I’ve always enjoyed backcountry skiing, but venturing into the woods off trail can be challenging on regular x-country gear. This year I invested in AT gear. This is the type of gear that many of the extreme skiers use to skin up mountain summits in order to have that perfect powder run. Now this is in no way one of my ambitions, but the new lightweight gear available is perfect for backcountry exploring. The wide bottom shorter skis make traversing through mtn trails much easier, and the fish scale bottoms allow for climbing most grades without the use of skins. Skins can still be utilized for those steeper accents.

It was such a beautiful day to be skiing in the backcountry!

Another route up to Tranquil Basin is directly up the drainage from the lake.  In my youth a good friend and I would make a yearly backpack trip up to Tranquil using this route. Unfortunately it’s been 40 years since those days and my recollection of the route was pretty faint. 

Still this was a great backcountry excursion. The area had received about 1′ of new snow a couple days earlier.

If your more partial to skiing groomed trails or trips around the local golf course, then this type of gear may not be best suited for you. But if you like getting off the beaten path and experiencing the backcountry, check this AT (alpine touring) gear out. It will definitely be worth the investment.

In every community there are those people that are considered the pillars. You know the kind of people I’m talking about, they are active in community organizations, they are always willing to donate time and labor for community events, the type of people that others will look to for help when there are difficult jobs or maybe severe weather events, they are the people that will postpone their own duties to go assist a neighbor. In our little community of Churchs Ferry we had a handful of those folks and my Uncle Arden was one.

Arden was a family farmer that got started on his uncle Petes farm when he was in high school back in the 40’s. He was one of those old school farmers that didn’t believe in taking short cuts or the easy way. If the job was difficult, then you were probably doing it right. Always seen in his bib overalls, he epitomized the farmer of that era.

In addition to grain farming Arden raised feeder cattle and had a small cow/calf operation. The feeder cattle were always his favorite. He routinely grew them to big oversized steers in excess of 2000 lbs. The buyers of these heavy weights would discount the price per lbs, but he didn’t care. He just enjoyed raising big steers.

He also enjoyed nice machinery to operate his farm. In a time when everyone was very conservative with expenses, Arden would still be upgrading and purchasing newer modern equipment. As a hard working bachelor he was prosperous and could afford it.

Growing up, I visited Arden usually a couple times a year with my parents, and in the fall of 1981 went to work for him full time. I was getting married at the time and he welcomed us into his world with open arms. I was super excited for the opportunity he was offering. “Work for me for a period of time and when I retire you can take over”. Well, I worked for Arden and after a few years he allowed me to purchase and run cows with his herd, both the cow/calf and feeder cattle operations. I was then able to rent a couple quarters of land and operate this with just renting some of his equipment. In 1994 I ceased full time employment with Arden and we operated our own acres separately, but always working side by side together. I had acquired machinery of my own and we shared expenses. Arden retired from the grain side of farming in 2001 at the age of 72, but he kept raising his prized feeder cattle until the flood waters of Devils Lake forced him to quit at the age of 81.

Arden operating combine at 80 yrs old

Arden was a bachelor until the age of 58. Sylvia , a neighbor who had been previously widowed, and he got together and were married in 1987. They were perfectly suited for each other. She doted on him and vice versa. This union changed Arden’s priorities in life and he finally started to enjoy some relaxation time. These two frequently traveled visiting friends and family or just getaway vacations. Those of us that knew Arden were thrilled that he had found someone to enjoy the rest of his days with. Then in 2013 Sylvia was tragically taken away from him. She had complications from a heart surgery that ended up taking her life. He was devistated. Sylvia had meant the world to him and they shared 26 years together. At 84 years of age losing someone you depend on for so much was very difficult.

Wedding Day

With the help of Arden’s nieces, he was able to remain at home and function fairly well for quite a few years until failing health required him to become a nursing home resident in 2019 at the age of 90. He adapted well to nursing home life and the activities that were made available to him. Sadly he left us on February10, 2020 at the age of 91.Ardens 91st birthday party

I will be forever grateful to this man. He taught me so much and was very patient with my learning curve when I started farming. I learned from him to persevere through the many unpleasant sides of the farm business. He gave me the opportunity to build a profitable farm business that my son will expand upon. From our beginning we meshed well and seldom had disagreements. I so enjoyed his coffee visits with reminiscing of past times and will greatly miss that fellowship. I had the fortune of being with him at the time of his passing and hope that somewhere in his sleep he knew I was there.

Now he has gone to be with God and his beloved Sylvia. I do hope there is a feed lot full of steers in heaven.