2016 Bob Marshall Wilderness Open

Warm and sunny in the Flathead this week.  The Middle Fork surged from 5 to 8000 cfs in the last 72 hours, and the Badger Pass snotel didn’t get below 40F yesterday.  SWE for said snotel was actually less this year for April 1 than last.  By Monday things should thankfully be back to normal with rain and highs in the 40s.

It both is and is not too early to start reading the tea leaves and predicting conditions.

we’re looking at record temps today and tomorrow (80’s!!!), hoping there is some with the lower temps predicted for next week. I think the early predictions for El Niño this year have pretty well been substantiated.

Hello David,

I just learned about the BMWO and feel incredibly drawn to it and would like more info about the event.  I am beginning to devour the info/posts on this forum (to the annoyance of my wife!!) but would like to know if a formal registration process exists and where to look.  A cool guy named Jandy from RMO, after talking with him for a bit, asked me if I had heard of the event, and that’s where I first learned of it.  I see that some great rules are in place such as no outside assistance, pavement forbidden, etc., but I also see that it seems as if some of the participants work together or follow the same routes and drainage lines.

Could you provide more info?  What is the final registration date, as it appears that only a month or so is left to prepare, establish planned routes, etc.  Also, it looks like this year’s event will cover about 130 – 150ish miles, and I wonder if there is a point-to-point estimate (as the crow flies) of the distance.  Super stoked about this, whether for this year or next.  However, this year I am physically prepared, as I am participating in Colorado’s Hardrock 100 endurance run, and I am able to cover a lot of ground quickly – although I do realize that these are apples/oranges events which are markedly different.  Feel free to contact me via email (ctkohm@gmail.com) or text (425-785-4925 – call as well, but no voice mail set up) or at home (406) 730-1346.  I look forward to hearing from you.

OK, David, I’ve read thru the thread, and learned many answers.  This is the Sh>>T!!! Super stoked but also nervous and all that good stuff…does a virgin BMWO participant ever feel prepared?  Thanks for this, btw, and for keeping it what it is at the heart…hope it never changes or grows too quickly.

Chase, I’m a newb to all this stuff and griz country, although I now live in Whitefish.  After talking to several local, I went out and bought the S&W Air Lite .44, and sent it off to Magna Port to have it ported.  Now I wonder if I’ll need it (if I do get to the start!)  But hey, like you said, I might need it to pistol whip myself once I realize what I got myself into!!  And anyway, I really really like it!!  Love that bike set up, BTW, a true dream.

Jessica, why not run them? ;-)

Cory, there is no registration process. All you need to do is show up at 0800 MST at Bean Lake Campground on May 28th and traverse the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex to Cedar Creek Campground abiding by the rules of the BMWO. There will probably be an informal dinner the night prior at a yet to be announced location. More information regarding car pooling will be posted on the forum the closer we get to the event, I hope.

also, if you haven’t already- it’s very worthwhile to read all the trip reports from prior years

Afternoon Cory, just sent you a text.  The distinction sounds odd to someone coming from organized ultrarunning, but this isn’t an organized event so much as an invitational, vaguely cooperative thing.  The ambiguity is an intentional, and as democratic as possible, filter.

Straight-line distance for this year is 73 miles, which is a good bit longer than all but the year that no one finished.  Which is hopefully a fact that folks aren’t overlooking.  Some nerves are almost certainly a sign of competence; depending on the strictness of your criteria I’ve done between 2 and 10 traverses of the Bob, and last year was the first time I was only a wee bit on edge for the few days before.

Looking for “guideline” clarification.

-You must be entirely self-supported and self-contained.  Take everything you need, and leave nothing but footprints.  Any pre-planned assistance of any kind is forbidden.

My understanding of the above guideline is that you cannot leave a mountain bike in advance of the start time on the west side of the route to use for your final hand full of miles outside of the Wilderness Area since that would equate to “pre-planned assistance” and would also exclude you from being “entirely self-contained”. That also leads me to believe that using a bike for the initial hand full of miles before reaching the Wilderness Area would also exclude you from being “entirely self-contained” since you would have to stash your bike at the Wilderness Area boundary and pick it up after you had completed your route.

Is my interpretation of the guidelines correct?

Using bikes at beginning and/or end was discussed earlier but I didn’t see any posts stating that that option would violate the guidelines.

Thanks!

-Troy

“Is my interpretation of the guidelines correct?”

Yes.

Thank you!

“Does a virgin BMWO participant ever feel prepared?”
Nope. Last year was my third I still barely slept the night prior from nerves.

“it appears that only a month or so is left to prepare, establish planned routes, etc”
Route planning is one of the most valuable takeaways from the BMWO. I like to come up with several routes or variations on routes with ideas about in which circumstances each becomes preferable. Learning to combine mapping software (e.g. CalTopo) with satellite imagery (e.g. Google Earth) and info on snow levels (SNOTEL, NOHRSC), fires and river levels (USGS) is a great skill to develop.

“I also see that it seems as if some of the participants work together or follow the same routes and drainage lines.”
People are free to travel together. I think the wisest are spontaneous arrangements or pre-planned arrangements where both parties are fully capable of operating independently should the need arise. Co-dependancy can be problematic when differences in conditioning, route preference, risk tolerance or luck arise.

I’m trying to go on this trip without checking baggage on the flight (Delta). What are the chances that TSA will allow these items to be carried-on?:

• Supai Adventure Gear Olo Paddles (5 piece)
• MSR Groundhog Stakes

(note: not bringing hiking poles)

As a side-note, are Olo paddles a “bad idea”? I’m planning to float short sections of the South Fork of the Flathead and Swan Rivers and potentially sections of Wood Creek/Straight Creek.

As a side-note, are Olo paddles a “bad idea”?

Yes.  Get a real paddle.  The Olo has neither the reliability nor the stiffness to get you to shore when an unexpected logjam comes around the corner.

I’ve flown to AK and back with my paddle in my carryon, but the TSA at the Kalispell and Anchorage airports is probably more lax about sporting goods.  Tent stakes could be dicey.  If you like you could mail them to me and I could bring them to the start.

If I mailed the stakes, I would’ve had to have done it weeks ago, as I don’t quite have confidence with the mail service where I live. I’ll look into paddle options and either make a purchase in Montana, or have a paddle mailed to a friend’s home in San Antonio, Texas, where I’ll be flying out of. Thanks for the feedback, Dave.

Derek

I had planned to check a bag on the flight from SA for my more ‘weapony’ items like tent stakes and knife. I’d be happy to bring yours along too if you want to drop them by on your way to the airport.  PM me if you want to make arrangements.

On another node, I just finished up my last training trip before the open: a 50 mile snowshoe thru the Yosemite high country.  With no immediate objectives occupying my mind, I think the weight of the open is finally starting to sink in.  I’ve been building up my skills and fitness for the last two years, but this one scares me unlike anything I’ve done in a while.  Its going to be an awesome memorial day weekend…

I’ve had good luck with stakes on a plane.

Hey everybody,

‘Longtime’ (relatively speaking!) member but haven’t been active for a while. Been aware of this event for some time, and now that I’m living in Missoula I’m in a position to participate. I am working on convincing a buddy or two to accompany me, but I am hoping to participate regardless.

I will confirm on here the week or so prior if I am 100% participating, in which case I could potentially offer a couple folks a ride with my ‘team’ to the start. We would leave a car at the finish and then drive to Bean Lake CG on Friday evening. I think it would be fun to have a little meal all together there on Friday night, but this ain’t my event!  I could also potentially help somebody get to and from the airport / I have a couch in Missoula.

Would love to hear some logistics planning in the coming weeks from other folks. If anybody is local and would like to chat about their plan over a beer I’m game for that too.

Thanks Dave and others for makin it happen!

the Buckhorn in Augusta serves a very good burger (and other items) and has a pretty good selection of local spirits

Spent some time over the weekend in the Swans and was amazed at how high the snow line is. Places we usually ski throughout May are already showing bare ground. Trails on west/south slopes were snow free up to about 6500′ and patchy to about 7000′. There’s still some good skiing above that and plenty of snow on east/north aspects, but it’s looking very similar to last year. The forecast doesn’t look conducive to slowing the melt either. Most of the relevant snotel sites are well below average, with more snow to north:

Noisy Basin              104
Emery Creek              110
Copper Bottom            88
Copper Camp              69
Badger Pass              79
Dupuyer Creek            56
Mount Lockhart           78
Pike Creek               88
Waldron                  81
Wood Creek               73

I’m thinking of doing a 20-25 mile loop from Bear Creek TH, over Windy Pass to the East Fork, then back down to the North Fork Blackfoot TH this Saturday. Let me know if anyone would like to join for a day out in the hills. I will probably bring a raft because I’m not sure how high the NF ford might get by then, and to maybe float some of the East Fork and a little of the North Fork. Mostly I just want to see what 20+ miles feels like right now on my legs. I would plan to start early (7ish) and be done in time for some pre Mother’s Day dinner obligations.

Myself, Mike M, Kevin C, Thad A (1st BMWO run) and Tom (along for the hike) when up the Dearborn for a little scouting on Saturday.  Kevin and Mike headed up Blacktail Creek and ended up snowshoeing for a number of miles over the pass and back.  Me Thad and Tom took off up Whitetail Creek.  We didn’t go all the way to the pass but went up Grassy Hills for a look. Snow level seemed between 6600-6800 in the timber.  Pass was socked in but could definitely see some bare patches on the hillsides above the pass.  Fording the Dearborn at WT Creek was a pleasant surprise, with about 10 yards and knee deep water to contend with.  Lots of fresh bear sign.  Did around 20 miles on the day.  Legs were tired but felt pretty good.  Tendinitis obtained last year didn’t present a problem.  A handful of 70/80 degree days will probably melt the rest of the snow at the pass pretty quickly.  Fingers crossed I don’t have to pack snowshoes.

Tanner- would love to join you, but have a tough 30k on Saturday. As John mentioned, still quite a bit of snow on both the Dearborn and Blackfoot sides, but a very good chance in four weeks it won’t be much of an issue. We probably had snowshoes on for 5-6 miles (both sides of the divide)

Mike

also another plug for the Buckhorn Bar- our burgers were big and cooked perfectly, fries were great- and they had a rather robust list of microbrews on tap!

I’m curious what those with more experience of the area are thinking of the water/snow/temperature levels. I can’t participate in the open this year (hopefully next, but it’s hard to get that week off with my line of work), but I’m planning a S. Fork pack rafting trip for mid-June.

From what I’ve been reading, it looks like everything is melting earlier this year, so the big peak of the rivers will be earlier in May?

Is somewhere between 3000-6000 cfs a good guess for Twin Creeks on June 18? I ask because I’ve read the river can be intimidating that time of year, but probably not this year?

Apologies if this is a thread drift, but I figured that tea-leaf predictions from those with lots of experience in that region would be pertinent for this year’s contestants.

Things are certainly melting faster.  The last few weeks of mostly sunny and very warm weather have seen to that.  Still plenty of snow in the highest spots (7k+), but the mid elevations are getting thin, and when the warm weather continues the higher elevations are primed to melt fast, which will put the rivers up quickly.  Twin Creeks could be at 5k by the end of the month, or 15k.  Same for mid-June.

I would suggest that if you want to head out and float mid-June and the South Fork of the Flathead is high, the North Fork of the Sun would be worth considering.  It has a smaller basin with less high altitude snowpack, and will probably not spike quite as big during the next warm period.