What is the Backcountry...to you?

As the appeal of the backcountry started to grow on me, I started to think about just what it meant to me....For some, it is about scoping hero lines, getting transported to the top for fresh tracks and nailing big descents.  For others, it is about doing those some hero lines by using your own power (skinning, booting, etc).  For others, it is about being where people are not.  For others it is about a mellow day out in nature and finding the little gems.  For others, it is about spending time with people who are chasing the same intoxication for life...

For me personally, I probably fall into the latter categories of getting out and finding the spots that thin out the herds...and feeling like you are seeing things that many don't have the inclination to want to work to see while spending time in great company.

During my adventures climbing, riding, or backcountry snowboarding, I have come to find out that it takes very very little to get off the beaten path where the herds have thinned out.  Many times a little work goes a long way in finding the places that nourish the soul and inspire adventure.  Once such recent trip was our backcountry adventure to Crater Lake where the intent was just to spend the day doing due diligence to figure out how to gain access to the ridge that accesses Garfield Peak.

Our due diligence turned into an especially good day thanks to the sense of adventure of not having a hard core objective for the day.  Our only objective was to get up on that ridge and see what was back there.  Long story short, it was a phenomenal day and it opened my eyes as to what experience it is that I seek when out there...

The snow was perfect (roughly 4-5 inches of new snow over the prior 24 hrs...we ran into 1 other team of two who followed our skin tracks up...The terrain was all ours and looked like pillows of untracked snow on the slopes.  We were in no rush which made for a nice long day in the backcountry.  The multiple tour/ride transitions made for a nice break in ascents/descents.  We got to learn the lay of the land and had some incredible riding.  The longest contiguous descent we had probably only dropped about 600 ft and there were no steep lines that we were chasing.  It was a great all around day...more to come on Crater, but in the interim, here is some of the day's vibe: