Sam Matthews

This photo is not pretty to all of you in anyway possible. It's a blurry photo of my brother and I stuck in our tent during a snowstorm, but it means so much to me and it's real. We were camped at 11000' with a blizzard going on outside and  I remember having trouble taking this because my fingers were so cold, I could hardly find the shutter button, and the camera was half frozen. Little things like this photo make me realize why I take photos and try to capture life around me. It's not always pretty and it's not always comfortable, but that's just life. Also, I just miss brother @bentommat #film

A few film moments from this winter. @samjmatthews on Instagram

#summerdayvibes @samjmatthews on Instagram

@samjmatthews on Instagram

@samjmatthews on Instagram

Got a car so we headed north.

Windy days up in the alpine.

Mars. See and read more here: http://vsco.co/samjmatthews/journal/mars

An afternoon in the Poudre Canyon.

Backcountry days VII // After a long day of climbing and route finding, we finally made it back to base camp just as the sun was setting. We had great weather with blue bird skies all day long, but as soon as we got back to camp the wind tremendously picked up and the temperature dropped. As the sun got lower and lower, we hurried to tear down camp, load up the sled and get back to the car before dark. Good times up in the high country.

Backcountry days VI // On our route down, the snow pack got worse and worse. We felt the need to traverse across the main couloir to get away from the rock wall that might possibly have loose rock due to the warming temps. We were able to cross the couloir with no incidents and worked on making our way down to basecamp.

Backcountry days V // Trying to find the best route to down climb with the best snow pack was a challenge since the temps were warming as the day progressed. @samjmatthews on Instagram

Simplicity at it’s finest. 

@samjmatthews on Instagram 

Backcountry days IV // We reached the top of the climb after a few hours on route, inhaled some cold pizza, and then made our way to the summit.

Backcountry days III // As we climbed up through the smallest section of the couloir, everything was going as planned and we were all stoked to be up in the mountains on this perfect bluebird day. But the snowpack worried us a bit as the day became warmer.

Backcountry days II // After climbing up a couple hundred feet from the base, we were forced to stop and rope up before our four man team climbed higher. As the incline got steeper and steeper we were in more of a risk for avalanche because of the warming temps throughout the day.

Backcountry days I // As soon as I arrived to camp (via snowmobile) just after the sun came up over the horizon, I was greeted with a handshake and hot cup of tea to warm my insides before we started our day. Our goal was to climb this perfect couloir in the Medicine Bow mountain range and make it back down to camp before dark.