It has not been easy to be consistent. But the blog has endured. There are 150 posts, each dedicated to share tips, information, and mostly, the joy I get from MCS.
I have skied and toured many places around the world. I have been numerous times to the Alps, Pyrenees, Andes Ranges. I have explored the mountain of Oregon, Nevada, Wyomimg, California, and Colorado. I love skiing in the Sawtooths, Boulders, Pioneers, Soldier, Salmon River Mountains in Idaho. But after 25 years, Mores Creek Summit is home.
Thanks Bondo, you were the first person to comment in the blog - you have been a great supporter! Thanks JT, Lanza, Biggs, Joel, Jim C., Eric S., James M., and many others. There is one other special person that deserves the most credit ... Pedro Rodriguez ... he kept steady the bearings of MCS blog, and his advise and encouragement have serve well our community of backcountry skiers/riders, snowshoers, and snowmobilers that relish and love Mores Creek Summit.
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First MCS Blog Posting
The creation of this blog is the result of conversations with John Taggart (Idaho-NSP Avalanche Educator) and Janet Kellam (Sun Valley Avalanche Forecaster and President of the American Avalanche Association) during the National Avalanche School - 2007. We felt that the Mores Creek Summit backcountry user community would greatly benefit from a forum where information about snow conditions can be shared.
The Mores Creek Summit is a popular winter recreation area with fabulous terrain and incredibly varied winter touring opportunities. It is indeed a precious gem. I had been skiing there for 15 years, and it is where my kids developed their backcountry skills while skiing at Freeman and Pilot Peaks. For this reason this area very special to me.
During the last few years the winter visitors to Mores Creek Summit has dramatically increase. Information about snow conditions was shared by word of mouth. But that is not adequate anymore, and it is my hope that this blog could serve as a tool to better share snow conditions, as well as allow for the local backcountry community to network, share snow stability assestments, and make friends.
I think it will be a good idea to start this blog by inquiring about potential names for the most popular ski runs. In the spirit of initiating the conversation I include below a topo map with names used by my sons, acquaintances and myself. I have NO idea how we will reach concensus - but we will figure it out together as we go forward.
The next posting (this weekend) will have the first snow assestment to be posted on this blog. Snow assestment for the early season is available - but the NEW snow from the 1/7 thru 1/11 - makes the pre-1/7 data less valuable. Let me know if there is interest on it and I will be more than happy to post it.
One final note: In order improve communications it is strongly suggested that we follow the guidelines and conventions from Snow, Weather, and Avalanches: Observational Guidelines for Avalanche Programs in the Unites States.
I recommend purchasing the document at: http://www.americanavalancheassociation.org/obs.html or printing it from the following link:
http://www.avalanche.org/~research/guidelines/
Furthermore, I will be sharing snow assestmant data based on the Snow Pit Technologies " Snow and Avalanche Field Book", also known as the BLUE book. The field notebook can be acquire at:
http://www.snowpit.com/products/products.htm
Chago
