Believe it or not, January has been a wonderful month for backcountry skiing. The 4 Month Program has been in full swing, with multiple touring days in Grand Teton National Park, as well as just having completed our annual hut trip to Downing Mountain Lodge in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana. We also have a lot of energy heading into February after our first Mini Mountaineers practice at the end of January.

Ski Touring – GTNP

Needless to say, it has not felt like a normal January in the Tetons. The ski resorts have been icy and firm, and it has not snowed for weeks. Thankfully, our athletes have put their skills to the test and have managed to find some wonderful soft conditions in the backcountry. Teams have summited Shadow Mountain, young athletes have made it to the top of Ullers Ridge, skied 25 Short, and found hidden pockets of soft snow tucked into north-facing trees.

                                              Montana Hut Trip

A portion of the backcountry team just returned from our 6th annual Montana Hut Trip. Not only is it a great opportunity to spend four days away from home with some of your best friends in a remote mountain hut, but traveling outside of our home mountain range also helps these athletes develop valuable skills. Athletes are required to refine their route finding abilities. In unfamiliar terrain, they must create tour plans and make real-time decisions in the field about where to find the best skiing and the safest terrain. Additionally, the snowpack can differ significantly from an avalanche perspective, requiring us to dig into the snow and closely follow the local avalanche forecast to ensure a safe experience. Beyond the skiing itself, these trips provide valuable opportunities to learn about the broader landscape, history, and human connection to the mountains we travel through.

All athletes made it to the top of Downing Mountain and skied multiple laps for two full days in a row. We also achieved a backcountry program first by skiing runs that rarely see human traffic deep in the Bitterroot Wilderness. Historically, our team has made it as far as a run called The Crown, a 600-foot bowl just past the main summit that drops east back toward the lodge. This year, with a stable snowpack, good weather, and motivated athletes, we were able to traverse a ridge behind The Crown to ski runs known as Lost Opportunity and Fallen Jewels. These lines require careful route finding through a series of steep gullies, some of which end in cliff bands. Only two routes go through cleanly. The runs drop 2,000 vertical feet off the back of the mountain, where the only way out is to re-ascend a completely different gully after skiing. Athletes mapped the route, scouted the lines from afar the day before, and with input from their experienced guide were able to flawlessly execute this complex ski tour.  

In addition to the great skiing experience, we also learned about forest ecosystems in the Bitterroot Range, as well as the cultural history of the region. While out skiing, we learned about unique tree species not found in the Tetons, such as the Ponderosa Pine, whose bark smells faintly like butterscotch, and the Western Tamarack, or Larch. It is one of the only deciduous conifer species and is famous for its bright golden-yellow color in autumn. We also traveled through a recent burn area, which provided a great opportunity to discuss the fire mosaic. Naturally occurring forest fires create a patchwork of forest ages that support regeneration, wildlife habitat, and long-term forest health. We even came across fresh wolf tracks in multiple locations. During the trip, we learned about a historic avalanche from the mid-1980s that ran nearly to the lodge, as well as the building’s past life as a restaurant known as the Grub Steak.  

On the drive home, we visited the medicine tree, a site of cultural significance to Indigenous peoples of the region and an important cultural landmark long before modern settlement in the Bitterroot Valley.

Experiences like this are what make traveling to new mountain ranges so meaningful for our athletes. We’re excited to keep building on this momentum with future trips, including opportunities to explore beyond our local mountains.

High above Hamilton, MT

Looking at our tracks in "Lost Opportunity" 

Burnt Trees

Wolf Tracks

Enjoying our time at the bottom of the"Fallen Jewels" before climbing back to "The Crown"

Breaking trail through the burn

Practice building emergency snow shelter

Otto spotting a heard of Mule Deer and showing the group

More Wolf tracks

Our cozy home for the weekend!

Mini Mountaineers and Looking Ahead

We have 16 Mini Mountaineers in full swing for the next six weeks, and we are excited to get started with them. Athletes from the 4 Month Program will begin their formal avalanche training next week, and by the end of the course they will earn their Avalanche Level 1 certification.

Stay tuned for next month’s update!