There I was caught in a kawnumdrum. Freshly back to the States from Chamonix and way too long summer: all of a sudden skiing was upon us. Try as I might to ignore the voices, I could hear the mountains kaw kaw calling and with a look towards the mountains and the darkening sky, I knew it was pounding up there.
photo @jasonhummel
Bird, I told myself, talking out loud of course, “It wouldnt be long until the highway closed for the winter and our access would be cut off.” Fortunately, we have skier friends in many walks of life, and one just happened to be the DOT (department of transportation) mountain highway safety guy for Washington State.
photo @jasonhummel
Harlen, Harlen come in brother man. On the second ring, there he was, a warm voice on the other end of the line. «Dude,» he said, « it truly is a one-day window. We are forecasted to get another 9-15 inches today and then it’s partly sunny tomorrow with it warming up the day after. The Avie paths are sure to go so we are gonna close the road. Wednesday is your day » he said, « but give yourself a margin, by six o’clock we drop the gate so make sure you’re outa there before dark! »
photo @jasonhummel
Well fawk, that made it pretty clear. It was most likely gonna be good and without question, I had to be there.
I thought to myself, damn this would be a day to document, November 10 with big potential, and if there was any brother with camera skills that could pull it off it would be mountain friend Jason Hummel, Washington’s renowned ski adventure photographer and writer. Little did I know that he literally just got back from being out for a month-long solo desert mission and had barely started to unpack his bags.
photo @jasonhummel
Well, true to his reputation, it didn’t take long for Hummel to switch gears. Throwing his motorcycle stuff to the side and packing up his ski shit he was ready to go, and would be leaving at 3 am to meet me up there. That’s why we call him the real «Humdinger” cuz just like that, at the drop of a hat, Jason’s ready to dive into the mountains and you never know just how far he’s willing to go to capture the essence of the trip.
photo @jasonhummel
What do you guys think, did we get the universal blessing or what? Thanks be to Kaw. It’s a La Nina winter here in Washington, and I don’t wanna jinx it, but hopefully, these turns are an indication for an unbirdleavable season to come.
photo @jasonhummel
Tarred and feathered
You guys might have noticed a difference in Bird’s attire? What do you think of the new feathers? Michael Bird Shaffer from beak to talon finally going full crow.
Being a blackcrows ambassador from the get-go, I’ve watched the crow outerwear development from the beginning and knew when the chance arrived I would be fully feathered.
In the past few seasons, there have been huge strides by blackcrows with their outerwear technical development and as usual, it’s some of the most stylish gear out there. With everything made in Europe, and opening opportunities down the road it’s time to go full wingspan as a full crow.
photo @jasonhummel
About the photographer
Jason Hummel Washington state native has done more adventure skiing in the mountains of Washington State than anybody else I know. We’ve nicknamed him humdinger because usually when you plan a trip with him it’s going to be far out there, probably remote and really wild. His photos are worth checking on jasonhummel.com
