This weekend was one like many I used to have. I finished “work” on Friday, relaxed, hung out with friends, went to sleep, and woke up planning adventures. It was still raining most of Saturday, and I want to get back into cycling shape for the Butte 100, so I grabbed the singlespeed and rode the Deer Creek sneak route, then up the fire road to the university beacon to inspect the wildflowers.

They’re coming along nicely with the profligate rain and warming weather. I was also psyched (and very tired after the ride) to clean the whole road up to the beacon. Full workout for a weak body.

This morning I dropped M off and work and drove south bearing ski gear. I thought about Trapper, but turned off at the St. Marys road when I decided I didn’t care to drive further south.  The first ~mile was hiking and post holing, then skis on and up into the Whitebark and alpine wonderland.

By far my new favorite bar-food-product. Moist, compact, good calorie-weight ratio, and very tasty.

I haven’t been on real skis since spring break, so some recollection of muscle memory was in order. The 40-80′ visibility and 50 mph gusts above treeline didn’t help. Some windloaded layers in the trees had been whumping with surprising force, and that combined with no visibility had me taking a talus-dodging conservative line down scoured hard windboard back below treeline. There, the summer trail diagonals downward below the south side of the ridgeline. If you know where to look, a zigzag up and down course can yeild several good sustained shots through wide trees. I found some good 3-4″ of fresh over cement crust, and eventually remembered how to turn properly, just in time to descend below the rain line and into rotten snow tree dodging combat skiing. It was good to get on top of a mountain.

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