Shirts On The Way Soon

Ok, so I've said that a million times. But this time I really mean it. Did a small run of stickers too, with more to come. Will probably have them available at some of the local fly shops. Will let everyone know when I get it together. Trying to focus on the bar exam at the end of this month.

F3T Review

Well, another Fly Fishing Film Tour has come and gone. Thought I'd share my thoughts on the evening. First of all, the crowd is getting crazy! Almost had a rock concert mentality up on the balcony, if you know what I mean;). I made the mistake of forgetting that I had to print my tickets. My brain somehow thought they were at will call. In my defense I bought a bunch of Wilma tickets that day and I always choose WC. Anyway the guys were kind enough to let me show them tickets on my email. Thanks!

The highlights as far as I'm concerned. My Hardcore Porn Award definitely goes to Riding High: A Season on the Fly for just pure pump-up value.

Great way to start the night off, with repeated insane shots of giant tarpon inhaling flies and going nuts. Can't ask for much more for adrenaline. I was totally stoked. Honorable mentions include The Kodiak Project and the Arctic.

My Best Story Award is a tie between Doc of the Drakes and Reverb: A Punk Rock Love Story. Loved that the Doc got his big fish at the end, and what an amazing guide, to stick with him through all his misses. Great piece. Reverb really touched me as a musician and a fly fisherman. All I could think about was Entztrix and I tramping around our small stream chillers. Reverb here.

Best Film for me is still Sipping Dry. Just my personal connection with the Mo' makes the wonderful footage all the more powerful and it speaks to what I'm all about as an angler. Hope y'all enjoyed it too. I loved all the movies, but more accolades will have to wait for another post. I gotta run!

Winter Steelhead Silliness

Here at ZCA, we are not above nymphing for steelhead. Yet.

3 Days, 3 feet.

Storm Update: Major Event Predicted

Not much has changed in the overall forecast since last week but I've been waiting to say anything as it's been an unlucky winter thus far. NOAA has issued a Winter Storm watch for pretty much the entire northern Rockies. On Tuesday the first in a series of powerful storms is predicted to move across western Montana. An extremely strong upper level jet stream will move large amounts of moist air into the region. With the large cold air mass that's already here, we should see the potential for some serious mountain snowfall. As typically happens with these types of systems, there will be a very intense band of precipitation where the air mass border sets up. Right now NOAA is predicting this will occur somewhere between Kalispell and Missoula. My guess is, as usual, the Missions, Swans, and Seely valley will probably see the most snow, but with the amount of water coming in, it's going to be big everywhere for this winter.

Wednesday a second, even more powerful system is expected. Thursday, temperatures are predicted to rise, bringing snow levels up just below 4000 feet. Still, high confidence remains that we will be adding several FEET of snow to the mountain snowpack this week.

Steve Karkanan, of Missoula Avalanche, is predicting that while the snowpack has stabilized quite a bit over the past week, as soon as we get another load things could get VERY dangerous on slopes over 30 degrees. This means once about a foot of new snow falls, we're right back to considerable danger. Given these storm totals, it likely that Hollywood Bowl at LT and some areas at the Bowl could be closed as well, at least in the mornings for avy control. As the Snowbowl ski patrol has told me in the past, if it's closed, usually there's a good reason.

Snow on the Way!!!

Looks like we have some good weather headed our way tonight and tomorrow. NOAA is predicting mountain accumulations of 5-8 inches, with snow levels dropping to the valley floors over night. I don't know about you, but as my buddy Bob Troutman said, I'm getting sick of looking at my grass (and all of the half-frozen dog poop) in my yard. Long term, the forecast models are still showing La Nina like conditions. It's gotta turn around sooner or later, right?

LT Update

Good skiing. Gotta know where to look for it, but you knew that. Saw this awesome slide action too. There are some tracks leading up to the crown face if you zoom all the way in. Also, Granite County sheriffs reported yet another fatality in the Flint Creek Range due to an avalanche. It's just not a good year to be careless out there.

In-bounds was pretty fun today, though. All the wet snow really came around and is buttery and easy to ski. Very windy though and lots of snow blowing off the ridge tops. Chair 4 was closed until 1pm or so, but once it opened, the day got a lot more interesting. Anyway, due to real life concerns, I'm off the slopes for a few days so send me some reports!

Snowmobiler Killed Near Cooke City and Other Rumors

The Helena IR is reporting that a snowmobiler was killed in an avalanche in the Fisher Creek area on a northeast aspect. Hope this isn't a harbinger for the rest of the season around the state. He was recovered within 12 minutes, but the slab was four feet thick and 300 feet wide. Not good. Sad and condolences to his family and friends.

Got a report yesterday that a skier set off a slide in Hollywood Bowl up at Lost Trail, causing a temporary closure. It's back open now, and very deep, from what I hear.

I also heard from the birds that in the Bitterroots below 6000 feet there is some great snow to be had and a lot more stability, due to the rain. The slopes above the rain line that were wind-loaded remain pretty sketchy. Also, we are now live on Twitter and Facebook, so please link up with us. Happy New Year and be safe!

New Years Update. Avalanche Warning Issued

Photo courtesy of West Central Montana Avalanche Center.

There was a human-triggered avalanche on Point 6 yesterday. You can read the report here. The West Central Montana Avalanche Center has issued an avalanche warning above 6000 feet for the Bitterroots and the Rattlesnake. Heavy snow, combined with lots of wind on two separate buried surface hoar layers is creating scary conditions out there. The public observation board has several other reports of instability and avalanche activity from around the area. It's gonna take a while so stay safe folks.

Happy New Year!

Boo to the rain. A series of warm, moist systems are making their way through NW Montana, meaning valley rain and some mountain snow. Lost Trail, as usual when we get the warm wet stuff, is the place to be today, with 16" in the past 24 hours. It's all about the elevation. The first cold front has now passed, with mountain top temps in the Rattlesnake dropping fast, 4 degrees in the past two hours or so. Temps are expected to rise again with next storm. Four inches fell on Stuart last night, with a few showers still on the radar. The next system is supposed to arrive Thursday evening, and while warm, it doesn't look to be as sloppy as the recent storm. Still going to be muddy and nasty in the valley.

Avalanche danger is pretty bad right now, so I wouldn't advise any backcountry trips, unless you are really confident in your abilities and you plan to avoid dangerous terrain. We have a few weak layers of surface hoar buried in the snowpack. Add a bunch of new loading with heavy wet snow and mid-elevation rain and you've got a recipe for trouble. Dudley's video from after the last storm is pretty telling. Not much has happened to strengthen the deep weak layer and we added another smaller surface hoar layer over the holiday before these storms. A 16+" slab will bury you pretty damn quick. Anyway, things are not safe out there.

There has been a lot of talk about the LaValle malfunction up at Snowbowl. For the record, I was rope evacuated, and I thought Patrol did a great job, considering how many young kids were solo on the lift. Apparently, the cable got derailed when a person somehow ran into a sign while trying to load, and the chair then hit the sign, bouncing it off. The idiocy factor is high at the Bowl right now, and this is just one example. Anyway, the lift was quickly fixed and I don't think safety is an issue up there, other than the morons and some of the high schoolers, who for some reason think that good skiers never make any turns. Go home and watch your movies, kids. It's about what you do when you're on the ground, not your outfit and your aerials.

Merry Christmas!

Mother Nature gave us a big present this year. Somehow, the storm that was supposed to miss us didn't, and we've got over a foot of fresh snow in the mountains. Today's cold temps sucked a lot of the moisture out and things are pretty soft. There are still lots of sleeper logs and rocks, so watch yourselves.

I haven't been out of bounds in a while, but I should be making an adventure at some point shortly. Inbounds has just been too much fun! Anyway, hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

Snowbowl Update 12/9/11

Pretty simple. We need some snow. Bad.

Rob and I skied the Bowl today, and while we did managed to find some good snow in spots, we definitely hit a lot of rocks doing so. The wind seemed to mess the 'Snake up a lot more than the Bitterroots. There's also probably 10 more inches at altitude on that side of the valley.

Some areas up top are as thin as I've seen, with all kinds of rocks popping out, and tons of saplings. Most of the mountain, including half of the Lavalle area, is still closed. Just not enough coverage. I wouldn't suggest cutting under the lines either. Best run of the day was Paradise, honestly. Anyway, if we got a foot of fresh, it would be back on it's way. Let's hope this high pressure is out of here soon.

New Mo' Film Part of 2012 Fly Fishing Film Tour

Sipping Dry trailer from Sharptail Media on Vimeo.

Can't wait to see this one. I love technical dry fly fishing. The Mo' is paradise for that and has kicked my ass more times than I'd care to admit. Sorry for jinxing the snow by talking about it on the blog! Keep your fingers crossed and watch some porn! Fish or ski porn, that is.

Sideman's Country

My first short ski film shot the past few weeks. Music by Zoo City contributor Seagoat, aka Chrisopher Entz. This was all done with two iPhones and iMovie. Check it yo!

Zoo City's New Winter Focus

Happy winter, everyone! Beautiful day out there with a few inches of fresh, dry snow in the valley. Hope everyone is ready for another La Nina.

I started Zoo City several years ago with the goal of providing high quality fly fishing info for Missoulians. Each winter, this blog has essentially been in hiatus, while the Zoo Crew switches into powder hunting mode. This year, in an effort to keep a continuous stream of posts, I'm adding ski and snow info to the blog for all those trout addicts who turn to Montana's cold smoke for winter therapy. Next to landing a 22-inch brown, nothing compares to a long, untouched powder glade to get my heart going.

In the sidebar on the left, I've shared all of my favorite snow nerd links for your cold weather pleasure. You'll find pin point weather reports for your favorite in-bounds and backcountry areas, plus Snotel information, climate info, satellite photos, weather radar and more. I hope you make Zoo City your first stop before planning your next tour or day on the chair lift. I'll also keep posting photos, videos and reports of all our winter adventures. Hope you enjoy and stay warm out there!