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!

Holiday Powder!

So the Holiday Season is upon us. Merry Christmas everyone!

The past couple of weeks have been the epitome of early season training. Not a lot of snow on the ground and the backcountry has just been a little too dangerous to really do anything of great fun so we have been in conditioning mode for winter. Well it seems to have finally hit this week!

This year's Winter Solstice decided to make sure it would be noticed and remembered as a day that still holds clout when the Solstice graced us with a foot of new snow, the weather gurus estimated 3" - 5". Love it when they are wrong like this, bless their hearts, he he. Winter is full on now with bell to bell face shots accompanied with burning quads fueled by whoots and hollers. The sounds of "so sick" and "hell yeah" were echoed all day in between shit eating grins and experiences that make us remember that life is meant to be lived to it's fullest. Can't wait to experience this with my kids! :-)

Some how Brad Biolo and I managed to be one step ahead of the crowd this particular day and while everyone was waiting around for chairs to open we happened to be getting first tracks in all the zones we were hitting. Making a few laps, never crossing a track, and then head to a new lift just as they were opening it. Make a few more virgin laps and then on to the next lift, that was the progress of the entire day until around 3:30pm the quads, glutes and calves screamed for forgiveness. OK, time to rest and fuel up there is always tomorrow!

This past few weeks also saw new product being delivered from sponsors. Core Concepts shipment came in and I must say that this year's line is SICK! Diggin the new Entourage and the changes to the Stripes sweater are bomber. Again every piece is well made and stylie. Don't forget that you can get all of their products at 50% off when you go to www.corelayers.com and enter code "jturn50" upon check out. Use it up and tell your friends too!

Mystery Ranch Backpacks also has made sure that my travel and adventures would be well organized with new travel bags and accessories. Check them out at www.mysteryranch.com, guaranteed to be the BEST hand made backpacks and bags you have ever used!The Spandura line is killer and really stoked on my One Man Duffel!

All right enough for now...

P.S. There will be a Jamie Pierre Memorial Fundraiser for the wife of the late Jamie Pierre, Aimee, and their kids Clementine and Royal. Please contribute and help with some form generosity for this incredible woman and her kids!!!

Merry Christmas and Face Shots to All.

Turns

Skiing Magazine Dec 2011

Here is another published photo from our Alaska trip this past winter. This was taken while on our recon mission of Manitoba Mountain on the Kenai peninsula. Great photo by Tom Winter and published in the Dec 2011 issue of Skiing magazine! Thanks for all the support and don't forget to get in motion with the Mountain Rider's Alliance, we are changing the face of ski areas!

www.MountainRidersAlliance.com 

Winter is underway...

So as the world continues to spin and as the the winter sets in we find our selves in the Holiday Season! For most that I know this is a fun, family filled time of the year and not only a time of reception but also a time of reflection and thankfulness, a conscious acknowledgment of the gifts and blessing that each one of of us have. This winter is starting off particularly tough for a few that I know and for the ski community with the loss of our friend Jamie Pierre and then his mother, Pam Pierre. I pray that the times get easier and sympathetic for the Pierre family and the blessings just pour into them. They are an incredible family that has endured a lot in a short amount of time. I am thankful for my family and for this life that I have been gifted with. Donations can be made at Wells Fargo Bank to "Jamie Pierre Memorial Fund" for the benefit of his wife Amee and his children Clementine and Royal. The snowpack here in the majority of the Northern Rockies is pretty rough starting as well with a large layer of faceted snow acting as the bonding zone between the snowpack and the ground. What that basically means is that we have a lot of great snow sitting on top of a layer of 6"-8" of Styrofoam packing peanuts. Please be careful out in the backcountry while traveling around. Think avalanche in all conditions and watch and listen for whooomps, cracks, faceted layers, and all other tell tale signs to a suspect slope. There is a lot of "season" to go so we can always ride tomorrow and live today! Go take an avalanche course and save your life as well as your friends! Thanksgiving was good and I hope it was well for all of you as well. Big Sky Resort opened for the season on Thanksgiving morning so I took the fam up to the snow, I skied the groomers for a while then played in the snow with the kids and the sleds for a bit. Turkey dinner was great that night and of course I ate too much! Again thankful for all the blessings and people in my life! Freezers are full of elk and all we need is some snow on these meager snow packs that we have, Christmas is right around the corner and we have a chance to show all how thankful we are for our lives! What are you doing for Christmas Season? New Year's Eve? Have any ski plans? If in this part of Montana then hit me up also I will be in California from Dec 26th - Dec 30th. Looking forward to seeing the family and also some maritime snow love! Don't forget Moonlight Basin is having some great Holidays Specials so don't miss out at www.moonlightbasin.com P.S. Order gifts for your loved ones and yourself from www.corelayers.com and enter code "jturns50" when checking out and get 50% off entire order! Happy Holidays! Ski ya later, Turns

Life in Ski South West Montana

So life continues to rock on here in south west Montana. Everyday brings me closer and closer to achieving my dreams of having this website and magazine up and in full throttle. Everyday I am meeting more and more incredible people to share my journey with and to be included in theirs is a huge blessing! I believe that we have something to learn from every person that we come into contact with! Whether we have our eyes, ears and hearts open to their message is another matter altogether.

Yesterday was Ski South West Montana athlete Paul Herberger's birthday and the day before was his girlfriends birthday so we celebrated out on the town and once again had an incredible time! My body was actually sore from all the laughing, boogieing down and over all good fun that we had! Today was another day of great progress and meetings for Ski South West Montana and the future looks very bright!

Forecast calls for snow here in the valleys next week and skiing is right around the corner! Hunting season starts this weekend and all my projects that I am involved with seem to be just exploding! I again just have to thank all my great friends, support crew, sponsors and family for all the support and am stoked on all the now contacts that seem to fall into place daily! This world is amazing and I couldn't ask for a better life although we all have our problems and the roller coaster ride of life and emotions it really is all about what we make of them. Do we pick our selves back up out of the dirt and learn from our mistakes or do we lay on the ground looking at all the crap surrounding us, I believe we are made to fall so we learn how to do it better next time! Hindsight is always 20/20 so take a brief glimpse back and learn and then watch for the next step and the open doors! The doors are always opening so take advantage of what you have been blessed with and don't stay stuck in the doorway trying to figure out whether to stay or go right or go left, just do it! Commit, enjoy and live life!!!

This season's first published shots! Mountain Mag 2 page spread!

Here is the 2 page spread with my first two published shots of the season, so stoked. Thanks Mountain Mag, Tom Winter, Mountain Rider's Alliance, Icelantic Boards, Zeal Optics, Core Concepts, Columbia, Leki, Swany, Bern Helmets, DownUnder Insoles, Main Street Fitness, Mystery Ranch Backpacks, Moonlight Basin, Dry Guy & Crash Pads for all the support. Looking forward to another great season!!

Montana and Africa: Africa Postponed until October 2012

I love this early fall weather! Yesterday I was with a client and we were working with her horse and it started sprinkling, yet there were no clouds in the sky, at all! Kinda felt like Hawaii, in the Rockies! Temps are reaching the low 40's at night and the days are in the mid 80's!!!! Makes working horses easier that is for sure, just ask them if you don't believe me.

Hard at work getting ready for the o3 Foundation's Mt. Kilimanjaro climb for the KIDz. Loving every minute of getting this endeavor into fruition, yes I will have a blast but the deeper meaning of it all is that these underprivileged kids that we are raising money for will actually be the benefactors and get to learn to enjoy the outdoors and life as I have come to love them. Such passion can evolve into such a greater cause that will benefit mankind to a great extent, who knows which one of the KIDz will be the next Einstein or Bill Gates! If you have it in your heart please take time to make a pledge to the o3 Foundation and help the parent-less children that we have in our country. If we want to change the world we should start within our own borders and now you have a chance to make a difference!

Here is a pledge form that you can print off and get back to me! We are not asking for your next paycheck but how ever much you may be able to provide, it will go a long ways for those who have nothing! Thank you in advance from the KIDz.

Diamond City Mike for Sale: DC Mike is SOLD!!!

Here is a nice little gelding that I trained this spring, he has about 45 days on him and is such a great horse that if I had the money I would keep for myself! This horse has been all over the mountains and for a three year old he blows everyone away because he is usually the most well mannered of all the horses on the trail. Don't miss on on Mikey, give me a ring for a test drive or for more information!

What a willing little guy and you definitely want him in your family! He had never seen bridges before the ones in this video! Badger, King, & Hancock lines just to name a few!
Contact me for a test ride or information, today! 406-285-1754

Saint Bernard pups are on the Way!

My Saint is about to give birth to a new batch of pups. Let me know if anyone is interested in these incredible snow dogs!

Kilimanjaro Climb 2011 for O3 for the Kidz

Here is some big news, finally able to release!

I have been invited to go to Africa and climb Mt. Kilimanjaro with the intention of raising upwards of $500,000.00 for the benefit of the 550,000 orphaned children of the USA including the 1,500 children that were left parentless after the 9/11/01 attacks on the World Trade Center!

This climb will include some of the worlds most elite athletes in today's sports world! I feel very honored to be a part of this team and am looking forward to unrolling out the banner and unveiling this non-profit corporation on top of Mt. Kilimanjaro on Oct. 22, 2011!

I have included with this post a pledge form for those who can find it in their hearts to be able to donate a little bit of financial support for the orphaned children! Please open your hearts to helping those who are in far greater need than you or I, together we can make a huge difference on the lives of these young people across the world!!!

Please feel free to contact myself or the O3 Foundation for any other questions. Thank you!