Sacajawea Peak, Bridger Mountains Montana

Super freekin' stoked....!!!!

I love being the mountains in Winter! 

It's so amazing what you can see out there. 

The majestic Bridger Mountains in Montana! 

For a relatively short mountain range 

the Bridgers are have sharp 

jagged peaks, long elegant ridge lined, and perfect powder snow! 

Skiing into the Mountains. Sacajawea on far right.

The surreal adventure of solo winter mountaineering. 

I froze my ass off a few times. 

Lost the use of my right hand for about an hour,

had to jump around in my big puffy down jacket

while setting up camp. 

Bridge Mountain Majesty. So beautiful in full winter gown.

Not sure if I bruised my big toe or if this is partially due to 

frostbite.

Had to question everything;

where to camp,

where to stash the bike,

how fast to move,

what layers to where,

am I too cold or can I keep going?

Ice climbing boots work well for winter bicycle riding!!!

Yes, keep moving.

When your almost there,

It feels like perfection.

"The Great One" on Naya Nuki.

All my fears and doubts were replaced by sheer joy on the ski up to the top 

of Sacajawea. 

The mountains are so peaceful, soft, and quite in winter. 

How much stuff can you fit on a BOB Trailer?

The 7 Summits of Bozeman

Project...

My goal is to climb and ski the highest peak in each of the 7 mountain ranges the surround Bozeman in the next 5 months. All 100% Human-Powered! This is a fund-raising climb-a-thon to raise money for our organic farming networks, (that include School presentations on fitness, farming, and a plant-based diet to support a better you and better community, and our BIKE TO FARM summer group rides). Pledge by the mile or vertical foot! Donate today! (find the donate button on the right and make a contribution to support Human-Powered Mountaineers Inc.)

Because food is the most important issue we face in the world today.  Buy local, support organic, and make a difference!

Old Rad Dog Rio

Rio "Old Dog" 1992-2006

Old Dog turned grey at two years.

He held an air of authority and intelligence beyond that of any dog.

My companion, gardian, and best friend.

Rio saved my life more times than I will ever know.

(And a few times that I do.)

We skied off hundreds of Peaks together, from Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, and Colorado.

Hitch-hiked thousands of miles in every type of weather possible.

And he never complained once.

Animal companions are a special part of our lives.

I keep this photo of Rio framed in my house

from one of our last adventures together,

rock climbing at Stone Hill near Eureka, MT.

Endorsed by The American Alpine Club

Get ready and buckle up! HPM Inc. is back with the help of Pat Clayton @ Fish Eye Guy Photography and the American Alpine Club. All proceeds will go to support our organic farming education network here in Gallatin County.

Immediately following the slide show we will turn the event into a social, by introducing our farmer friends from the summer's BIKE TO FARM project that Justene and I spearheaded, and we will be introducing all our friends and sponsors who are all apart of the holistic food & body work network here in Bozeman. This will be a great way for everyone to meet their farmers, yoga teachers, nutritionists, natural-path doctors, body workers, etc, etc, etc.  And all in a setting to drink a beer with them (?). Yep that's right. We are going to let it all hang out this year, (like we didn't do that last year...)

We are creating the future together. One peak, peddle stroke, and picture at a time. See you there!

p.s. The poster here is incomplete. Not all of our sponsors have reported in for duty. But as you can see this is going to be one awesome raffle. Everyone who buys a raffle ticket will at least be going home with a bag of swag. Everyone loves swag, and Bozeman is the king of swag.

Screaming Barfies

To many of us, ice climbing is church.

We come here to pray and get on our knees.

Our fate: The Screaming Barfies

If your not wailing out loud and dry heaving, it's not the 'screaming barfies'.
This man is getting the full value experience.

When your friend gets the 'screaming barfies' for the first time, the proper thing to do is humour him by laughing, pointing, and having a little boy come over to untie his knot.

By definition, the screaming barfies are when your hands warm up from frozen little icicles, to red hot pumping blood at 98.6º, so fast that the burning sensation drops you to your knees, and you start wailing and dry heaving at the same time. (As pictured above).

Now I hear a lot of people throwing around the term 'screaming barfies', which makes me happy because it means that ice climbing is finally out of the closet and we don't have to be shy and bashful anymore about the sport that we love more than anything else in the world that requires our most basic primal instincts. BUT,,, if your not screaming and barfing, you haven't experience the screaming barfies.

Where's Waldo?

Can you see the ice climber in this photo?

The first person to identify the location of this amphitheatre wins
free Yerba Mate, from Mate Factor.

Why do people love ice climbing so much?

Maybe because it's cold,

dangerous,

and absolutely beautiful!

big love's advice column

We recently got this Email from Ian Gibson:

Hi There,

Just want to say great website and very inspiring.  You have got some really important stuff on there.  I am also very interested in holistic health and healing, and also planning my own human powered mountaineering trip on Vancouver Island next summer.  I was wondering if I could ask for your advice about how you packed your climbing gear on the bicycle.  I Have a bob that I intend to use and my trip partner will probably rely on panniers.  We will be encountering mixed terrain with some glacier travel and some low grade belayed climbing.  We are both experienced at cycle touring and climbing, but have yet to combine the two.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Ian

Going to extremes can easily look like this...!!!!
Note the shock on the BOB Ibex Trailer. Very nice ride...!!!!

Hi Ian,

Glad to help and share the adventure with you. I absolutely love bicycle touring and fell into almost by accident. If you have a BOB Trailer your stoked. In the past I've done everything from 3 day trips to 18 months, and the BOB (Trailer) has carried all of my gear without a single problem or complaint. Usually I put all the heavy climbing gear and ropes in the bottom of the dry bag, if you have one of those yellow dry bags that come with BOB. This keeps my rope and gear dry and I don't have to move the stuff around at all when I'm on the cycling leg of the trip. I also put my climbing gear and hardware in a stuff sack so that it's not lose in the bottom of the dry bag. Then depending on how much stuff you have with you, (I usually have more than enough) I put most of the light clothing, sleeping pad, food for the day, and other odds and ends in my back pack and strap that onto the out side of the trailer on top of the dry bag. I've done this with multiple size loads, everything from large backpacks with skis strapped to them, and smaller packs too.Please take pictures and we'd be stoked to hear about your adventure. I spent a month on Salt Spring Island (Gulf Islands between Vancouver and Vancouver Island) in 2010 at the Salt Spring Centre of Yoga, and then from there took the ferry over to Vancouver Island and rode north to Nanaimo, then back on the ferry over to Horseshoe Bay, and rode up to Squamish (world class rock climbing destination) and spent a month there climbing rocks with friends. Awesome ride on the Island. Love'd the places I camped and the being on the coast. Have fun and try to get your buddy a BOB Trailer....!!!!!

big love,

Christopher

big love

Ice Climbers On High

A cold day in Hyalite started out the ice climbing season for me this year. This was Jimbo's first day on the ice, and I have never seen anyone as excited as Jimbo to try the sport of icicle climbing. He was so excited he almost lost his lunch before the start of the route...  John Meyer in yellow, Jimbo Whelan in green. 

Good cold fun!

Ready to take that first step on the ice,  just not sure how big...

Twin Falls in great shape! Nov. 10th, 2012

Beautiful cauliflower formations on G1.
Fun lead, now TR.

Who says cowboys don't like rap?
That's me; rapping like a cowboy!

Still Growing Up...

Chris Bangs circa 1976

The Empowerment of Local Organic Food

By Chris Bangs

Growing up on a small organic farm in Missoula Montana is one of the luckiest things I can imagine in the United States. So sure I was born lucky, but does that make living in this country at this time any easier for me that it does for you? 

The answer is no. No it’s not an easy time to be living in this country. We are currently smack dab in the middle of political, international, and personal chaos. Heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are at epidemic proportions, and the system is as foul and corrupt as ever. In fact the system right now is in the business of keeping people sick, scared, and un-empowered.

So what do we do that can make a difference, and what did I do to start a peaceful revolution in my own life?  The answer boiled down to something on two wheels that could promote and raise money for local organic farming across the country. 

The birth of Human-Powered Mountaineers Inc. was born. It was my way to take everything I have done in my life, (organic gardening, cycling, skiing, rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering, and talking to the trees) and combine it into one huge project to shake up the world that I live in. 

Being a human-powered mountaineer is far from easy. It’s intense, dangerous, and at times; just plain brutal. But look at the world around us. Is anything easy anymore? Sure all the ease and convenience around us is nice, but is it really helping us out and securing a future for our kids and generations to come?

Once again, the answer is no. No we are not securing a future for our kids, and yes this is a tough thing to stomach. So what do we do about it? What do we do when we feel helpless to change the system? We start gardening, buying local organic food, join a co-op, (or start one in your town if there is not one there), work on a community garden, and ride your bike as much as possible.

For me, food is the central issue in our lives. Food, air, and water are the three most basic needs for survival. Yet food is up to us. How it’s cultivated, prepared, cared for and eaten. Air and water already exists, but it is food that effect the rest. How we prepare and grow food (or the choice we make when we buy food; organic vs. non organic) effects the quality of the air we breath and quality of the water we drink. Supporting Local Organic Food in my opinion is the single most import thing you can do to empower yourself, your community, and undermine the big bad system that most of us feel helpless against. 

In my experience over the last 10 years of going on self supported mountaineering expeditions. The most important thing that I have learned to keep myself feeling healthy, strong, and motivated; is paying attention to the foods that I eat. And make no mistake about it; I learned the hard way, and I have suffered what I call a food crash many times before I really figured it out. 

I wasn’t always an extreme athlete, living on an organic plant-based diet. But my travels and adventures taught me so much about the importance of sustained nutrition; especially on a 4 month long human-powered endurance challenge. Where in 2011 my wife and I rode our bicycles from Bozeman Montana all the way to the world famous Bugaboo Mountains of British Columbia. What made this trip so amazing wasn’t the 15 technical rock climbing routes that we completed. It was the organic farms that we stopped at each day to buy our food. We were shopping with a machete, outside in the fields, and supporting local organic farmers, (and making some great friends along the way). So be an empowered human, and support local organic food as much as you can. 

Chris Bangs is the owner of Human-Powered Mountaineers Inc.. He holds a Ph.D. in Ski Bumming from The State of Alaska, and earned his Masters Degree in Dirt Bag Rock Climbing from the Hidden Valley Institute in Joshua Tree California. He now lives in Bozeman Montana.

Christopher and Melissa; at home in Missoula 1976