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BPL Montana Winter Rendezvous
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Dec 11, 2012 at 6:41 pm #1296981
There are enough of us, we ought to get together for a trip. Rough ideas follow.
-Sometime in March. Still winter, enough lead time for good planning and thus good participation.
-Centralized location. We've got Flathead folks, Missoula folks, Bozeman, and at least one (Mike M) from further east. I was thinking the southern Scapegoat off Highway 2.
-Actual backcountry trip. Ideally modest mileage goals with perhaps multiple routes between camps to suit different ambitions. Plenty of BSin' and gear talkin' time around the fire at night. Concrete destination, daily distance, and technical requirements (skis, snowshoes, ice axes?) to be decided here. Length as well. Was thinking 2-3 nights out. Again, perhaps with options for those with less time.
-Primary objective would be to put names to faces and enjoy each others company. Secondary would be dissemination of knowledge amongst members of varying experience levels.
Anyone who is interested and has opinions, please post.
1/4/13 EDIT:Date is March 23-25; a ~26 mile point to point in the southern Scapegoat a bit east of Ovando. Details discussed below. This route will interest beginning and above snow campers with a moderate or greater degree of fitness and summer camping experience.
Dec 11, 2012 at 6:55 pm #1934878Well I'm definitely not in Montana but that's about the time of my spring break so I'll keep it in mind and see if I'm able to come as it gets closer.
Dec 17, 2012 at 10:22 am #1936034Monday bump.
One idea for a route, if we can run a short car shuttle, is to start at the North Fork Blackfoot TH and end at Monture. Going up the North Fork, then the Dry Fork, then Canyon Creek and down Falls Creek is an excellent route. Depending on the group, going over the Dry Fork divide and over Limestone Pass would be even better, but the west side of Limestone has a brief stretch of (mild) mandatory avy terrain.
Dec 17, 2012 at 11:50 am #1936051Dave- I'd definitely be interested in a 2 or 3 day trip. Would prefer a trip sans ice axe/crampons if possible :) I haven't spent any time in the Scapegoat so that would definitely be a nice choice for me.
Mike
Dec 17, 2012 at 12:01 pm #1936056Hi Dave,
I just checked flights and its just over 500$ for flights for me (depending on dates) I could come along if someone could help with transport from Bozeman and once its not on the 17th March (St. Patricks Day)
Cheers,
Stephen
Dec 17, 2012 at 12:25 pm #1936060The first option I outlined is non-technical, and would be a fine (not too hard, not too easy) 3 day route. Snowshoes would work fine, as would most XC skis. Skiers would need kicker skins at minimum.
Anyone who lives here knows how bloody expensive it is to fly in and out. Depending on who commits we could probably arrange to pick folks up from Bozeman or Missoula (the two most likely airports). My primary intention is selfish, ie to be able to hike with guys like Mike whom I've never met, and thus the vacation-time friendly long weekend format.
Dec 17, 2012 at 3:20 pm #1936093I'm little shaky on skis, feel more comfy on shoes but would be willing to give it a go if that's what folks would rather do
if I go I'd be driving through Bozeman, so I could pick up any folks flying in there :)
Dec 17, 2012 at 4:15 pm #1936114Just saw this, and I'm definitely interested. My ski skills are still novice, but I love the idea. Shoes are my preference. Then again, I do plan to practice this winter.
Depending on dates I might be able to take off work for a bit too.
Dec 17, 2012 at 5:44 pm #1936147Cheers Mike :-)
Once we know dates I can see I can get a few days off work and will come if the flights are not too crazy expensive.
Dec 17, 2012 at 6:09 pm #1936161sounds good :) March is usually when cabin fever hits me the hardest, this would be a fun reprieve
Dec 17, 2012 at 6:28 pm #1936169I hear you Mike, If I manage to go it will be my 6th Bpl Meetup in a year :-)
Dec 18, 2012 at 6:38 am #1936271^ that sounds like a potential record to me :)
Dec 18, 2012 at 7:41 am #1936285I am wrong Mike, it will be the 8th as have 2 local trips in January and February that Bplease folk are attending.
:-)
Dec 18, 2012 at 10:20 am #1936326Those who are interested, speak out on preferred dates and duration. Early birds get the worm.
This far out my March is very flexible.
Dec 18, 2012 at 2:50 pm #1936407How about the weekend of the 21st??
I just looked at flights flying out from and the cheaper ones (about $550 oppose to $900) can get me in to Bozeman at 11.30pm and leave at 8.55pm on the return leg.
I can do either a 2 or 3 night trip.
Dec 18, 2012 at 4:07 pm #193643321st is good for me, pretty flexible though- the later half would probably be better than the first half given a choice
3 day, 2 night would be good for me as I'd have nearly a day drive there (and back)- Miles City to Lincoln is ~ 500 miles/8 hours
Dec 18, 2012 at 4:41 pm #1936439Great idea. Unfortunately I will be just beginning the AT in March. Sound like a great trip though. The Scapegoat is a nice area.
Dec 18, 2012 at 5:55 pm #1936468I could possibly do the weekend of the 21st (that's a Thursday, Friday is the 22nd). However, it's a bit of a stretch for me since that's the end of our grading quarter. Either the weekend before or the one after would be much better for me.
I would also do much better with a Saturday-Monday hike rather than Friday-Sunday. With my school schedule, getting Fridays off is doable but takes some work.
Dec 18, 2012 at 6:17 pm #1936472March 21-24 range is good for me as it now stands. I might be able to drive someone from Bozeman, and flights to Bozeman tend to be less expensive than Missoula or Kalispell.
Dec 18, 2012 at 6:53 pm #1936483I can do Friday-Sunday or Saturday-Monday, I would need to stay over whichever night as the flight gets in at 11.30pm
Once we figure out what happening I can book flights.
Dec 19, 2012 at 8:54 pm #1936795Dave- if I've mapped the route out correctly, looks like 26-ish miles or so- that should make for a pretty doable 3 day, 2 night trip on shoes or skis, the other route you mention looks to be ~ 35 miles
both look good :)
Mike
Dec 23, 2012 at 9:23 am #1937655Could be a fast or slow 26ish miles depending on conditions. If the former, plenty of cool stuff to check out with spare hours.
Looks like March 23 (saturday) through March 25 (monday) is the developing consensus. This works for me.
Dec 29, 2012 at 3:18 pm #1939134I am in Europe for another 10 days but if the flights have not jumped too much in price I am still up for it.
Dec 29, 2012 at 5:47 pm #1939170I'm in. Sounds like a good time. Whatever date or duration works for me. Most likely will be on snowshoes. The consolation is that I just purchased a new pair of Northernlite Tundra snowshoes. They're nice, like wearing a feather…a feather I tell ya.
Dec 29, 2012 at 6:40 pm #1939187looks like my wife might join up as well- definitely snowshoes; I got beat up bad last week in the Absaroka's on skis-I've got a long way to go to becoming proficient on skis!
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