Shifting Seasons

As March brought around a global shift with the stay-at-home orders associated with the arrival of COVID-19 , most of our lives changed significantly. And, the end of my winter guiding brought some time to reflect on what was a great season on many levels. Though all my spring trips and work were canceled, I was able to pursue some beautiful days in the mountains working on other projects and spending more time with friends in our ranch quarantine circle.

It was very rewarding to see my friends and clients rise to significant challenges this season. One of my favorite days was taking a group of 3 women from my weekly “momforce” group to ski a classic steep couloir in the Tetons. One step at a time and one turn at a time, each woman rose to the occasion and finished the day as a stronger person than when she had started.

Since my guide trips to Norway with Ice Axe Expeditions were canceled, I found April and May shifting into a different focus. This spring, a small group of us, with careful social distancing standards in play, worked on a film project — gathering ski footage in particular — for a short film to be produced and released this fall. Outside of some personal, conservative ski time, my family and quarantine circle have been working hard on the ranch.

We are getting things cleaned up with all of our outbuildings, fencing, etc, and training some of the newer, younger horses for our pack trip season ahead –

www.pendergraftoutfitters.com.

While the future is uncertain, we will make the best of our time in the hills with our guests (hopefully) and/or without. And, I am looking forward to this spring and summer with my family on horseback, on foot, and on the rock.