June 9, 2015, Beartooth Pass, WY Ski and Actors

We have a 20' Roadtrek van that we use to chase snow (and go on other adventures). There was a Roadtrek users get-together at a National Forest Service campground near Red Lodge, MT. There were 40-50 Roadtrek users plus 6 factory reps from Ontario, Canada. We stopped by for a day to meet other RT owners and talk to the reps.  Needless to say there were NO other skiers in the group; they were primarily photographers. We only planned for 1 day, but it became an extra day when the factory reps saw our 15 year old van and heard what we do with it. Our campsite was at 7500', and we drove to Beartooth Pass at 10,950' in WY so that we could ski in WY and MT.  We climbed 2 different exposures: our first was in WY and had a south exposure and it was typical mush. We then drove back into MT and skied a north exposure which was wonderful. We climbed to 11,000' just to say we did it €“ numerous tourists driving by took our pictures.  Guess it's a novelty to see people skiing in June! We saw 3 different couloirs that had been skied within the last few days. Our steep, narrow couloir days are past, but there were 3 skiers climbing back up one of the couloirs to the road.

Now for the fun (and unexpected) part of the visit.  The model of  our Roadtrerk was only built for 5 years, but they were amazed that we are carrying 4 pairs of skis (alpine & backcountry), 4 pairs of boots (downhill and backcountry), plus climbing packs, hiking boots, and other stuff. They wanted to have their profesional team do a photo-shoot, taking  numerous photos of the van €“ inside and out, our gear, sitting around talking & eating, etc. Our 20' van is perfect for  carrying all kinds of gear because of all of the extra storage space €“ much more than any of the newer vans. Seeing that I was a marketing guy and speaker, they taped an interview with Jill and me.  The whole process started at 11am and finished at 1:30 pm.  You never plan for a day like this, but it is fun to work with a professional.  They will get a 3 minute marketing movie of some old skiers in their Roadtrek sharing some of their memories.  ;)