Deeper Ep. 6

Deeper Ep. 6

A Day on the Mountain / Spencer

Wyoming / Shak Gang / Day 4

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This was the third and final day of riding. The clouds moved in overnight and dropped several inches of fresh snow along with increased winds. It is always a bit wilder in the mountains when the winds pick up and start moving the snow around. We had periods of heavy snow and then it would taper off.

We rode to an area that Jake and I had found on day one. It was up top, on one of the mountains with a good climb to access and good wind drifts to bust over.

Deep powder this day and some occasional snowing.

This was in an area that was challenging with a steep ravine and a creek in the middle. It took a little sawing to free Alex's sled from a tree.

This is good boonedocking, where we were weaving our way through the trees, up and down ravines, with a creek adding a challenge. A few good climbs and a few steep descents, this all makes a great day exploring untracked mountain powder.

In the middle of nowhere, just where we wanted to be. Making our own trails. GOOD TIMES!!

We all made it back from this trip safe. Found new territory and returned to some areas that are always different from year to year with varying weather conditions. With fresh snow for two days before our arrival and bright sun the first 2 days, we were able to access some great areas, ride untracked powder and see what our surroundings looked like. The 3rd day of riding, with the new snow and the winds, started a new cycle of powder. The beauty of the mountains, it keeps drawing us back.

Thanks for checking out my adventures.

Wyoming / Shak Gang / Day 3

Ghost Rider
One of the Gang got bucked off at the top and could only watch as the 2 pine trees jumped out in front of his sled. The little tree went first but big buddy tree stood his ground. The group was able to repair the damage. After all that excitement we all gathered for a mountain lunch and basked in the 30 degrees and sunshine...GOOD TIMES!!

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Another sunny mild day in the mountains. We explored an area that I saw for the first time 6 years ago on my first trip with the Shak Gang. That year I was one of 3 rookies on rented sleds. I had brought my snowboard and even snowboarded in this area that year. We have been back on these mountains 1 or 2 times since. It is a hard place to get into when it is storming, it requires alot of sidehilling and climbing to access. It is well worth it. The untouched powder was incredible and the sights were great. It was a good day in the mountains. We had 1 incident that involved a sled but the rider was not in the saddle at the time and so everybody was OK and with a little backcountry repair the sled was restored to order with a few battle wounds.

I'll let the pictures do the talking.

I will be back with the sleds and snowboards in the future. We were able to climb to the top of several mountains and the snow boarding will be great.

Later...

Wyoming / Shak Gang / Day 2 / Vid

Wyoming / Shak Gang / Day 2

Throwing on some pictures of the day. 2 - 3 feet of fresh powder and bright sunlight makes for a good day on the mountain.

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Monday Morning - Feb 1 / Wyoming Bound

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Nebraska / blowing snow and semi trucks...ya!

On the road at midnight Sunday, hooked up with rest of the group in Omaha, Tim and his sons left Sunday and stay at relatives in Omaha. We've got two trucks heading west with 4 guys in each truck pulling two 4 place trailers. We are 500 miles into mid Nebraska as of 7:30 AM. It is about 1000 miles to our destination in Wyoming.

This is a yearly trip to Wyoming that started back in the spring of 2005 for me. The group dynamics changes each year with varying numbers and 1 or 2 new guys each trip. The largest group was 10 guys, the smallest group I went with was 6 one year. I missed the year that I broke my face in the spring of 2008. The core of the group, Tim, Brian, Alex, Spencer and I are back along with 3 new guys, 1 of which is a rookie. The other 2 guys, Andy and Jake have been out west several times with other groups. We like to get off the trail and boonedock. With different snow conditions each year we take what we get. With over 4 feet of fresh snow while we were out there last year we didn't put on as many miles, but everywhere we rode it was deep untracked powder. A few years back when the snow was deep, but it was set up more, then we were able to explore more areas further off the trail and with better visibility you can see the areas and sights. This year looks to be a bit of both conditions, with the mountains receiving about 4 feet of snow last week. The temps will be mild, low 20's during the day. Compared to the December trips where we saw daytime temps in the minus 0 figures.It's going to be a good trip, I'll be riding the M8 this trip. 4 other guys are riding Mountain Cats this year, This group used to be all Polaris except Craig with his Thunder Cat. GOOD TIMES!!