1st Mini Max Cook at 9,094 feet

stemc33

1st Mini Max cook today at 9,094 feet above sea level in the Bighorns. Decided to go with a summertime favorite. Firebox loaded with Ozark Oak. Egg fired up a few minutes before 5 o'clock. Caught the temp on the way up but it kept climbing as I kept closing the bottom vent. No DFMT.

Temperature finally quit climbing and stabilized at 410° when the bottom vent was less than a 1/4".

This is going to be a great cooker.

Temperature at home was a sweltering 80°. Temperature on the mountain was in the 60's with a light breeze and dropped to mid 40's by the time we left.  Couldn't ask for a better day.. Here's today's pics. 

Legume

Damn that view.  Beautiful.

nolaegghead

Awesome!

cazzy

Nooooiiiiiiiiiiicccce!

Spaightlabs

Beautiful country.  Looks like a fella might be able to bump into an elk or 2 up there.

johnmitchell

Truly stunning... Great pics and love the mutts...

THEBuckeye

Love the pups!

Nola is probably a cat person.

tarheelmatt

Wow... I'm jelly. 

mgd_egg

Beautiful shots!

NPHuskerFL

Outstanding MM maiden voyage! Beauty of a view in the foothills. 
"Temperature at home was a sweltering 80°. Temperature on the mountain was in the 60's with a light breeze and dropped to mid 40's by the time we left." Yep I'm jelly  

theyolksonyou

Beautiful. I read a lot of C J Box books based in the Bighorns. Thanks for letting me see them for real. 

DoubleEgger

Sweltering at 80 degrees?  On behalf on everyone in the South, you've got to be kidding me! 

DinnerIsComing

@DoubleEgger I know! My Florida blood is screaming "Ooo, 80? It's a gorgeous day outside!"

ETA: Great pictures by the way!  

Grillin_beers

It was 98 in the upstate yesterday, over 100 with the heat index.  I would kill for a sweltering 80 degrees. 

DoubleEgger

No end in sight! The humidity is the icing on the cake. 

stemc33

Thanks all. 

@Spaightlabs, There's elk. Popular hunting area and we often bump into a moose or two when we go up. 

@johnmitchell and @THEBuckeye, although we have plenty of space at the house, the dogs truly love running and exploring up in the mountains. Usually we park where a few snow patches are left and the dogs immediately run to roll and wrestle in it. Not much snow left in that spot this year. Lots of run off from the crazy weather. The ground is saturated in the Powder River Basin. 

@NPHuskerFL, not sure if your being facetious about the foothills, but 9,000 feet is up there. There's areas to get good pics of the foothills below, but it was too hazy below to get good pics. I knew when I mentioned sweltering, the people in the South would chuckle. It's a matter of perspective. Believe me, I remember the sweltering heat of the South. 

At the @theyolksonyou, I'm not familiar with the author CJ Box, the writer Craig Johnson of the Longmire series lives about 25 or 30 miles from me in Ucross. It's a town of about 30 people. I'm not familiar with the books, but my understanding is that the stories are based on the surrounding area. They have Longmire days in Buffalo, WY in July and many of the actors come to celebrate with the town. 

stemc33

@DoubleEgger, I get it, it's been along time since I've been down that way but I remember it. Doing PT and road marches sucked down there. I never in my life seen a heat stroke until I went to GA. 

Eggcelsior

DoubleEgger said:

Sweltering at 80 degrees?  On behalf on everyone in the South, you've got to be kidding me! 

It's even more funny when southerners **** and moan about temps below 40.

DinnerIsComing

@Eggcelsior in Florida you can always tell who's local and who's a tourist in the winter. 40 degrees out, locals are bundled up like it's the Arctic tundra while tourists are shorts, sandals and sleeveless t-shirts. LOL

YEMTrey

Those pics are absolutely beautiful.  Thanks for sharing.

RAC

Awesome!

bluebird66

Beautiful photos!

Mickey

The view & cook are outstanding. Please remove the clip on your thermometer before you bend the shaft. Suggest you pull it off and toss over the side of closest mountain. 
4 Eggs and no clips. 

QingEsq

Great pics.  

For my nerdy curiousity, does the cook change much at that elevation?  For example, do you keep vents open wider due to thinner air? Does lower boiling point affect the temp at which fat renders and collagen breaks down? 

stemc33

@Mickey. I know..I Know..I've hit food on my large with the thermo. I just can't part with the clip. It drives me crazy not having it in a fixed position. I've seen post on clips and also how people turn the thermo so the desired temp is on top. Just can't do it. I'll probably have no choice on the MM. Not much room in there. Thanks for looking out. 

stemc33

QingEsq said:

Great pics.  

For my nerdy curiousity, does the cook change much at that elevation?  For example, do you keep vents open wider due to thinner air? Does lower boiling point affect the temp at which fat renders and collagen breaks down? 

I'm not sure, but I don't think so for vents. Tonight's vent setting was a little more open, but I had bricks in it that probably impeded airflow. I live at about 4500 ft. and water boils at about 200° according to the ThermoPop. I  use the same as whatever the recipe calls for at the house.  Below is a pic of the thermo with the vent setting without DFMT on the mountain yesterday. I made small adjustments as the temp came up. I thought it was just going to keep climbing, but it finally settled in. I'm glad too because I left my DFMT at home after reading posts from @Mickey and @NPHuskerFL. 

I wish I could answer your questions, but I really never cooked much until I got the egg. Nothing to compare too. Usually eat cold food on the mountain. 

SGH

Great looking grub and breath taking photos brother stem. 

stemc33

SGH said:

Great looking grub and breath taking photos brother stem. 

Thanks. I think I'm really going to like the MM

YukonRon

I am a major outdoor enthusiast, and the primary reason why I bought my MM is to do EXACTLY as you have done. I freaking love the shots you have posted, I thank you for sharing. I have summited all 53 of the Colorado 14ers, (14000 ft plus in elevation just in case somebody reading this did not know) and many of the summits in the Alps, including Mt Blanc.
I will tell you this, no mountains anywhere are as beautiful as we have here, and no area is as beautiful as the mountain NW. Wyoming has got to be one of the most beautiful aces on earth.
You are a very fortunate man in many ways.

stemc33

Thank You @YukonRon. Congrats on the climbs. That's quite the accomplishment many times over. I realize I'm fortunate to live in this great place. I lived and traveled to many places when I was in the Army and couldn't be happier that I settled here. 

NPHuskerFL

@stemc33 definitely facetious