Recap #2 Spring / Summer 2023

A bit of street hockey and a flashback to my son’s Jr A Hockey bio.

New pickup, 2023 Ford F350 to carry my Four Wheel Camper. Ordered the F350 in October 2022 and it arrived at dealership in May 2023. 

Ordered F350 exactly the way I wanted it… For the engine, 7.3 gasser, lower gearing for my load, camper/snowplow package for extra load capacity, FX4, skid plates and upgraded shocks. Dual battery, black out package, custom interior, 12,000 Warn Winch. I have a 4300 pound payload and about 16,000 pound towing. Swapped out tires and wheels for a set of “Black Rhino” wheels, Falkin Wildpeak tires, 35x12.5x18 tires.

Got in a bit of Minnesota backcountry snowboarding… haha! Hiking a good hill with a bit of tree snowboarding in farmcountry. 

 

Montana Snowboard Road Trip / Backcountry Hike up Hyalite Canyon / Bridger Bowl Ski Area

On da road, drive till 1:00am, duck into a rest stop along highway. Turn on the furnace in da Four Wheel Camper, nice and cozy inside 65 degrees, outside at 6 degrees. Fold out the couch and there is no need to pop up the top on camper. Plenty of room. 

350 miles first night of driving, 650 miles next day. 1000 miles to Bozeman, Montana. Arrived after 650 mile day in Bozeman at 4:30pm. Plenty of time to wander around Bozeman & pick up supper for back at hotel. 

At Bridger Bowl, 16 miles up the road from Bozeman. There is no lodging at Bridger, so there is a daily pilgrimage up the mountain road each day. That part of the beauty of Bridger, people aren’t just hanging out, they are there to snowboard or ski.

It cool that I can just pop up my FWC in the lot and have a place to get dressed or organize for the day on da mountain.

Sundown after a good day on the snowboard.

I saw many Four Wheel Campers in Montana, I actually bought my FWC in Bozeman in 2020. My FWC and F350 Ford next to a FWC mounted in a Ford Ranger.

Beautiful waterfalls we reached on a hike up into Hyalite Canyon. I was able to witness some ice climbers along hike. This is some true backcountry surrounding the Hyalite Canyon area.

Classic Ford 4x4. 

Livin’

A bit more snowboarding at Bridger Bowl. A great trip with good variety and meeting many likeminded adventurers. I learn things on every adventure.

1008 miles back to Minnesota. Exited Bozeman at 7:00pm, drove till 1:30am. Same plan as on trip out. Stopped for the night at a highway rest stop. Got a solid 5 1/2 hour sleep and finished road trip next day.

Ride on!

 

Checking out the Interior of New Four Wheel Camper / 2020 Hawk Shell Model

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I picked up this Four Wheel Camper in March 2020. The model is a Hawk Shell 6.5 length for a full size Pickup. It was delivered to the FWC dealer in Bozeman, Montana.

The Shell is very basic, so I was able to customize it for my needs. I ordered it so it would be capable of Winter camping. Furnace, 2 burner stove, 160 watt solar panel on roof, 2 battery system, thermal pack, fold out couch, an extra ceiling fan, Yakima track system for roof rack and I choose the black exterior. Total weight is 945 pounds.

 Couch

 Ceiling fan and couch.

 Propane furnace and 2 burner stove.

 Stove with flush mount counter top.

 Couch in foldout position.

 With the rooftop popped up, the queen size bed over the cab.

 Camping in The Blackhills of South Dakota on return trip from Bozeman, Montana. This was in March as a small snowstorm blew in that night. Nice and cozy with the furnace and thermal pack.

A bit of Snowboarding in Wyoming near Togwotee Pass.

Ride on!

Skier Avalanche Fatality, Henderson Bench, Cooke City - 12 Dec 2016

Sledboarding Colorado Mountains / Nine Year Flashback 2007 / Snowboarding the Backcountry

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Chasing the snow storms was how we rolled 9 years ago. We had been in the sledboard game for 3 years, with 10 years of snowboarding under our belts, we kept pushing the bounderies.

Back in 1999 we started to head to the mountains from the Midwest. By 2002 we had taken an avalanche course in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The backcountry was our drug, best served with storms and driving through blizzards that just added to the adventure. 

 The town that caught our attention early on was Steamboat, Colorado. This was a big resort town, but also the appeal was the main town which still felt like a cowboy town. Nothing beats a good snowstorm in Steamboat.

 The goal 9 years ago was to hit the early season storm as it was dropping fresh powder in the surrounding mountains.

We went all in with the sled part of the backcountry adventure, 2 long track mountain sleds, enclosed trailer and 3/4 ton pick-up. 3 years into this adventure, we had replaced one of the sleds with a new 2008 Polaris RMK with a 155 inch long track. We still had the original 800 Polaris RMK 159" track.

The system was to have both sleds, ride both down the mountain and park 1 sled. Then Weez would sit in front and hold onto the bars while I stand and drive back up the mountain. Unload the boards and the snowboard down the mountain together. arrive at the parked sled, load up and roar back up. Sometimes we would use a waterski rope and I would pull Weez back up the mountain behind the sled.     

 The White Room... look close and you can see Weez in the trees.

 Riding the Polaris Mountain Sleds... awesome terrain and scenery... fresh powder.

 Living the rock and snow life... Our own mountain for the day, nobody else out there... Yee Haa!!

 Backcountry mountain weapon, Polaris 700 RMK 155"/2.4" paddles.

 Took a break from the backcountry 1 day and hit the Steamboat Resort on the boards.

The trip was all part of the big Adventure...East of Omaha heading into Des Moines, Iowa. 

Brapppp On!!