A decade ago the number of days I got on hill in a winter often numbered in the high triple digits. Now, I rarely need two hands to keep count. Though my dream of snowboarding for a living has long since faded, my love for the mountains hasn’t. And my interest in adventure (and powder) has only grown. I’ll happily trade a season of mediocre resort boarding for a few epic days in the backcountry.
Learning to splitboard has fueled this fire, opening up terrain that’s always been out of reach. Having a few key friends with similar mentalities and equal skill levels has been huge, too. From Hokkaido and Sun Valley to Jackson Hole and Mount Baker, making at least one powder pilgrimage a season has become a priority.
Though this winter has been anything but normal, we managed to squeeze in one, three-day backcountry trip outside Bozeman, Montana.