We had just meandered into the McCully Basin of the Wallowa Mountain Range and Eagle Cap Wilderness - 2 miles by snowmobile... 3 and a half by skinning on our splitboards.

There had been a fair bit of trail-breaking required through ankle deep, top-crust, powder when a little mishap involving the seemingly unreliable plastic sled we were hauling a 60-pound keg on decided to disintegrate faster than a asteroid entering into the earth’s atmosphere.

While the brave men in the back would eventually make it to yurt camp with our 'holy grail' in tow, the sun was still up for a bit longer which allowed a quick lap in on the nearest ridge before the sun set…where our "avalanche awareness" incident happened.

...the whole idea of yurt trip to the Wallowa’s wasn’t a foreign concept but, the area was.

Our group - a mix of friends from Tahoe and Oregon started an annual yurt/hut trip the previous year with an eventful four-day excursion to the Pear Lake Hut in Sequoia National Park. The Sierra Nevada Range had been pounded with a plethora of snow and there were plenty of goods to be had all around.

This year was a little different… a role reversal from the previous season but, there was just enough snow to keep the chairs at the local resorts spinning. Then a storm hit, covering both the Sierra and the remote northeastern part of Oregon where we were venturing, spirits were high as we hit the road on the 11-hour drive to Enterprise, Oregon.

When we got into town on scattered schedules from different locations, we quickly caught up and headed to the local watering hole to mingle and listen to the sounds of local Bluesy-Roots band, Jezebel’s Mother. While some of us may have stayed out a little later than planned, a definitive highlight of the trip was the following morning when we met up with owner and operator of Wallowa Alpine Huts.

Connelly Brown - better known as C.B.

A legend around these parts - we had only vaguely heard of about his boyish humor, west coast surfer lingo, and laid back character from friends and guides.

Upon meeting him it all seemed to make sense.

He strolled up in a big navy-blue Dodge Ram with snowmobile in tow for a morning pre-mission meeting to help us understand how the yurts functioned. His long red frazzled hair and pony tail hid behind his beanie and hat and his face was adorned with a big bushy beard peppered with gray and red. It was hard to tell if he was a descendent of a Viking clan or a member from the Grateful Deadhead movement.

Needless to say he had our attention with his infectious chuckle and accounts of pushing the limits to the point of being buried in 3 avalanches throughout his lifetime. You could write his actions off as careless but C.B. was a certified badass and his devotion to guiding and to the outdoors stemmed much further than from the surface.

C.B. fills the Wallowa Alpine Huts solely by word of mouth and with returning clients. It was quite compelling to see where his priorities were when he quickly started emphasizing the importance of our keg and how to help to make sure we were able to transport it to its desired location at the hut…

Legendary status.

In between our breakfast and procedural directions, I took three things out of the group conversation:

1. Bathroom etiquette, “don’t hover over the toilets at the yurt because hovering leads to misfires,” he says. “Also, no nesting.... and no oven mitting (hogging all the toilet paper)”

2. "There are indeed still wolves in this wilderness and they typically isolate the person in the back…. "

3. "Do beware that if you head out of the McCully Basin, you may get an O.B.E. or an Out of Basin Experience…." whoa groovy!

You can’t help but laugh with a light heart at the exuberance and playful humor C.B. exhibits. By the end of the meeting, things are starting to become relatively clear and we make our way to the trail head located at the parking lot of the tiny Ferguson Ridge Ski Area. It's there we will be towed behind the snow mobile in two groups of 4 people to continue the hike on our own into the vast wilderness as a group for the next 5 days.

Seeking new mountainous regions is one of the most appealing aspects of backcountry skiing and riding for me. In fact, it's what's motivated our group to get the ball rolling with big winter missions over the past two years.

Amidst the planning, finding the time, and hut availability, we had ended up deciding on the Wallowa’s - a less popular range compared to the hut systems in the mountains of B.C. or the Sawtooth’s of Idaho for example - after hearing about this zone from adventurous friends who mentioned stories of awesome lines and bootable couloirs!

However, these statements were typically followed with something like: “Just be weary of the weird facets below the surface” which, to us meant:

'Be weary of avalanches.'

For those who are new to snow science, the phenomenon of facets is not a good thing for backcountry riders. Snow layers stack up on top of old snowfall with each new storm cycle which, can take normally shaped snow crystals that can easily bond together, creating stability, and turn them into weak and rounded crystals – known as facets. Because of their shape, facets don’t typically bond well.

Picture a bunch of snow layering up on a slanted sheet of clean glass angled at about 30 to 45 degrees. Chances are, the snow will not stay in place, and if it does a large amount of energy is staged and ready. It might only take a small amount of weight to trigger that energy to release. An avalanche is the result and in the mountain environment, this can turn deadly for backcountry skiers and riders.

The Wallowa’s have been no stranger to avalanche deaths, experiencing 4 fatalities since 2014 - according to Avalanche.org. In 2016, guide and Executive Avalanche Director for the WAC, Kip Rand was killed near Chief Joseph Mountain in a slide. It was a devastating blow to the community, and the Wallowa Alpine Hut Team and had us aware.... wanting to be diligent about our group's safety while in the back country.

Keepin' it fun is what it's all about!!

As back country riders, highlighting the hazards and acknowledging red flags is something we are consistently trying to do to. Essentially, we try to weigh and avoid risk by remaining aware. It does take some discipline though, especially since we'd been dreaming of nothing but champagne powder and boot-able couloirs!

We saw all the 'goodness' that the Eagle Cap Wilderness had to offer but, given the forecasts, had to pull a little off of the throttle. So our frugality and prudence led us to the indisputable power of low-angle hippy turns;-))

With two of the boys bringing out binding-less, 'surf style' boards known as 'NoBoards' and 'Snurfers' we were able to get a mix of split boarding as well as some riding with the freedom of no bindings.

Fun was in our grasp and we managed long days seeking out terrain and thrill that for us, was safe and sooooooo good!

KAVU days, indeed!

We reveled in the camaraderie, the solitude, the creamy powder turns, and the return to a lifestyle with no electricity - just wood burning stoves and lanterns.

The nostalgia of fetching water, full moon-lit skies, and the luxuries of fresh beer and a sauna fueled by kindling.

In this day and age, it seems to be even more challenging to find those genuinely 'pure' experiences. While to our chagrin were unable to experience an O.B.E., we’ll we back again and it will be glorious.

Trevor Husted

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