Sunday, July 27, 2008

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Bill Briggs agreed to be a TShirt!!

WOW! I got an email yesterday afternoon from Mr. Briggs, the first man ever to ski the Grand Teton, who has agreed to let me make a HardHead t-shirt about him! I am thrilled and honored!!!

We are taking off to go rock climbing after watching the Tour de France this morning, and will do more mural work tonight. Look for the t-shirt on line tomorrow!!

Monday, July 21, 2008

A beautiful hike, and the begining of the mural!

I'm here! Aspen is just as absolutely beautiful as i remember it being. The weather is amazing, its been warm, sunny and bluebird skies since I got here. The first day, we went for a short hike up the Ute Trail to take a look at the valley, and that night we went slacklining in a local park. SO FUN! I'm totally addicted. I really suck at it. We did it for about a half an hour or so, and I could only get about five or six steps down the line. We ran into some kids, so we worked them into our rotation and let them give it a try, they were pretty good at it!

Yesterday, we went for a big hike up to Cathedral Lake. We were going to go up to the peak, but we got a late start due to watching the tour. Whoops! Anyhow, we hiked up, and GOSH it was a good thing that I've been training, because if I thought I was hiking fast before, I WAS WRONG! It was buggy. Kurt took OFF up the trail, and I was determined to pace him. Yeah. Good luck with that! I was definitely faster than I've ever been before, but it seriously kicked my ass, which was, of course, FANTASTIC!

The lake was beautiful, and we hiked up the opposite side of Electric ridge, off the trail and over these sort of tongues of scree. We hiked up to the grassy saddle, and saw the incredible site of Peral pass on the other side. We hiked up to the highest point, scrambling up this beautiful purple rock with orange lichen all over it, and came very close to an enormous raptor of some sort!

I have great photos of all of this, but I am working off a friend's computer, and can't download my camera onto it. One thing I can't wait to share with you are the photos of our descent, which was an adventure and a half and a major blast.

We hiked down this super steep scree field, and i got to learn how to use both my poles in my uphill hand to stabilize myself on the steep slope, like poling in a gondola. It was a very helpful tip that Kurt learned from the guide he climbed Mt. Rainer with.

We got over to this little sliver of snow that was left on the hill, and decided to glissade down it! It was super steep, and kind of ridiculous, and we were both totally psyched to give it a try. Skiing in our tennis shoes, yes we did! I have photos of our tracks coming down this thing, its insane.

We hiked over a huge boulder field where all the boulders had come crashing down a long time ago, covering the old mining road, and crossed over the stream to meet back up with the true hiking trail. All in all, it was a beautiful, beautiful day, with gorgeous weather, and I got great photos for Doug's mural, which I started today.

Here are some photos of the underpainting! I'll try to keep posting as I work on it! Tomorrow is a possible rock climbing day, and more painting if the underpainting has set up enough.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Welcome to Sherridan, Wyoming!

Lost 20 min waiting for a train in Sherridan on the way to get gas, going to loose another 20 min waiting for another train on the way back to the freeway!

News from the road:-)

My first ever 16.9 oz red bull! Nine hours to go!

Road trip!

On the way to Aspen!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Happiness is a new pack: Why we love Northern Lights Trading Company!

One of my goals this year is to build a good, light, efficient ski mountaineering kit so that I can explore more and more places to ski! I am really enjoying climbing (of all kinds, but here I'm talking about the ascent before the ski descent), and have always loved multi-day trips (my longest so far being 28 days in Nepal about a decade ago).

We are fortunate here in Bozeman to have an AMAZING outdoors store, Northern Lights, with incredibly helpful people who really know what they are talking about! One of the best parts of shopping at Northern Lights... the total lack of ego in the employees. Every single time I've gone in looking for something or needing to learn about something, the employees have always been knowledgeable, welcoming, and really happy to explain anything you are curious about!

Before our trip to the Beartooths, Kurt and I stopped by Northern Lights and one of the "upstairs" employees, Lauren, helped us out with maps and tips on visiting Cooke City. It was a great experience, Lauren was nothing but helpful and informative, there was no elitist additude that one can run into in so many shops (I really don't think you should ever have to "trot out your resume" to get good customer service...).

Anyhow, I ran into Lauren again while I was looking for a new backpack, and he happily helped me learn all about the proper fit of the pack I was in love with.

Here it is, in all its glory: the Osprey Atmos 50: super light weight, big enough for multi day trips, loops for skis (I wish they were fastek buckles, having to slide the skis in is a bummer), it has a shovel pocket made out of some sort of soft, stretchy pocket, and two mesh zipper pockets on the super light weight waist harness, where I can put my camera and Gu, so I don't have to stop hiking to take a photo.

The pack fits more snugly even than my CamelBak Isis, which I run with, and I took the Osprey for a run up the M Trail, and it was perfect! The mesh panel on the back not only keeps the air flowing, but it keeps the lumpy load off your spine.

The only complaint I have is that the hydration pocket, while large enough for a 3 liter bladder, takes up a huge amount of space inside the pack, so there isn't so far a great place to stow ski boots. Because the pack fits so well, hanging them around my skis to dangle puts them in an uncomfortable position. But I am pretty sure with some wrangling I'll get it figured out.

Climbing up and skiing down with this pack was amazing: I forgot entirely that I was wearing it, an experience I haven't had yet with a pack!

Thanks, Northern Lights for the terrific selection and great help!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

We DID it! We skied the Great One!


Finally! It happened! I've been wanting and wanting to ski this line, and today... we DID IT! Look at the range in the back of the picture, its the long white line on the left. Angela and I hiked in in our shorts today;

(lesson #1 today: tie your long sleeve shirt around your skis so when its time to boot up something steep, you can just throw your shirt on rather than having to take your pack off.)

and left our tennies at the snow line, and booted across the snow field, to the bottom of the Great One, where I practiced my self-arrest technique with Angela's ice axe she'd loaned me for the day. (Lessons 2-5 how to load your ice axe on your pack, walk with it in your uphill hand, belay off it, and self arrest on both sides with it.)

Then we booted up fairly firm snow to the middle pinch, hiked across the talus field, and then I kicked in the steps for the second half, up the steep top pitch of the couloir. (Lesson 6: don't move your feet if your ice axe is moving. Don't move your ice axe if your feet are moving.) It was really fun to boot up something so steep, and I was psyched to be breaking trail. I needed to pace myself a bit slower, I was slowing down at the top, but I felt SO much better than the last bootpack I did!

The interval training, week of rest, and steep hiking has helped! We had a nice lunch at the top with a couple of guys that came up the long way "Wow, are you guys in training, or something?" was the question as we climbed out of the couloir and onto the top.

The boys took off, and we followed a bit after, Angela let me ski it first, which was pretty fun, the snow was firm, and not rocky, I didn't feel like I needed to do any survival skiing, I could actually kind of get after it in there, and THAT was an awesome feeling!

At the bottom, we took our skis off to hike across the talus, and, of course, as I'm standing there looking at them, I think, "I should either turn those over or pick them up." and off they go. Bouncing down the rocks. That was a nice little extra detour. Angela was just totally laughing, until her laugh started HER skis down, but she caught them.

We skied the second pitch with a bit more verve, the snow was still fantastic, and we tipped em over a bit more on this pitch. We were going to give the line across the basin a go, we watched a snowboarder come down it and it looked super fun, but it was getting late, and TODAY is my little sister's birthday, so we did a mini hike up the bowl and skied down to our shoes.

YES, I must admit, there is INDEED a Kate Faceplant in this story, really, what back country adventure would BE complete without me landing on my face? ONCE AGAIN, when it was very nearly flat, my ski hung up on something, got pulled behind me, and I was very suddenly on my face. So much so that my nose was jammed full of snow. And, of course, rather than blowing it out, I snorted it in. Immediate result: brain freeze of doom. Angela was looking at me like I'd grown horns. "What happened?" Who knows? Too sporty on a low angle with rocks and twigs sticking out of it. AGAIN. Maybe I'll learn that lesson one day.

ANNNNYHOOO, not important. The climbing was awesome. (I had a perfect moment climbing UP! That's happening more and more on the climbing part, which is exciting, because it used to just be painful, like PLEASE GOD let the ridge be CLOSER, my lungs are DYING!) The skiing was awesome. There is still a ton of snow up there.

The hike out was serene, and a bit damp (we had a little tropical storm to cool us off as we headed for the car.) There are so many great lines to explore up there, and the snow is just right! Thanks for another super fun day, Angela! See you in September!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

In Which Kate is a BONEHEAD yet again...


I'm really excited to be leaving for Aspen in a few days. The plan is to paint a big mural as a surprise for the Mtn. Operations manager at Aspen Highlands, who is a rather cool dude, and whose office looks out on a blank wall in the basement. I haven't painted yet this season, and have been really jonesing to get to it, so this is a great excuse to get crackin'.

Of course, at the same time, I plan on running around all over the mountains down there because, of course, I have to take some reference photos to paint from.

This was all hunky dory, as we got about half the travel covered, and all the expenses of the paints (I hope), so I was gonna load up the truck and head outa dodge on Thursday really early.

I went through what I'd need to do for the painting in my head a couple of weeks ago, and, as I've packed up my entire studio more than once before, I wasn't too concerned. Everything is in one place, theres a LOT of stuff, but it packs well. When I used to paint al fresco, I'd put it all in an "old lady" shopping cart with my easl on my back and my portable table rolled up on the top (sometimes with Bodhi or Ethan riding on the top) and we'd go bumping down the trail.

I've been focusing more in the last week or so on getting in shape to hike with Kurt, who has gamely offered to haul my slow butt up a couple of big mountains around the Aspen area. As such, I decided that perhaps said butt should be able to move a bit faster. With Bodhi's illness and other things, I got very distracted. Today, I spent the day trying to finish up my t-shirt project, and a bunch of other stuff before I hit the road, as tomorrow is going to be full: Angela and I are finally (!!) going to ski the Great One off Sacajawea Peak, and then it's Liat's birthday!

Tonight, as I was getting ready, and mentally packing the truck, Tom told me that it cost him $350 to travel 14 hours in the Suburban when they went to the city of rocks in Idaho. This means a 28 hour round trip drive for me would be $700. Yeah, our travel budget was $200.

So, I thought, maybe its cheaper to fly! I got on line, tickets were $750, so I went to priceline and offered $360. I was so freaked out about the money that I FORGOT ABOUT MY PAINTING CRAP! My offer was accepted, and came out to $422 with taxes and then its $15/bag on top of that...

And then I realize that I will now: a. Have no car in Aspen with which to get to the trail heads because I forgot that Kurt doesn't have a car, and didn't bother to call him first, and b. have to ship all my painting stuff, which will cost about $50 each way, because you can't fly with flammable liquids, I'm pretty sure.

YES! YES I DID make that bonehead move! Which didn't feel too boneheaded until Tom came in and said, "Wait, I remembered that wrong, it would cost you $500 to drive..." which is less than this flying debacle is going to cost, and I'd have a car and all the crap I wanted with me! GRRRR! Bleh! GRRR!

Oh, I am trying so so so hard to think things through and use patience and wisdom, but sometimes, because I am really just a bulldozer at heart, I get excited and then look behind me and go: oh, crap.

SO. Nothing to do about it, I'm flyin.

HardHead T-Shirts are HERE!


My favorite t-shirt in the world when I was a kid was Go Climb a Rock. I got it in Yosemite when I was seven (1978!) Ever since I started writing this blog I've been sketching t-shirt ideas, as a way to help raise money to travel to training opportunities. I am also planing to give a portion of the proceeds of the "I Am" t-shirts to the cause of the choice of the individual named on the shirt.

It all came together watching Steep, and then reading Annapurna by Maurice Herzog. I was out running down Leverich Canyon, and I realized that one of the things I do when I want to ask myself to go harder, or further, is call up in my mind the will and determination of someone who inspires me! Its like Rent-A-Will.

I try to channel that piece of that person, tap into the thing that made them strong, and know that I can do more. These t-shirts are thank you's to the people that have paved the way before me, teaching me so much every day about what is possible. I have emailed Mr. Herzog, and several other people, Bill Briggs, Stephano De Bennedetti, Lynne Hill and John Long, along with some others, to get their permission to sell t-shirts with their names on them. I'll keep you posted!!

Thanks for looking, and in the next few days, keep your eyes peeled, there's LOTS more coming! If YOU have a favorite inspirational hero, send me a blurb and I'll consider it for a HardHead T-shirt!

PS. There are several colors to choose from, in both Men's and Women's t's, so visit the store and click away!

Thanks for asking! Here's the text that would be on the Maurice Herzog shirt:

in 1950, maurice was the first man to climb Annapurna, the first 8000m. peak ever summited. the expedition spent three months climbing several peaks over 7000m just looking for Annapurna. after climbing and summiting nearly every day for months, they climbed a totally unexplored mountain and achieved the summit. the descent is one of the most dangerous and harrowing accounts in mountaineering history. maurice dictated it from his hospital bed in paris.

i can see my goal. i can go farther.
i am maurice.

Monday, July 14, 2008

July Find Your Bliss Day: Send me a pic of you doin' your thing.

So I was hiking along tonight, watching the sunset, and feeling so freakin' happy to be outside, getting some exercise, feeling my body move and climb, and I thought of a bunch of people who read this blog, Cindy Lou, and Liat, and Stacey, and Jill, Amanda and Angela in particular... And I thought, its SO cool that everyone is outside hiking and skiing and cycling and knitting, and just, finding their bliss!

SO, here's the plan! July 31 will be my first monthly Find Your Bliss photo posting! Send me a pic of you no later than July 29, and a short blurb on what you are doing, and why it is blissful to you, and I'll post em! The blissiest blisser will get a free HardHead T-Shirt of their choice! (They are so cool, I'm so very very excited about them...)

Here are some blissful guidelines: you need to be outside, you need to be doing something for you, that something needs to feel like it is refilling your "emotional vessel". That's it!

Here are some pics that I might submit for this: This is the day that Liat and I went to visit the Spiral Jetty, my most favorite piece of sculpture in the world. Its in the Great Salt Lake, and the water turns rose colored when the sun sets. It was a beautiful, blissful day!

Greetings from the top of the Bridger Ridge!


Greetings from the top of the bridger ridge! 45 minutes to the top with a loaded pack tells me training is paying off, even with a full week off. Aspen on Thursday!

No more hitchhiking when you float the Madison!

Look for FLOATERS SHUTTLE SERVICE LLC on the Madison River this summer. The shuttle will run Monday-Thursday 12:00 PM-9:00PM and Thursday-Sunday 10:00AM-9PM (weather permitting) June through August. Pick up and drop off points are Black's Ford and Warm Springs. The cost will be $5.00/person. Save money and hassle!

Foaters Shuttle Service--"Your Ride at the River"

photo by tn_megan on Flickr!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

First run in 7 days!

Greetings from the kirk hill fire road! 30 min to the top. Time to start soaking myself in Deet. Forgot about the huge horse flys! These two hawks are about 20 yards to 10 feet from me and flew all the way down the canyon with me. jerry garcia band "don'T let go" keeping me company. Time to run!

UPDATE: shaved a HALF AN HOUR off my time! And I thought I was going SLOW because it was so dang hot! Whoopee! Thought of nine more things to blog about. Gonna make a t-shirt first.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

The HardHead Philosophy: What if I have a coach already?

I just updated my Coaching website to address these questions, and I thought I'd post the page here: what if I already have a coach? How do you work? What is HardHead anyway?

The HardHead Philosophy:

The idea is really simple. My job is to get you to perform to your absolute potential, no matter the pressure situation that you face.

I believe coaching is about the athlete. A coach is a person who exists to help an athlete achieve. This means that success in sport can never be about the coach. If a coach is taking credit for wins or success in sport, that coach is distracted by their own ego, and therefore can not be putting all of their energy into their client.

As a coach, I make a pact with an athlete: I will give you everything I have. I expect you to work at LEAST as hard as I am, because this is about you achieving your goals.

My greatest satisfaction as a coach is to watch an athlete make an enormous performance jump, be that in the ability to perform consistently, in breaking a performance plateau, or in suddenly being free from self sabotage and realizing their potential is limitless. I love to ask an athlete, when it is all said and done: “So, did you do what you came to do? Did you perform to your absolute potential?”

If you already have a coach, that’s even better. My job in this case is to make a bridge between technical performance and mental fitness. I work one on one with your coach, learning their coaching style, and listening carefully to their assessment of their athlete.

I then work individually with the athlete in a confidential setting to sus out distractions from ultimate performance. Together, we build a Performance Plan.

Ideally, I then work on and off snow with the athlete for two to four sessions, fine tuning the Performance Plan, which is then brought back to the regular coach.

In this manner, we build a working relationship which is inclusive of your current coaching, supports the athlete, unlocks new potential, and positions the current coach to propel their athlete even further.

After your on-site coaching session or seminar, I am additionally available on line and via phone for continued support for both coaches and their athletes.

Please feel free to comment, call or email at katehowe@mac.com for more information!

Blissful Breakfast at the Cateye Cafe in Bozeman

Breakfast at the cat eye cafe in Bozeman. Heaven!

Friday, July 11, 2008

Wall.E is the best medicine

Took Bodhi to see wall e He's feeling much better!

UPDATE: wow, I'm impressed, I took that shot with my camera phone in the theater! If you haven't seen this movie yet, go see it. I am so so so very grateful to John Lasseter for making this movie! It is really well done, timely, beautiful...it doesn't feel pedantic or preachy. Its just kind of... true. I especially like that WalMart owns the world, and that the president of WalMart is kind of the President of the World. Hmmm... more on this later. I'm beat! Bodhi, of course, is all better!

GREAT discounts at this cool online shop!

Check this online shop out for THIS YEAR's GEAR at up to 50% off! WoW!

Wow, that was scary!


Bodhi and I are going to stay home while Tom and Ethan go to City of Rocks. Bodhi had the highest fever I've ever seen in a kid last night, sweating even in the palms of his hands, he was so hot to the touch that he was burning me while sitting on my lap, I had to put towels down. He was hallucinating, had terrible frigtening vertigo, and then spent the rest of the night until about 11 this morning throwing up.

So... perhaps six hours in the car is a bad idea, although he really wants to go. Looks like two days of Power Rangers movies for us on the couch! Have fun Tom and Ethan, and...

Happy Birthday, Virginia! Sorry we missed it. xoxo

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Someone STOLE John Faunce's Mtn Bike!!


PLEASE keep your eyes out for a Rocky Mountain Switch Full Suspension Mtn bike, stolen off John Faunce's porch last night. NEW Custom Long Board by Faunce as a reward!

His bike is Ammo Can Green with RED on the SIDEWALL of the tires. I'll get you a pic of the actual bike asap... but until then, it looks something like this!!

Off to City of Rocks!


Bye, guys! I'll do some mobile posts if I have any reception, if not, I'll catch up to y'all on Tuesday! The boys and I are meeting Virginia and Jesse at the City of Rocks for four days of climbing and camping! YAY!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

The Evil Plan!!! (Or, what's up with Sponsorships?)

Well, the plain truth is that skiing and driving all over the place is really really expensive! And I'm kinda on the broke side, like we all are. So the concept was pretty simple, there is some gear that I just can't live without, that I love, and that makes it easier for me to do my job well.

I thought I'd ask those companies if they'd like to give me some of their gear in exchange for advertising, since I spend a lot of time gushing about them anyhow. I am lucky enough to have had a couple of companies welcome me into their family of athletes, and I'm psyched, because POC, Elan and Dalbello are all companies that I like to jump up and down about because I find their gear incomparable!

Because I have had some positive response with the inquiries regarding sponsorship, I came up with an evil plan to take over the universe. No, not really. I came up with an idea to make all the traveling (which, LUCKILY, is only going to increase this year as I travel ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, doing Hard Head coaching seminars and training for my own goals) more financially feasable, as right now its breaking the bank, with gas at over $4 a gallon and rising, and places to stay either being FANTASTIC friend's couches, or my truck parked at the ski hill.

I wrote a proposal for a mobile green command center for Hard Head, and sent it off. Cross your fingers, this could be TRULY revolutionary for my coaching business, and a GREAT way for me and my ski partners to go adventuring all over the country and skiing in new back country locations, for less money, able to keep and eat good food, tune our skis, and not have to pay for a hotel or camp out when we are in a new location. WOWEEE just thinking about it makes me crazy happy.

Here is the thought: picture this: A 16 - 29' gleeming Airstream trailer (which I chose because I've had a burning love for Airstream ever since I was five and slept in my first silver bullet), pulled EITHER by a Hybrid Tahoe or a truck which is converted to BioDisel (depending on the GVW of the Airstream, and how big a vehicle we need to tow it). Inside the Airstream are a laptop, imac, iphone with GPS, and an itunes dock for my ipod (iiiiiii), all powered by Brunton portable solar cells.

The outside of the Airstream would be graphic'd with the logos of the sponsors of this project on one side, and my new Hard Head logo on the other side, as well as some facts about gas consumption and life on the road in the current energy and economy.

Inside would be space for ski and boot storage, a tuning bench, and space for a group of athletes to gather and talk about skiing, do Movement Analysis, or have a Performance Plan meeting. The bigger Airstreams sleep several, so trips like Powder 8s could have several athletes all using Hard Head living together without having to pay an arm and a leg to get somewhere, and travel with their coach!

I wrote up the proposal and sent it to Apple, Airstream, Brunton and GM, so far, its been passed up the chain at Airstream, so keep your fingers crossed, this would be a HUGE step forward in making Hard Head a more mobile and therefore viable entity!

Monday, July 7, 2008

In Which Ethan finds his hero in Doug Coombs.


Tonight, I was watching my favorite movie, Steep, late at night (well, late for me, it was almost 11), when Ethan came wandering out from bed. He couldn't sleep. He didn't even say anything, just came walking out and climbed silently up into my lap and started watching.

He's seen clips before, but never really watched all the way through. As the movie went on, I could feel his vital, beautiful, athletic little body on my lap as he tensed before each cliff that Seth Morrison went off, and the sighs he had as he watched Doug Coombs ski down the curtains of the mountains in Valdez, Alaska.

He was completely taken in by Doug for some reason, and started whispering questions to me, trying not to interrupt the movie, but wanting to know more. We reached the part of the film where they reveal that Doug died in a skiing accident, and Ethan was so sad.

Here is what he told me: "The guy that died, Doug Coombs, he was like a hero. He is my hero. I want to ski like that, mom. Will you take me? Is it okay that Doug is my hero even though he died?"

I sat there for a moment, feeling so many things, so grateful to be able to share this moment with Ethan, to have him want to know more about something that is so full of joy, and so worried that I am exposing him to something that might be so dangerous for him.

And then I thought about some good friends, who are amazing living examples of the fact that while accidents happen in skiing, skiing is something that is so pure and so visceral, that its not something to be selfish about. Its not something for me to keep for me, that its alright for me to take risks and live my life completely, but not for Ethan.

"Yes, Ethan. Doug is a great hero, and I'm sure he'd be proud to be your hero." I told him. He squirmed with delight, and when the movie ended, he asked if we could watch the beginning, the part he'd missed. So at 11 at night, we started it over and watched it in the dark, together.

Alison Gannett: Extreme Skier of DOOOM and Superwoman of Planet Saving!


WOW, have you been to THIS website?? This woman is a Patagonia Ambassador and a pretty amazing person!! Check her out!

Angela skis Madman's Couloir!


Angela skis Madman's, originally uploaded by KateHowe.

What a beautiful day!! Chicks that rip, here she is playing "dodge that rock"!


WHOOPS! It's Madmans, not Hidden, which we did next. Sorry!

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Wherein Amanda Climbs Her First Mountain

Greetings from the saddle at Sacajawea peak!

This was a mobile post from the top of the Bridger Ridge. As we were about 1/2 way up Sacajawea, the highest peak in the Bridger range, I found out that Amanda has never climbed a mountain before.

!!!!

Are you kidding me??!!! Welcome to Montana, honey, let's go HIKING! Sacajawea is a challenging, steep, scree filled hike, and the trail JUST opened up, and most of it is still covered with snow.

To gain the ridge and try for the summit of this little 9,660' peak, we had to put in a bootpack in our tennies. And she was game. She was hardly even breathing hard.

I was a bit worried about the ride back down the snowfield, but the plan was for her to slide on her pack or jacket and have a good time. I decided to glissade back down on my feet. I got about 1/2 way down and turned around to see how she was doing... and she was glissading down the same way!! She was on her feet, turning her legs under her in an amazing simile of parallel skiing.

I am telling you, this is one tough chick who was born to be in the mountains. She has no idea how strong she is, hiking up Kirk hill to the fire road one day and Sac on another, facing things that would freak most people out (and exposed, sliding scree field, anyone?)and just walking on by.

We had a lovely snack at the top, but due to loosing light decided to truck back down and get outa dodge. We left the actual summit of Sac for later this week, but I'm bringin' my skis!!!


Amanda Glissades Sac, originally uploaded by KateHowe.

Amanda, who has never climbed up a mountain before, goes on her second hike, to the ridge of the Bridger range, and then Glissades down the snow field in her tennis shoes!

This chick is gonna RIP on skis!!