Ralph's Montana Ski Report as of Thursday, February 2, 2012
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The crazy winter conditions. Snow in the mountains but spring on the plains and in the valleys.
Montana Snow Depth Map
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Just before the start of my 30th American Birkebeiner ski race from Cable to Hayward, Wisconsin on February 21, 2009
I completed my 32nd race on February 26, 2011.
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Location
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Conditions
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Lone Mountain Ranch at Big Sky
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Thursday February 2: Carlin's Cruise, Fanny's Fling, Joy's Loop, Ranch Loop, Andesite, To Golf Course, Tunnel, Antler Ridge, Beaver Slide, Far East, Middle Fork, Silverbow, Tree Farm, Yellowstone, and Ousel Falls/Town Center.
Open Trails: Boomerang, Dutch's Detour, Walkin' Jim's Way, Mongolia, Mountain View, Ridge Run, Schaap's Schuss, Siberia, Sluice Box, Summit, and North Fork. Base depth is 27. Forecast high today is 32 F and snow with 4 inches of new snow at 8 am. Fresh Snow conditions.
Photo: Steve and Juliane Bantz skiing the Ranch Loop at Lone Mountain Ranch, February 12, 2009.
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Rendezvous Trails in West Yellowstone
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Wednesday February 1: About an inch of light, fine grained new snow, 14 F, and cloudy. Trails groomed, Kids loop and hill, Rendezvous, Dead Dog, Volunteer, Jerry's and the Doodle this morning.
Photo: Skiing Windy Ridge to Doug's Doodle, December 31, 2011.
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Bohart Ranch near Bozeman |
Thursday February 2: Open. Sign-in required. Ski with Caution and Courtesy. Prinoth Husky grooming today. Lt snow. 1.5 inches of new snow. Packed powder conditions. Yesterday high 37. |
Silver Crest Trails
near Neihart, Montana |
Tuesday January 31: Was able to get all trails groomed and track set this morning. Snow was nice and fast. Parking lot had 3-4 inches new snow.
Silver Crest Trails Association
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Stillwater Lodge near Whitefish |
Tuesday January 31: Report from Tom. Firm conditions this morning, but the forcast is for warm temps. Murray Mile, Interlachen, Nordmark + Nordmark Loop, Riva and Griffon have been groomed. Call Tom with questions today: 406-212-0602 |
Homestake Lodge near Butte |
Thursday February 2: Its February! Snowing lightly currently. Trails are groomed and classic tracks have been removed. They will be installed for the weekend. Skate skiing is good.
Powderhound Winter Tri-Nationals this Sunday at 10:00 am.
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Glacier Nordic Center on the
Whitefish Golf Course |
Thursday February 2: We are planning on opening the north side, conditions permitting, on Friday February 3 at 8:00 AM |
Red Lodge Nordic Center
Anna skiing at
Red Lodge Nordic Center.
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Tuesday January 31: Again, most of the Near Side was touched up and is skating well this morning. No tracks set. Same pattern with warm hours midday, freezing at night. Same forecast. Very fast and furious.
For more information on these trails go to the Red Lodge Nordic Center.
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Other trails I have reports from:
Please note the date at the end of each report. |
Seeley Lake: Tomorrow we will be working on the inner trails for the Youth League and Friday we will be working on Hawk Woods and Bear Tree. We will try to get to Roller Coaster and Mountain View next week. There will not be skating lanes on Roller Coasteret., untill after that. Adrian (2/1/12)
Pattee Canyon: I'll be grooming this afternoon (after it begins to soften a bit). No grooming Thursday. Grooming again on Fri. I'll probably try to groom most days, since the freeze/thaw cycles make the trails so hard and fast. Scratching up some snow to provide a feeling of control takes daily working. It's just about impossible to do anything in the way of classic track until we get new snow. (2/1/12)
Lubrecht Trails: Touched-up a few of the lower trails today, and will continue this effort tomorrow. All of the dog (and deer) feet on the soft snow surface left Dennis' weekend smoothing work pretty dimpled. Plan to do the same on the upper trails by Wednesday. John (1/30/12)
Rattlesnake Trails: Checked out the rattlesnake yesterday, and there really isn't much skiing to be had. The main corridor is pretty icy, and the tracks have been washed out by walkers, snowshoers, and dogs. Touring on some of the other trails is probably decent. Kellie (1/30/12)
Lolo Pass: Packer meadow skated great today. Thanks be to the groomer! The weather for Sunday is forcast to be windy in the morning with 2 inches of snow. 22 degrees is the forcast temp. Looks like winter is back with snow!!!. Happy skiing! T. Davenport (1/14/12)
Mount Haggin: Mother nature gave us a perfect day to get things caught up - the temp never got above 27F. We were able to machine pack Li'l Cal, Sleepy Hollow, and Sugar Loaf and then go back with implements and get the base re-established. We got tracks set on Li'l Cal, most of Crooked John, and Wulf's Cutoff. Paul was able to pull an implement down Gus's Gas thru virgin snow. All in all, a very successful day. John 1/22/12)
Como Trails near Hamilton: All trails were hit with the compaction/drag today. Tracks were left alone and will not be re-set until we get a good snowfall, as they are holding up fine.Tony (2/1/12)
Chief Joseph Pass: All trails were groomed today (Friday). Temperatures were in a range that allowed several passes with drags and levelers. Tracks were set on all trails. Mike (1/27/12)
Moulton near Butte: Moulton was groomed Saturday. Only a couple of the trails from Amalgamation Junction weren't groomed but everything else is groomed with tracks set. The skiing is excellent though wind has drifted in some of the trails through meadows. (1/24/12)
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Back Country Ski Conditions
Avalanche forecasts and conditions at the Glacier Country Avalanche Center and Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center. Forecasts are usually posted on Friday and Tuesday. |
Thursday February 2: There's finally been a cool down and some new snow in the mountains. Avalanche danger has eased somewhat but is still Moderate to Considerable in many locations above 5,000 feet so select your backcountry ski location with care and be prepared. |
The New North American Avalanche danger Scale is now in use. Click HERE to see the specifics of this better way of reporting potential avalanche Danger.
The scene on Flattop Mountain near Glacier National Park on March 13, 2009.
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The National Weather Service Map for West Central Montana:
Some light snow fell this morning on the Rocky Mountain Front and temps are a little cooler. Not quite as springlike as during the past week.
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