Escaping Ukraine, a trip to the Bob

 

I stand in solidarity with our brethren in Ukraine under attack from Russia

Ferocious winds buffet the top of False Lockhart Mountain

The elements have sculpted the banks of the North Fork Teton at the Bob Marshall boundary

Gordon Whirry at the Bob Marhall boundary sign that had been mauled by grizzlies

Gordon negotiates a seeming snow tunnel on the road

New trees sprout in landscape hammered by the 2007 wildfire

The ugliness of Putin's invasion of Ukraine I had to escape to a place of peace.

That place is always the Bob Marshall Wilderness, and it delivered as it always does.

We skied down into what I call the "Hole," the West Fork of the Teton from the Teton Pass Ski Area, crossing into the Bob just north of the East Fork of the Teton, where the trail goes to the Blackleaf Canyon.

The winds were ferocious, but we caught a bluebird day with a fresh coating of powder.

Perfect.

It's 3.5 miles and 800 feet down to the bottom and another mile to where we crossed the North Fork of the Teton on what we thought was a thin ice crust to reach the wilderness area.

There was the obligatory photo with the wilderness sign, which had been mauled (presumably) by a grizzly bear, and some lunch with Mount Wright's east flank in full view.

We encountered only two people, a young couple skiing into the West Fork rental cabin for the night, at the end of our trip.

Otherwise, we had a perfect day, although one in which we found ourselves guilty for our enjoyment while the poor victims in Ukraine are suffering.

I have a special connection to Ukraine because my grandfather was born there, in a village called Taikury, north and west of the capital Kyiv. It was Russia when he was born there in 1887, but historically it had been part of Poland, and our family proudly considers itself Polish-American.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the 2007 wildfire that swept through this area and the trip offered us a good look at what is and isn't growing back.

There are still vast area of ghost stick trees and downed timber, the legacy of that fire.

Yet, there are many spots where healthy 10-foot lodgepole pines have grown back.

This is really dry country and it will take years before the area fully recovers.