A year ago we were halfway through our ski expedition on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East. In fact, we were getting dumped at the 208th kilometer on Kamchatka's only highway - in the middle of nowhere looking for two things: Good weather and skiable slopes. (Check out the October 2008 issue of
Backcountry magazine for my piece about this portion of the trip.) We were hoping to be back in Kamchatka this month; working with Nalychevo Nature Park on developing a sustainable backcountry ski program. Needless to say - we didn't make it. We still would like to return and have shelved the plans for another spring.
Which leads me to: What next? I was at a party last night and someone asked me about our "latest plans to travel." I gave my standard answer, "Not sure where to next, but somewhere soon." It got me thinking about the next six months. Part of me misses the challenges of planning an expedition to parts unknown. Surfing the internet looking for others who may have been there or know someone who has. Sending emails to far flung places hoping to get a helpful response and make a new friend. But the other part of me is enjoying the prospect of not making any long range plans. Taking it week by week, 3-day getaway by 3 day getaway. Last year - though we were in way cool Siberia - we missed out on excellent backcountry skiing trips to the Eastern Sierra. And because we did take off the month of April it felt like all summer we were just trying to catch up and really didn't do too much else.
This spring and summer I am looking forward to adventuring closer to home. A two-week kayak trip to Washington's coast? A long backpack in the Wind River Range? A rock climbing road trip looking for stellar routes through the west? Not sure where, but I know whatever we do will be epic enough to get us through to the next big plan.
Spring Sunday's are made for backcountry! Yesterday was the first time I set foot on Jepson Peak (11,207 ft) and skied the Northeast facing chute that rolls directly from the summit proper. We had skied the 1st chute two seasons ago - the one that is just west of the summit. It was a cold and windy day - we didn't make the final push to reach the top. The skiing was just as brilliant as I remembered. Read more about our adventure at http://www.bigbearlake.com/.
Brand New: We will be showing our Ski Exploration of the Kamchatka Peninsula multi-media presentation Saturday, April 25th. The venue is in Newport Beach at 3300 Newport Blvd. (go to http://www.summit-photography.com/news.html for directions/details). The event starts at 7:30 p.m. and is free. We will be accepting donations which will be used to purchase green credits to counter the energy used. For more information you can shoot us an e-mail at info@summit-photography.com. We look forward to seeing everyone and sharing our experience.
