So here we are, Fall once again! I love this time of year; the leaves are changing color and falling from the trees, the elk bugle screams through the air, the nights get cold and we see the occasional dusting of snow. The more important fact to me however is, winter is right around the corner! So as usual, I, like so many others, get excited and start itching for snow to fall. For me this time marks time for prepping my mind and body for ski season, my soul is always ready for it! So to get my mind and body ready I go see Rolf Wilson at Main Street Fitness and his Ski Conditioning Class where his aim is to “make people puke”! Seriously though, this class is designed for champions by a champion. For those who don’t know, Rolf holds the World Record for Alpine Ski Jumping at 355’! He is a badass in the gym and on the slopes. Ultimately Rolf is a super nice guy except of course when he is trying to make one puke! Well in his efforts on Day 1 he put me through some endurance and strength tests to see where I had fallen off over the lazy summer of riding horses and hanging out with my kids.

The tests checked my Aerobic Fitness, Muscular Strength, Stability & Core Strength and Overall Fitness. He had me doing squats, bench presses, lunges with twists, uneven squats to jumps, push-ups, pull-ups, weight machine reps, uneven planks and crazy warm up stuff! Oh yeah did forget to mention the 4 flights of stairs in the parking garage that yuo have to run up and down on for it seems like forever (that one gets a lot of people spending time in the tripod position!! Boy did I sure get my butt kicked but it sure felt great to get back into the gym and be active again! I have now finished Day 2 of Pre-Conditioning and I am not only feeling better but I am also gaining strength mentally and physically! Albeit little strides but noticeable none the less! My Overall Assessment during Day 1 was Normal! Aaaaargh!!! Day 2 went by much quicker and I was already feeling a difference of just a couple of days with my body now adapting to the rigorous workout that I was giving it! The squats, the lunges, the skipping, the weights, the machines all trying to rip my muscles apart and make them stronger! And we haven’t even started running and strengthening exercises yet! Stay tuned as I work my way through this class and keep you all updated to the progress (and pain) that happens on a weekly basis! Even better you should join us at Main Street Fitness located at 7 West Main Street in Bozeman, MT. You can even call them at 506-556-2200! Ski Conditioning Class is starting October 23-November 24, 2012 and will be held on Tuesdays & Thursdays at various times to be able to accommodate your schedule. This is a custom designed program by Rolf Wilson, current World Record Holder in Alpine Ski Jumping. This intense class is guaranteed to get you ready for the slopes. This is one of their special classes: price is $129 A great bargain for a great program! Check them out today at www.mainstreetfitness.net

Life in the Fast Lane

Wow, does the time fly. I can't believe how fast the time goes not just by the minute but also by the day and year. As we just celebrated my daughter's 5 year birthday with a party of her fiends here at my house I reflect back through some of the years. Not only the time with her but also with my son and and all other friends and family. How the memories are great and I reflect on how blessed I have been through the years. I look forward to the many many more years that I have to make more memories!

Some recent memories of lately are being out in the mountains and have included some great adventures here in South West Montana, my other travels have been good too but the best ski days so far this year have been here in snowy Montana. Too many things to recount so I will try to highlight a few events that really made this year a great one so far; Incredible skiing in Middle and Beehive Basins in the Big Sky Backcountry including skiing the 4th of July Couloir in early January, skiing near waist-deep powder in the Big Couloir, thigh deep first tracks in the North Summit Snowfield, skiing with 18 Mountain Goats in the Lost Lake Cirque, getting first tracks in First Fork of the Headwaters Bowl, Straight-lining A-Z chutes and Bert's Main at Big Sky Resort and more. Some other great moments of this year so far would be ripping around on the new Icelantic Nomad RKR (my new fav ski!), SIA, Winter on the Rocks at Red Rocks, CO, hanging with Erick of Atmosphere out and about in the big city of Denver, and of course skiing with my kids and Briahna's 5th birthday!!

As with all things there are the pro's and con's to life and some of these con's have been losing some of the greatest people in the ski industry this season to the other side. Please everyone be very very careful out there this season the snow is incredibly variable so please use your heads and come back alive so us as your friends and loved ones can enjoy life's greatest moments together! Thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by these tragedies!!

I highly recommend getting knowledge of backcountry travel and not expect your equipment to keep you alive only smart decisions can do that!

For the most innovative of Avalanche Survival Tools check out Mystery ranch Backpack: BlackJack Avalanche Air-Bag at  http://www.mysteryranch.com/recreation/skiing-snowboarding-packs/blackjack-pack.

Welcome 2012

The new year has been incredible so far! After spending the X-Mas week in California with my kids and the dry weather I was welcomed home to a 3 day powder storm! Needless to say the skiing has been phenomenal!

Hanging with the fam in Cali for a week was great! I spent some time golfing and got to meet my new little niece Paige as well as my kids got lots of time to hang out with their cousins, so great to see them all play together. California was fun but it is always nice to get home to Montana! Like I said I was greeted by three days of powder falling from the heavens and was it oh so nice to land in a blizzard! While most of the states are hurting for the white fluffy substance we here in South West Montana have been fairing decently with our snow pack. Alas we do have a dangerous base that developed and there have been a few fatalities. Please be careful while out traveling and playing in the back country!

With that being said the skiing has been great and we have been trying to get after some of the better skiing while keeping avalanches in mind. We have been doing quite a bit of travel in the Beehive Basin and Middle Basin areas of the Big Sky back country. We have been finding great snow and stablizing conditions. Pretty much all west and south facing aspects are now a hard sun-bake while the east and northern facing aspects are still nice and soft and skiing good, the snow-pack is healing nicely and upon inspection we have found about 12" of soft wind snow on top of about 30" of condensed well bonded snow pack sitting on top of about another 12" of faceted sugar which is getting compressed and condensed daily making for a stronger base. Shovel shear tests were able to define the layers but upon compression tests and reusch block tests the snow seemed to be well anchored! Game on!!

Have to take a break today though, after 3 days of incredible skiing, to get hay for the horses and catch up with the world. I have lots of video to edit and will try to get out an shorty soon so be patient. In the mean time pray for snow and be safe in your adventures!

P.S. Moonlight Basin will be hosting the FWT Qualifiers this Jan 2012 so if around come out and support Moonlight Basin and the competitiors of the FWT!

Ski ya later,
Joe "Turns" Turner

Some of the lines that are skiing well right now! Beehive Basin, SW MT Backcountry

Moon Rising over the Beehive Basin Buttress!