Cross Country Skiing Forest Service Adventure

One of my presents for Christmas was an overnight adventure up Spanish Creek to stay in a Forest Service Cabin. On Saturday my wife and I loaded up our packs and cross country skied uphill 4 miles to the above cabin in the Gallatin Canyon. The weather was close to perfect and it got down to just below zero at night. Luckily an enormous wood burning stove was there to greet us as we found ourselves in shorts and a t-shirt after a few hours of burning wood. On our way down we saw a moose out in one of the many snow fields we passed through. One undiscovered treasure in this valley in my opinion are these Forest Service Cabins scattered throughout the surrounding mountains. If you are looking for a little adventure I highly recommend experiencing this type of expedition.

Super Bowl Sunday

A good friend of ours drove down last night for dinner and stayed the night so we could get up early and do some back country snowboarding. We woke up, had a big breakfast, then drove to Beehive Basin to begin our expedition. After hiking for about an hour or so in we found a nice un-touched face to hike up and ride down. We made two trips to the top and had fresh tracks all the way down the powder filled mountain side. As you can see from the pictures (taken on my phone) it was a beautiful blue bird day. After snowboarding out I had lunch, took a nap, then headed over to some friends house for the Super Bowl. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday! Congratulations to the New Orlean Saints!

Epic Day on the Slopes at Big Sky Resort

Yesterday Big Sky Resort "reported" 14 inches of new snow overnight. My wife and I woke up at 7am, fixed a big breakfast, and almost caught first chair. We immediately headed to Shedhorn lift for a few turns then went to Dakota. The storm came in from the south and blew feet of snow from the south bowl into the Dakota trees. It was some of the best and deepest tree turns I have ever experienced and it didn't stop snowing ALL DAY. This is why I live in a ski resort town. What an epic day on the slopes.

New On-Mountain Dining Option

The other day I was skiing and discovered the newest on mountain lunch spot at Big Sky Resort. The yurt is located near the Shedhorn (sheddy) lift on the south side of the mountain. Great place to grab a burger and some sunshine mid-slope.

Got Snow?

This was the scene after brushing off my wife's car this morning. We were hit with 14" of light powder in the past 24 hours which made for a great day of skiing. If you know the good spots there should be powder for another day or two. Cold and clear tonight......great evening for a big fire.

Happy New Year

Last night to bring in the new year we went to the Clubhouse at The Club at Spanish Peaks for an hour or two then headed over to a friends house to bring in the east coast and mountain standard time new year. When we walked into their home it started snowing and didn't stop until midnight. We woke up to several fresh inches of snow so it should be a great uncrowded day on the slopes. I wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2010.

Wildlife

Driving to Big Sky, Montana from Bozeman Montana you travel HWY 191 for about 25 miles. During this extremely scenic drive it isn't uncommon to see wildlife, rafters, fisherman, rock climbers, campers, hikers, and photographers. This photo was taken just after you turn right off of HWY 191 to HWY 64 heading up to Big Sky. It's always a good idea to drive a little slow after you turn on HWY 64 for about a mile as that is where these guys like to hang out. Merry Christmas tomorrow!