[leadin]In July, GearJunkie contributor Paul Vincent visited the headquarters of Mystery Ranch. The team invited him to climb and hike for a weekend in the Beartooth Range near Red Lodge, Mont.[/leadin]
Six people set out with a goal to ascend White Tail couloir, a striking line up Whitetail Peak. But unpredictable Absaroka weather set the crew back.
“Weather the previous week had reached 100+ degrees in the area,” Vincent said. “It melted the ice in the couloir.”
Storm On The Peak
To add to that, Vincent and crew hit the trail right as a storm moved in. “The trip started with a fine mist and progressed into a lightening storm that drove us under a small covering of trees,” he said.
“Landslides on the high alpine faces of the peaks came from the rain, and the downpour continued the melting of the ice in the range.”
He got a few pretty pictures at least. Vincent also put a new pack from Mystery Ranch to the test. (See the full review, “Haul Huge Loads: Mystery Ranch ‘Glacier’ Pack 2016.”)
Continued Vincent, “Rain gave way to wind, howling wind, that kept us up at night. Then, on our way out, the sun peeked out and the temperature soared. In a little over 48 hours we indeed experienced Montana.”
