LINES LEFT TO RIGHT Skintrack meditations below the Bighorn Crags with Sam Thackeray. Photo: Brian Peters Raised tracks on Rainbow Peak following a storm that saw 60-plus-mph winds and ripped countless trees from the earth. The crew was lucky to have gotten this line in prime conditions the day prior. Photo: Jess A. Each obstacle takes a toll on our equipment. Nearly every-thing I’ve brought is damaged or destroyed, the worst being a broken binding baseplate on day 12. It’s an essential piece for moving in the mountains in any capacity, so I had to get cre-ative. I splint it with sticks and Voile straps, which allows me to complete the trip but brings an end to being able to confidently snowboard anything of consequence. What these challenges never manage to break is our spirit or positivity. Undoubtedly, we all have gone to dark places at times during this trip as we have been pushed physically and mentally. But no one ever cracks, no one ever melts down. At some point, we’re forced into seeing that the position we’ve put ourselves in is so ridiculous that we have no other option but to laugh. When all is said and done, the traverse will have taken us 16 days, over 130 miles and 67,000 vertical feet. The numbers, however, are insig-nificant. We have come out the other side knowing we can push harder than we imagined. Our friendships have been cemented in the depths of the wilderness. And our appreciation for our fami-lies, friends and a place forgotten by the greater world has grown to previously unattainable heights. The trip isn’t all beatdowns. We make 10 notable descents, each with its own distinct character. The aesthetic and five-star snow in Murphy’s Law couloir. The thrill of ripping giant turns on the open face of Rainbow. Riding straight to camp after picking my way down the Nautilus Chute and then looking back up a face that easily holds 10 more lines. Party shredding the low-angle burn into Brush Creek, which seems to go on forever. Riding off the summit of the tallest peak in the range. Brian’s unfettered stoke and gratitude after riding the Lucky 13 couloir. Highlights I will not soon forget, each made sweeter knowing it may be the only time I ever ride them. 034 THE SNOWBOARDER’S JOURNAL
The Snowboarder's Journal The Snowboarder's Journal 21.3: Page 34
