Ryan Krueger

Maxey Cabin

2012-01-30T20:23:00.000-08:00

Bell Lake Yurt

2011-12-13T20:58:00.000-08:00

A couple from Bell Lake Yurt in the Tobacco Root Mountains with Montana Backcountry Adventures.

It Begins

2011-11-06T16:19:00.001-08:00

Steve Lowry couloir skiing in the Bridger Range today.

Bridgers

2011-11-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

James Binkley skiing the Bridger Range in the November 2011 issue of Backcountry Magazine

Adventure Magazine (NZ)

2011-10-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

Main Salmon

2011-09-19T18:02:00.001-07:00

Lewis and Clark

2011-08-31T17:00:00.001-07:00

Lewis and Clark Caverns trails along the Jefferson River.

August

2011-08-31T16:55:00.000-07:00

Figure eights are better in August... searching for turns somewhere in Montana.

Trail Running - Blackmore

2011-08-04T13:19:00.001-07:00

King and Queen

2011-07-31T22:10:00.000-07:00

Tobacco Roots - Hollowtop

2011-07-31T22:03:00.000-07:00

Bangtail Divide

2011-07-23T21:38:00.000-07:00

An absolutely perfect day for a nice long ride on the Bangtail Divide Trail.

Yellowstone

2011-06-27T22:41:00.000-07:00

Sawtooths

2011-05-02T17:38:00.000-07:00

Just got back from four days skiing in the Sawtooths with Aaron Teasdale. We were able to get into some pretty unique lines throughout the trip and even do a little relaxing around the yurt. Thanks to Kirk, Mike and Clark at Sawtooth Mountain Guides for showing us around their playground. Those guys have an incredibly solid operation and I will be back for sure.

Late Season

2011-04-19T15:25:00.001-07:00

Brief bouts of sunshine have us carrying on like winter is long gone. Only to bring us right back again. Trail runs, bike rides and sunny porches turn to grey skies and white trees. Springtime in any mountain town is sure to produce variable weather conditions and it is no different here in Bozeman. Here is Steve Lowry enjoying the snow this April on the ridge at Bridger Bowl.

Japan: Part 3

2011-03-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

The time that we have spent in Japan has come full circle in our short two weeks. From mediocre snow storms to sunny days and bad conditions right back to where we had hoped to be, with grey skies and deep snow. A land that is as diverse as it is remarkable, there really isn’t anything that I could say that would do justice to it. The food is amazing, the skiing is top notch, and the overall experience is unmatched.

We came here with the intention of skiing. Of exploring and exposing this place for one of the things that they have an abundance of. Snow. The northern island of Hokkaido is rife with terrain and given the right period of time and storm cycle, you would be hard pressed to have a bad time in Japan. I take that back. In any snow conditions it would be difficult not to have the time of your life. And our experience can attest to that. A thousand thank you's would never be enough to show my appreciation so I will simply say arigato gozaimasu. It’s been real.

Japan: Part 2

2011-03-18T05:25:00.000-07:00

It’s hard to imagine the chaos taking place hundreds of miles to the south. Even on this tiny island, the repercussions of the disaster, which have been devastating for much of the country, do not exist where we are. The earthquake, eventual tsunami, and impending nuclear meltdown seem like some kind of movie seen from afar. But really, not that far at all. Strangely, life where we are carries on as normal. The lifts still run, the tourists still smile, and the beer still flows while we watch and wait, hoping that the situation does not get any worse for the people of Japan.

Each morning, as we step into our skis, the fears of what’s to come are momentarily forgotten and we remember why we are here, the skiing. Warm, clear weather has given us the opportunity to explore the area and get a better understanding of the terrain, while the occasional snowstorm has given us a taste of the amazing snow that this island is capable of producing. A quick tour off the backside of Grand Hirafu resort left us above treeline, on top of Mount Iwaonupuri with blue skies and the ocean looming in the background. This is the Japan we were looking for.

Going into the last leg of our journey, with five more days left to ski it is hard to tell what Ullr will bring our way. One thing is for certain, it will be an adventure every step of the way. This unique place really is everything we had imagined. For the past week, the skiing and culture we’ve experienced have surely made a mark on us.

Japan: Part 1

2011-03-11T01:00:00.000-08:00

The snow continues to fall and gather, the road gets whiter, the snowbanks get taller and the mountains get larger. As we travel away from the bustling city of Sapporo, past the cold winter coastline and through one small Japanese town after the next, we roll along the highway getting closer to our final destination. It’s springtime in Japan and the weather could have gone any way, but luckily for us, it went deep. The Japan that we have been anticipating is no longer an image in our minds but a scene right in front of us.

Three days prior, we were boarding a plane in Bozeman. Still unsure of whether or not we would actually make it out of the country. After a volcano foiled our plans the previous season we had developed a serious skepticism that planes actually take off from one place and land in their planned location. 21 Hours, countless free airline cocktails, and hours of c-list in-flight movies later, we arrive in Sapporo, in another world.

Any average traveler would now be officially at a loss of what to do next, luckily for us we had master train navigator Steve Lowry with us to pave a path to the hotel. After gathering hundreds of pounds of gear from the carousel and putting the monopoly money into the cryptic symbol box we took the escalator underground where we awkwardly and noisily clunked our way onto and off of a number of trains, through many moments of confusion before finally arriving at the Susukino Station. As we slowly made our way up one final set of stairs to the ground level we couldn’t help but wonder if this was actually it, had we actually made it? Was it that “easy”?

All at once engulfed in the neon filled streets of Downtown Sapporo, we were three dumfounded foreigners, map in hand, hauling way to much gear through a thriving downtown area. People passed by the hundreds as we stood there like a strainer in a river with our mountain of gear. Trying to plan our next move we look up and to our surprise, there is our hotel. Less than a block away, lost among the bright billboards that littered every facet of the gigantic buildings surrounding us on all sides.

Now, we are at our final destination of Niseko after leaving Sapporo where we had spent the last day exploring the city and the culture surrounding. In an all at once, happy, helpful and sometimes distant and unwelcoming city we were three individuals who simply did not fit in among a largely unicultural society. And we didn’t really mind.

For the next two weeks we have only to consider skiing, something we always hope and plan for, but for today that time has arrived and although we have yet to click into a binding in this country, confidence in our time here is high and the smiles have never been bigger.

As I write these words from my room in Niseko, the lodge has begun to shake. The jackets swing on the hangers and the bed moves left to right. We gather in the hall, contemplating an exit but the tremor subsides and we retreat back to the room. Only for it to come back again and again throughout the afternoon. Unaware of the specific magnitude of the quake at the time, only hours later did we realize what had happened. From our safe perch in the mountains of Hokkaido we felt merely a fraction of the actual quake and its aftermath. Something we can definitely be thankful for.

Published - Stokelab

2011-03-02T14:22:00.001-08:00

Published - Ski Canada

2011-02-23T13:44:00.000-08:00

Two page spread in the most recent issue of Ski Canada Magazine.

Published - Mountain Outlaw

2011-01-26T18:05:00.000-08:00

Published - Mountain Khakis

2011-01-26T17:52:00.000-08:00

A full page ad that ran for Mountain Khakis in a number of magazines including Overland Journal and Western Arts & Architecture.

Published - Outside Bozeman

2010-12-31T16:07:00.001-08:00

Just a couple examples of my work featured in the Winter issue of Outside Bozeman Magazine. Go pick up a copy to check out some more.

Portraiture - Mystery Ranch

2010-12-02T16:37:00.001-08:00

This is a portrait I did with legendary pack designer Dana Gleason of Mystery Ranch Backpacks for an article in Outside Bozeman Magazine.

Create

2010-11-01T11:16:00.003-07:00

I hear it all the time from photographers and creatives. The importance of creating new work on a regular basis. A constant flow of ideas both good and bad just as long as you remain active in creating. The value of such actions becomes evident when it comes time to produce something and the pressure is on. Here are some images I have made recently in that pursuit.

Published - Westcomb

2010-10-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple examples of my work on the new Westcomb Outerwear website. This project has been in the works for a good part of the past year and it's great to finally see it live. Flip through and check out some of my photography and look for more additions to the website in the future.

www.westcomb.com

Published - Backcountry Magazine

2010-08-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

One of my photos published in the September 2010 issue. This photo was taken in Alaska earlier this year with the help of a couple friends lighting the tent from the inside. Look for it on shelves at the end of the month.

Winds

2010-08-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

Located at the headwaters of the Green River is the Wind River Range. A short hike past the Green River Lakes and Squaretop Mountain put us at Slide Lake for a few days of backpacking. This range has no shortage of alpine lakes and peaks to explore and I will certainly be back for more.

Wisconsin

2010-08-11T14:38:00.001-07:00

Home to Wisconsin for a few days. I managed to get a day of riding in at Rock Lake on the CAMBA trails and take a hike up to Morgan Falls and St. Peters Dome. It just would not have been summer without some time on the lake and in the northwoods.

Chestnut Mountain

2010-07-27T11:06:00.001-07:00

Last week I headed out to the new Chestnut Mountain trail with Ted Lange from the GVLT. They've been working on this project for a long time and it's great to finally see it all come together for them. The new trail is just 10 minutes east of Bozeman and should be ready to go sometime in August.

The Great One

2010-07-14T13:20:00.001-07:00

There's something about skiing in the summer that is so rewarding. Like it shouldn't be possible but somehow we still get away with it. On Monday, I met up with Mike England and Drew Pogge and headed out into the Bridger Range for one of Bozeman's classic ski lines. "The Great One" is unique in that it holds snow much longer than other lines in the area and allows us to ski well into the summer. We took our time on the approach, enjoying the warm, sunny day and the lush, green landscape surrounding us. The couloir itself was perfect for skiing and after descending the 1500' vertical to the forest below, we packed up and hiked back to Fairy Lake where we took a swim in the frigid water and had a quick session on the rope swing.

You can check out a video from the day at Backcountry Magazine.

Full Moon at Half Moon

2010-06-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

After flailing down the Yellowstone last weekend, I headed to Half Moon in the Crazy Mountain Range to camp out with friends and watch some of them run Big Timber Creek. There was sunshine, some carnage, and a run in with the law. All in all, not a bad time.

Fairweather Expedition

2010-05-31T12:18:00.000-07:00

We are not in control. I come to this realization on the deck of a ferry bound for Haines, Alaska exactly one week into a trip diverted here by a natural disaster. It had been two years since I told myself I would be back and now, as I slip in and out of sleep in the mid morning sun I almost feel as though this was the plan all along.

Our destination is the Fairweather Range in Southeast Alaska. Located in Glacier Bay National Park. Paul, our pilot, tells us of a place where few people go, and even less with the intention of skiing. On the border of the Grand Pacific and Grand Plateau Glaciers Paul puts his Bush Hawk down in the snow and drops us off. Here, we set up camp with everything we will need. Basing our exploration from this area, for over 3 weeks we spend our time climbing and skiing whatever we want.

Many thanks to the great brands that supported our expedition. Without them, this kind of thing would not be possible. Mountain Khakis, Smith Optics, Mystery Ranch Backpacks, Hilleberg Tents, Pacific Outdoor Equipment and Westcomb Outerwear.

More photos from the expedition can be viewed online at www.ryankruegerphotography.com

Downing Mountain Lodge

2010-04-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

I recently took a trip with Outside Bozeman Magazine to Downing Mountain Lodge in the Bitterroot Range. While there is some amazing terrain in the area we were unable to ski the majority of it due to poor stability. I can't wait to make it back there in the future. The lodge itself is amazing as well. Not a bad place at all to spend a weather day. Look for the article in print sometime next year.

Published - Packrafting

2010-03-31T15:41:00.001-07:00

An article published in Outside Bozeman from a packrafting trip I went on last Summer with Backpacking Light.

Crested Butte

2010-03-05T19:31:00.000-08:00

From a recent trip through Colorado. This was one of the few spots we were able to set up on during our time there.

Published - Mountain Sports + Living

2010-03-03T23:28:00.001-08:00

One of a couple of full page images in the Winter issue of Mountain Sports + Living Magazine this season.

Published - Hans Saari Memorial Fund

2010-03-03T23:24:00.000-08:00

The Hans Saari Memorial Fund, based right here in Bozeman, Montana offers grants and scholarships to those seeking funding for ski exploration and education. I was fortunate enough to receive one of their scholarships back in 2008 and they have featured some of my images from that expedition on their website.

Published - Skiing the burn

2010-03-03T21:51:00.000-08:00

This is a feature article I did for the Winter 09-10 issue of Outside Bozeman Magazine.

Published - Outside Online

2010-03-03T21:26:00.000-08:00

This was taken last spring in Fruita, Colorado. Published with a great article about mountain biking on wilderness land.

Along the way

2010-03-03T21:08:00.000-08:00