Livin' the dream at Grand Targhee

Snow-nember '10 as Eric Henderson has called it has delivered the goods to the Tetons and Grand Targhee Resort. Already 100% open the early wet storms have provided a great base and mid-season coverage. Skiing at the Ghee is a soulful experience and one of friendliest you'll find. Bring your K2 Dark Sides for maximum fun cause its always deep!

I am proud to be part of the Targhee family. This past weekend I was lucky enough to stay slope-side. What a deluxe experience to wake up and everything is right there. You don't have to drive - simply go to Snorkles for a great breaky and coffee and bam you're on the lift for some freshies! Stop by the Trap bar after skiing for good food,brew and live music. Next...take a soak and rest up for more pow.

Grand Targhee always has great deal and specials. Don't forget about the amazing cat-skiing.

Danny Walton

Team Mammut

Turkish Rock

We've been in Turkey for just over one month and it's been a most interesting trip. The culture and country has a much different, slightly rougher, feel than the other European places we've visited (Spain, France, Greece), but Turkey is charming in its own unique way. The landscape is far more varied than I would have expected. The Mediterranean coast is littered with small inlets and beaches, perfect for snorkelling and swimming, and the mountains that lead inland are much bigger and more impressive than I would have imagined. In an hour, you can drive to 6,000 feet and find snow in the winter months. What follows are some random images from our travels so far (climbing beta and images at the end).

Mosque in Istanbul. This is a big, hectic city, but there are a few tourist sites worth exploring (Blue Mosque, Aya Sofia, etc).


Beach on the south coast of Turkey with fishing boats anchored close to shore. Most of the beaches are pebble, but this beach at Phaselis (45 minutes from Antalya) is wonderfully sandy.


A view looking east along the coast toward the city of Antalay. Large ships can be seen awaiting the turn at the large port. This pebble beach is in a dramatic cliff side setting only 15 minutes from the western side of the city.


Turkish delight!


Incredible tombs carved into the cliffs at Termesos, a 2,000-year-old city ruin about 30 minutes from Antalya.


An ancient Roman theatre ruin. This one is at Phaselis.


The old town in Antalya (Kaleci) has a very quaint, European feel with narrow, shop-lined streets. This picture was taken inside a glass lamp store.


Duden falls on the north side of Antalya. This city park features waterfalls in a pretty setting with an interesting series of tunnels that weave behind the falls.


Mosque at the ski area, Sarklikent, situated in the mountains at 5,000 ft about 1 hour from Antalya.


Climbing beta:

Currently, the focus of the climbing in Turkey is around the large city of Antalya on the southern coast. This part of the country is virtually built on limestone, so future developments seem immanent. Right now, Geyikbayiri is the major climbing zone that's on the international circuit, and it's about a 20 minute drive from the Konyaalti zone of Antalya. Most climbers without a car stay adjacent to the crags at one of many camping areas, but it's feasible to stay in Konyaalti and commute everyday (if you have a car). If you stay in the city, it's urban living with a large city beach close by. If you stay at the climbing area, it's county living with few conveniences (you must go to Antalya for groceries).


The area is beautiful and the limestone is spectacular with many cliffs and varied angles. Tufa drips define the style on the most popular routes and the climbing is usually vertical to moderately overhanging. The stone is as good as anywhere, however there is one significant issue to climbing in this area, especially in the fall and early winter: the majority of the cliffs face due south and the climate is very warm (highs of 45-50 degrees mid-summer). If you are lizard-like and enjoy roasting in the midday sun, this will not present a problem, but if you are looking for decent climbing conditions, sunny days will be spent at the only north-facing cliff in the area, Trebenna. Trebenna is a good cliff, with about 5o routes ranging from 5.9 to 5.14c, but the concentration of quality seems to be from about 5.11a to 5.13a. Routes on either side of these grades are scarce and the quality isn't as good. Also, the entire zone begins off a bushy ledge, which causes the crag to feel even more crowded than it already is (believe me, it gets crowded). You can't really back up, so everyone has to cluster underneath the climbs.


So, what's the final word? If you are hoping to visit in the fall, I'd not plan on spending a lengthy trip here. Geyikbayiri is probably best combined with a trip to Kalymnos, which has FAR more climbing in a variety of styles and aspects; you can always find sun or shade. Ideally, you want to be here mid-winter (December, January or February), but then you run a greater risk of rainfall, I believe. Spring might be better because the sun might track higher in the sky providing some early morning or late day sun on the main cliff band. I'd ask a local before committing to either of these options, though. Regardless, the stone is excellent and the country is very interesting. If you are curious, come and check it out!


Climbing at Trebenna on Yin Yang (5.12d). A very tricky and technical crux down low (pictured here) is followed by great overhanging climbing on tufas and holes with a steep power crux at the top.


Climbing at Trebenna on Fight the Butcher (5.11d). This is a rope-stretching 35m pitch up an interesting arete and crack.


Sucker Punched (5.11d) at Trebenna. Unlike the routes in the vicinty, this one features crimpy face climbing.


Local critters.


The magnificent Anaconda (5.12d, burly). This route follows a snake-like narrow tufa up an orange, overhanging wall. On-sights are rare.




We hope the weather cools off later in the month, but based on my experiences climbing in the sun in Spain, it would have to get much, much colder before the midday sun would provide crisp climbing conditions at Sarkit, etc. If anyone is planning a future trip, feel free to contact me for trip beta. Enjoy the rest of the fall!

Marc Bourdon - Squamish, BC

A summer from the limestone of Ten Sleep, to the home crag of the Gallatin Canyon, to the Black Canyon, it's been one of my best summers of rock climbing ever. At times it was total humiliation and at times blissful success. Over the hundreds of pitches climbed I don't have a single photo. Lucky for me a story about Montana climbing was in Rock and Ice that featured some pics of me at the home crag. I need to work on taking more photos, I really did climb some cool rock this summer. The one photo I did get about sums it up for me. Eli sampling his first boulder problem.
Well...... it's been slow coming but winter has arrived. It's always bitter sweet, I'll miss the care free feeling of summer but at the same time it's a time of year I appreciate. A time to rest and reboot for the winter months and all the fun activities that come with it. The next photo I take will probably be Eli skiing.

For now I'll be getting the tools sharpened up, waxing the boards, and working on a trip to Patagonia for some big towers.

Onward,
Whit

Bozeman, MT

Patagonia Chronicles:

An account of an 11-day ski excursion in Patagonia with Sweet Grass Productions. Here 5 athletes and 2 filmers head into the mountains outside Cerro Castillo, Chile in hopes of shooting some new footage for Sweet Grass’s upcoming film.

Part 3: The Final Days

Our tent strains at its anchors. It thrashes and fights to hold on. Gusts of wind rumble down the valley, like bowling balls rolling down the alley. Any pin in the path gets leveled. Snow falls in sheets. From inside, the flakes sound the size of lentils. I slowly unzip the tent door, nervous to see the world outside. First one eye, then the other, peering from the slit in the tent door. The sight is chilling, a world encrusted with ice. Nobody will be venturing into the mountains today.

I pull up my hood, zip myself up tight and burrow myself back between my tent mates. At the moment I can’t help but be content to lay here. My massive -20 degree down bag consumes me. I lay cozy and protected in its warm belly. My body is tired and getting ill. It is all the happier to rest. Plus, the thought of putting on wet ski socks to slip into wet boot liners is enough to make my toenails curl. Thus, I revel in the comfort of my cocoon.

However, beneath this state of satisfaction, I am disappointed. Today is our last day and our last chance. I resort to daydreaming to stray my mind from our detained state. I begin to reminisce about the past several days of skiing. Down, down, down I go into the depths of my daydream. A 2,500 ft. couloir appears, 35 feet in girth. I stand atop it, assimilating its beauty. Cliffs tower above, dwarfing my small figure. Beneath me the bed surface gradually rolls over to the precipice, the snow supple and soft, like the shoulder of a fair-skinned beauty. The sun lights me from behind, drawing a long shadow down the shoulder of this giant. I adjust my goggles one final time. I then take a deep breath and push off. Turn after turn, I cut into this silky surface, throwing snow into the air. The descent is seamless, like carving my name in cursive down the center of the couloir. The rhythm of the turns is nearly hypnotic. My legs begin to ache, as I work to finish my signature. The snow slowly changes from forgiving to formidable. Finally, I straight line out the bottom. I had made my mark, to last only a moment. The wind will soon erase my trace.

I open my eyes at the sound of Drew groaning over our tent bound situation. From the other side of me, Forrest responds with a grumble. Ugh. Is it time to read our Powder mag for the tenth time? Or perhaps boil some water for oatmeal slop? Or should I return to daydreaming. I choose the later and roll over. I begin to recall our epic ski tour the day before, one that entailed circumnavigating the enormous peaks above our camp. The day was long, with an arduous 1,000 ft boot-pack in sugar. Yet, the turns at the end of the day were idyllic and the views stunning. With a brief break in weather we were able to, from the top of a neighboring ridge, glimpse the grandeur of the range we were nestled in.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Drew erupts, as a gust of wind nearly cripples our tent. Ugh. I sit up, and propose making breakfast. Agreed. But first I must face the dreadful task of taking a leak in this rude weather. The thought of exposing my tender cheeks to the raging Patagonia winds was enough to consider using a bottle. But I quickly change my mind. I didn’t come here to be soft. So out I go, long underwear and down booties, to get the job done, knowing that this is one of many trips into the cold. I return and we fix up some slop- oatmeal, electrolyte gu and any peanut butter I can scrape from the bottom of the jar. My belly warms from the slop, assuaging my frozen bum. Following breakfast we settle into our tent routine: playing cards, listening to music and eating candy. We play game after game of asshole. We listen to song after song of Journey. Only occasionally do we break for meals and to relieve ourselves of our gross Tang consumption. (Tang- basically Koolade.) Apparently candy isn’t enough; we need another source of sugar. The games get heated as we humm off our sugar fix. Outside the foul weather continues, well into the night.

The next morning we awake to little wind and several inches of snow covering our gear. I sit up in bed reluctant to leave my warm sleeping bag and pack my wet shit. Today we return home and the objective is to get all our crap and ourselves to the snowline by 1 pm. There our horses will be waiting. I loathe packing up. Everything is dirty, rank and haphazardly thrown together. Yet, despite my disinterest, I unzip my bag, put on my down buddies and get too it. My driving force: a huge steak and papas fritas awaiting my return at the hostel.

(Above is an illustration of the aforementioned couloir I skied, lookers right.)

erica laidlaw

Danny Walton on Horizon Airlines Magazine cover

I am proud to be on the cover of Horizon Airlines Magazine. The photo was taken by Karl Weatherly on the run Execution at Sun Valley. Can't wait for more days like these!