It is out there.
Just not that much of it. The Lolo Pass area is still feet short of this time last year. Moreover, the pass has had little precip to mask the impacts of the masses. Things were very tracked out near the road, and the skin track/boot pack up to Snowboarder ridge was doing it’s best to imitate a luge run.

Amid all that, we strangely saw very few people, M and I, on a supremely atmospheric day.
The black knight approacheth, without removing her kicker skins.
The above traverse and descent were on protected aspects, and had some good (soft) snow once we got the requisite 3/4 mile away from the parking lot , and thus the domain of the crowds. Traversing the drainage and heading up the other side, we found the other reality.
Sun and wind crust. And some cool micro-rime on trees.
The descent off that hilltop was horrendous, unskiable breakable crust. I still have a lot to learn about predicting snow conditions.

M laughed as I, forty feet off the summit and trying to hop-turn for all I was worth, stuffed a tip and went over the bars in a cartwheel that stuffed snow down my neck and sleeves. I grumbled, mumbled, and got up, and waited for her to get her share. Which she did within a few minutes, have to flail around just as I had to excavate all needed ski and pole parts up from the dense crust.

And while the day favored shuffle and glide to turning, it was all so very worth it.
We had enough fun to deserve a reward. Maple Walnut for him, Mexican Chocolate for her.
Go away! I just want to hang out in bed in my shell clothing, eat, and blog about my radness!!
I think I can be so bold as to deem it a successful lesson for me, in the realm of the best ways to encourage an S.O. to join in and appreciate a passion with you being to NOT jump headfirst into the gnar with a why-aren’t-you-as-fit-psyched-and-aggro-as-I-am (??!!) attitude. This is not the first, nor will it I think be that last, opportunity for me to learn this lesson.