Noah Couser Photography
These images were captured over the 2010-2011 winter season. Most were taken in Montana with local riders/skiers. This season we are taking it to the streets, literally, with more urban shoots on the docket, and traveling to a handful of different mountains and backcountry areas. Stay connected via our Facebook page and noahcouserphotography.com. Enjoy
Labor Day Weekend. Already been back teaching for two weeks now, and the need for an epic adventure was becoming crucial to my very survival. In an effort to help out our friend Jake Bramante who is attempting to hike all of the trails in Glacier Park within one season (for more info visit http://www.hike734.com/), and an effort to calm the nervous twitch developing in my right eye from all this working, Megan and I embarked on our weekend adventure.
The plan was to bust out of school as quickly as humanly possible, drive 2 hours up bumpy Kintla Lake Road, and hike into the head of Kintla Lake via headlamps that night to be ready for the following day’s trek. We would leave our car at Kintla Lake, hike roughly 32 miles over the course of four days, and take the boat from Goat Haunt into Canada where Jake’s car would be waiting. The only hang up in this whole plan was that I hadn’t actually confirmed with Jake these plans, or that we were actually on for this trip. Looking back through text messages before we left, it appeared that he and I were on the same page, but specifics were not exchanged, and Jake was out all week in the park unreachable.
Most reasonable people would not put themselves in a situation where they could be stranded three hours from home, in another country nonetheless, but we were not going to let details stand in the way of this fantastic trip. With all this in mind, my loving wife gave the trip the green light, and we hoped for the best as we started on our quest.
With four amazingly beautiful days of hiking through some of the most ruggedly beautiful terrain I’ve ever been, we made our way out to Waterton, stopping and camping at Boulder Pass and Lake Francis along the way. Stepping onto the boat, we got a few double takes from the hoard of tourists who were decked out in khakis and “outdoor apparel” for their scenic boat cruise, and who had bathed in something other than a lake in the last four days. Appearantly we looked a little mangy. We stepped off the boat to find Jake and his girlfriend Kristen waiting for us with keys in hand. They were heading the opposite direction, back to where we had just came, and we quickly filled them in on some highlights from the trip, along with the location of the most ridiculous huckleberry patch I’ve ever seen.
All in all it was a killer trip. I take great solace in knowing that in the coming weeks of blowing whistles at teenagers, I can readily escape in my mind to the shores of Lake Francis, and hear the ghostly call of its resident loon, restoring the very fibers of my soul.
I can’t even express how quickly two months has gone since my last post. My wife Megan and I recently returned from an incredible tour of the Northwest that lasted about three weeks. I will attempt to recap with a few pictures and a few words.
Basically, out trip started June 14th, and we travelled to Seattle, with a brief stop in Coeur d’ Alene on the way. A couple of now small town Montana folk, we were anxious to leave the city and the traffic and head toward the Oregon Coast. We camped at (not on, apparently it’s illegal) Canon Beach, and stayed on the coast there for three days. Crabbing, clamming, and toying with the boundaries of sheer gluttony, let’s just say I was in seafood and clam chowder heaven.
From there we travelled to Bend, Oregon. Bend blew me away, amazing mountain biking with the smoothest trails I’ve ever ridden, along with unbelievable rock climbing at Smith Rock. Bend is definitely on the return list for next year.
After Bend, we headed for small town Gooding, Idaho to visit Megan’s grandparents. Little did we know that an area with a little over 3,000 residents would have so many hidden gems. The most noteworthy was the Little City of Rocks with some amazing rock formations, we couldn’t resist bouldering on them and exploring a bit.
From there we made the long drive to Denver. Saw some great friends in Denver, went to Red Rocks (not for a concert unfortunately), took the Coors Brewery tour (highly recommended if you find yourself in Golden, CO), and caught a Rockies game.
Our last stop before heading home was in Jackson, Wyoming. We were able to stay at the Teton Climbers’ Ranch; a “ranch” consisting of a handful of cabins inside the park right at the base of the Grand, Middle and South Teton. Watching the sunset over the crest of the Tetons every night, hearing the pack of local coyotes “yip” and “howl” us to sleep, and waking up every day with a fresh adventure in mind, was truly an unforgettable experience.
I loved every single place we stopped on our trip, but I am also exceedingly thankful of where we get to come home to. I look forward to the rest of the summer, living, playing, and adventuring here in the Flathead Valley with many trips, climbs, and hikes to fill up the rest of our summer before…GULP…school starts again :)
Blooper Reel:
As I nostalgically looked through hundreds of photos from this last season, digging out the gems to hopefully send along and get published, I found dozens of “blooper reel” shots. Because for the small handful of shots that I think are worthy of printing, or publishing, or even reviewing again, there were hundreds of less glamorous shots. In order to get that one perfect sequence, or that beautifully stomped landing, or the right angle where the feature and the rider both are looking sweet, there were many, many attempts.
The part I love most about it all is that a big crash, or a botched landing, or a screw up on my end only produces a better quality product in the end. We never nail it on the first feature, or the first jump of the day, or even the first week of the season. I love that there is a process, a determination, and a willingness to try again, just like any other form of art.
Yesterday I found myself 12 feet up a tree, clutching intently to the bark with one hand, trusting my footing on the tree climbing screws, and leaning precariously over the tacky single track trying to get the perfect shot, with a horde of ravenous mosquitoes circling their prey. It’s great to be back.
After nearly 2 months since my last “photo shoot,” (I use quotations because I hate referring to doing activities I love with friends and bringing my camera as “photo shoots”) it was really refreshing to be behind the lens again. I can say with great confidence that I will be spending a sizable amount of time out at Spencer Mountain this summer to shoot downhill mountain biking. Not because I have some high paying clients in my back pocket waiting to purchase the images we produce, but because it is such a beautiful place, and I get a lot of satisfaction from partnering with riders in producing quality images. Yes you might say that the end goal is to make a profit from the work I am doing, but there is something to be said about capturing glimpses of people interacting with nature that gets others stoked. There isn’t a price tag on that, but there is the satisfaction in knowing that someone, somewhere is maybe, even secretly, getting stoked about the idea of going rock climbing, or fly fishing, or about hurling them self and a 45 pound downhill bike off of a jump.
Photographing the pond skim competition was like icing on the cake to an incredible season up at the hill this year. One of the deepest bases in years, and it seemed like we rode new snow every week. Had lots of great opportunities this winter, and got to shoot with lots of new skiers and riders which was a lot of fun.
I always get a little choked up this time of year. Snowboarding has gotten me through the many long, cold, dark Montana months past, and it’s hard to see it go. Not that we are at a total loss, we still will do plenty of backcountry trips this spring, but there is something about riding at the mountain. It’s such a social environment, so many friends that all come together to ride each weekend, plus I don’t feel like dying after a full day, like I usually due chasing some of our friends around in the backcountry.
Being a teacher I’ve developed a deeper appreciation for summer, mainly the not having to work, or not spending most of my week with 13 year old students, but winter has such a special place in my heart.
I’m glad the pond skim and fifty degree sunshine of Saturday helped bring a close to a fantastic winter season at the Big. Plus I didn’t end up in the 38 degree pond of water as so many did that day. Hope you enjoy the photos.
BC Hut Trip
Two and a half hours into the grueling skin up the ridge to the hut I was furiously recounting everything in my pack that I wish I would have left in the car. We had decided that this was going to be a luxury spring break trip, packing 3 Litres of wine, French cheese, home-made cookies, chicken sausages, two Nalgenes of pre-mixed margaritas, and many other delicious items to eat and drink. With all my avi gear, photo gear, food, clothes, and others, I had two packs, one about 45 pounds strapped to my back, and one about 30 pounds strapped to my chest.
4 tiresome hours later we arrived at the Jumbo Pass Hut, sitting at 7,780 feet in a high alpine pass. All of the sweat and back breaking work began to fade away as we examined our awe inspiring surroundings. After a quick nap to regain strength, we headed for the ridge line right behind the hut. Some soft turns with incredible views and the painfully overloaded hike in was long forgotten.
Another day of riding and I was loving the hut lifestyle. Lots of good lines to choose from, and a nice warm fire and food to come back to. Sure beats sleeping in a wall tent with your camera, water, and boots in your sleeping bag so they don’t freeze overnight.
Rarely do you find yourself in the trouble of getting too much snow, but we were in that very predicament. Our sunshine was traded for thick clouds, wind, and copious amounts of pow. We were forced to hole up in the small but cozy hut for a day and try to wait out the storm. 42 games of Catch Phrase later, we found ourselves eating yet again. It seemed like we were doing more eating that actually riding, but after all, it was a luxury spring break trip, and we were enjoying the company as much as the snow.
With avalanche conditions at a dangerous level and rising by the hour, we made the decision to leave a day early, as most of the terrain we were looking to ski would be extremely risky to ski for at least another day or two with over 20 inches of heavy powder on top of a melt-freeze layer.
Sometimes ski trips end up not being about skiing, but about appreciating the people in your life that make trips like this one what they are. So many times we get caught up in chasing the next big dump of snow that we forget to stop and spend time with the people we love, and appreciate what really makes this sport fun. Powder never seems to fully satisfy, but loving friendships certainly do.
That was my Mr. Roger’s moment for you, but seriously, I’ll take cool people over pow any day. Check out the site for some more photos from the trip.
Unveiled
So the new site it officially online now, and I can exhale deeply now. The last month has been quite a process of trimming, refining, and re-designing. Working with Devan Flaherty, my graphic designer, was excellent, and we really fed off of each others ideas. Big shout out to Devan for his work on this site, he’s like a magician.
I hope you get a chance to spend some time on the new site, lots of new images and different changes, plus, what can I say, it’s just much more pleasing to the eye. Bigger photos, sleeker, cleaner navigation, with a splash of lime green. I’m stoked, and I hope you are too.
Welcome to my blog. I have to admit, this is the very first blog post I have ever made in my 26 years of life on this planet. Not feeling super bloggy right now either, especially after spending the past two evenings sizing, editing, and arranging photos for the new website you much have checked out in order to get to this blog. All that aside, here I am, rattling away at this keyboard, in a sorry attempt to get this site off the ground by week’s end.
The reason I wanted to do a blog is not so that I can share my deep introspective cosmic thoughts on life or anything like that, because no one would want to read that, including myself. I wanted to create a place where I could share photos, experiences, and more behind the scenes elements of what I do, and allow many of you who have asked about a lot of those details, an opportunity to get a glimpse of more of the whole picture. No pun intended.
So that’s that, I’d be thrilled if you subscribe to my RSS feed, so that way you are updated when I post new photos and stories and such.
More to come later, for now, I am turning the computer off before I go cross-eyed.
