and Great Northern Powder Guides back in January, Brody Leven and I hooked up with Glacier Country Tourism to head back to Western Montana for a week long road trip. We flew into Kalispell, MT just south of Whitefish. Rented a steller front-wheel drive mini van and hit the road. Route 93 through the heart of Glacier Country. Our trip included stops at Whitefish Mountain Resort, an epic touring day in Glacier National Park on Elk Mountain, a fun day at the mom and pop Blacktail Ski Area, touring at Snowbowl with locals Landon Garner and Donovan Powers, park skiing at Lost Trail and powder skiing in Missoula backcountry at Lolo Pass. Great trip! Stay tuned for our webisode (coming late summer)!

“Sheepshead Cabin looks like something out of the Pacific Northwest or British Columbia. The cabin, which sleeps up to ten (or more if you’re willing to hit the floor) is set against a beautiful and rugged backdrop of southern San Juan peaks. But you’ll be surprised to know that this cabin, which sits among more than 30,000 acres of sled-accessible terrain that averages 400 inches of snow per year, is located twenty miles from South Fork, Colorado. What many would think of as an unlikely location for a backcountry hut is sure to become a new destination for riders frustrated with unstable snowpack, inconsistent snowfall, and hard-to-access terrain elsewhere.”

Write-up on Skiing Magazine Online: http://www.skinet.com/skiing/articles/storm-cycles-sheepshead-cabin?src=facebook

Write-up on West Elk Project, by Rob Dickinson: http://www.westelkproject.com/the-sheepshead-trip-report/

Gallery and Blog Post from photographer Craig Moore http://www.glacierlife.com/2013/02/18/aspen-meets-montana-with-skiing-magazine/

From Skiing Magazine Online: words by TJ David

“We’re creeping quietly. Traversing between snow ghosts that roam the frozen northern landscape like prehistoric creatures from the fictional realm of Narnia when we’re brought back to reality. Our guide and Whitefish Mountain Resort snow reporter, “Big” Dave Ericson, is talking to us. He’s going on and on about northern Montana snowpack while we’re stuck staring out amongst a 360-degree view that includes the Flathead Valley, Whitefish Lake and Glacier National Park. Big Dave is adamant. The snow here is “magical,” he says. “3 inches skis like 12” and old and new layers bond so soundly that most days feel bottomless. As Greg and I stare down across the East Rim, I can’t help but think, is he full of it?

I can’t even think. I’m exhausted. It’s been game-on since our first run with Big Dave and I’m thirsty from all the talk about beers at the Beirstube. Greg and I have been following a group of locals known as the “Whitefish Powder Ninjas” around all day. The group, consisting of meat hucker Conor O’Neil, snow reporter Erik Gelbke and photographer Craig Moore are rich in all things Whitefish—and more than willing to share. Everywhere we look there’s a line they’ve skied, a cliff they’ve sent and a backcountry zone ready for a fresh set of tracks. It’s been a good day—exploratory. As we head toward the Beirstube I mention to Craig that Big Dave said we wouldn’t be skiing much powder today. We laugh because today was about as good as it gets.

Just north of Whitefish sits Great Northern Powder Guides. A bare-bones cat skiing operation aimed at providing a true skiing experience, for the dedicated skier. It’s a place where you’ll probably be greeted by the operations mascot, Sway the bobcat, upon entry and you have the option to sleep in leopard print sheets amongst more taxidermied animals than you’ve ever seen in your life. What more could you ask for? How about enjoying a guide grilled burger after a morning lapping pillow lines and steep trees, while owner Jay Sandelin is hard at work. See a line you like? Jay can probably get you there. No bells and whistles. No nonsense. Just skiing. And that’s the way we like it.

And to think, just 3 days ago we were trapped in a bone-dry Colorado January. Eighteen hours and 1,100 miles separated us from any resemblance of soft snow. We’ve been transported. Thrown into a foreign world so far from what we’re used to in Aspen. A town with all the right ingredients to be called western. Sunrises that last for hours. Chairlifts that climb up south facing aspects above valley floors lost in an endless sea of cloudy inversion. A place so unique you’d have to see it for yourself. Whitefish—a skier’s utopia.”

Ed Dujardin and TJ David, with less then 24 hours of planning, travel to Alta, UT — embedding themselves into an Alta storm cycle that would ultimately produce over 40 inches of snow.

“It’s nearly 4am and hopefully the worst is over. Three hours of white-knuckled vertigo – the prospect of beating the storm, now fully settled over the Wasatch, a faraway dream fabricated by my restless imagination. My co-pilot, Ed Dujardin sleeps soundly in the passanger seat. Thoughts consumed by light snow while I’m caught asking myself, will we make it? Will we see our unlikely plan into fruition?”

“30 minutes of unsettled sleep in a Smith’s parking lot, then we’re fully embedded into an Alta powder culture dominated by restless locals pacing through base-side cafeterias – Helmets strapped, goggles on, skis already in line. Do they realize it’s only 6am?”

[Film] [Edit] [Writing] [ Narration] by TJ David
[Ski] [Film] [Photo]
www.TJDavidSki.com

Location: Alta, UT

Starring: Ed Dujardin www.WestElkProject.com

Athletes:
Ryan Caggiano
TJ David
Ed Dujardin
Powell Eastman
Colter Hinchliffe
Brant Moles

Gear: GoPro HD Hero II / Contour / Canon 7D [EF 28mm F/1.8] [EF 24-70mm F/2.8L] [EF 70-200mm F/4L] [Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8]