West Yellowstone powder get away

Leah skiing good powder.

Leah and I were able to get away for a few days of skiing on President's day weekend.  With all manner of storm, wind, avalanches, and cold in the forecast, we eventually settled on West Yellowstone.  Fortunately, the weather and snow gods treated us well, and we had a great time.  With the exception of a few hundred feet of skiing on the first day, every turn was powder!

Day 1
We finished the drive just in time for a two hour spin before dark on the South end of Lionhead.  It was a very windy day, but we had fun.

Dusk patrolling at Lionhead.

Day 2
We skied the normal terrain at Hebgen.  I expended more energy than expected trailbreaking, but got it done if not a little slowly.  We ended up taking five excellent runs for around 7,500 feet of powder skiing.  We had to dodge a few other skiers, but still ended up finding untouched snow for most of our runs.  We did get blasted by bitter cold wind on the egress across the lake, but it was not enough to damper our spirits after a great day.

Powder busting on the first run.

Powder on the second run.

Powder on the third run.

More powder on the fourth run.

Leah climbing for one more.

Day 3
We headed out on a cold but clear day to the Ernest Miller ridge from Bacon Rind.  Getting out of the car was bitter cold, but the sun came out as we ground our way over the top of Bacon Rind and continued west.  An easy climb put us on the Ernest Miller ridge.  We took a good powder run on the East face, skinned to the actual summit, and took an even better run down the Southeast ridge.  It was a long flat skin with some wandering, but we found my preferred exit gully, which served up one last immaculate powder run back to the highway.  It was a good day.

Getting things rolling on Bacon Rind.

Heading over the top of Bacon Rind.

First run on Ernest Miller Ridge.

Leah not afraid of the bitter cold and excited for another run off the summit of the Ernest Miller ridge.

Heading home from Bacon Rind.

The last few powder turns in the exit gully on Bacon Rind.

A big thanks to Sam's grandparents for watching our little one and allowing us to get away for such a special trip.

Good skiing off Ernest Miller ridge.