Continue reading »]]> Every Spring, Melissa and I try to plan a ski-related vacation, making sure we pick a different location each year. We’re not expert skiers but we love the sport and use it as an excuse to get out of town for a long weekend. We started this tradition a few years ago but missed last year due to Maddie. This year we decided on Big Sky, MT and as a bonus, hit Yellowstone Nation Park for a whirlwind tour by snowmobile. It was a blast. Montana is beautiful country – unlimited visibility, wide open country with 10k+ mountain peaks on every horizon.

Big Sky
We stayed at the Big Sky Ski Resort which is located at the base of Lone Peak (11k ft). March is considered late in the season but up above the 5k mark or so, the drifts are still deep and the park gets enough fresh powder to push into late April. At that point, everything closes up, they wait for the Spring thaw and then reopen in early June for hiking, mountain biking, trout fishing, etc.

Yellowstone
Something I didn’t know – the Yellowstone National Park service, completely shuts down access into Yellowstone to all civilian traffic during the winter months. The only way into the park is via a guided tour or hiking in on foot (if your crazy enough to brave the sub-zero temps). Mel and I went in via a snowmobile tour (60 mile round trip) and it was one of the most amazing things we’ve ever done. Even better – we only experienced about 20% of the total park during our tour so we’ve got plenty more to see.