Paradise Found

A multisport to remember.

When it comes to all-day winter recreation around Bozeman, things are becoming a bit cliché. It’s all, “Snowmobile here, skin this, ski that, etc.” Throw in some ice climbing or fat-biking as icing on the stale cake, and it’s just another Montana multisport—riveting! Around the O/B office, we’re as guilty as anyone—and so, knowing that variety is the spice of life, we decided to devise one of our own. As the old saying goes, if you want an adventure done right, then go out and do it yourself.

First off, we ditched the alpine start. Our excursion began close to town, so we savored our coffee and breakfast at Ghost Town, then drove south into the mountains. Or wait, did we go north? I can’t quite remember, as I had my head down the whole way, sharpening ice skates on my lap.

As usual, the morning wasn’t without its antics. I blew up all my equipment across the parking lot to do some “quick” pre-hike repairs. Jack barked at everyone like a chained-up Rottweiler, while debating whether to wear his ultralight underwear, or the super-ultralightweight pair. Eli felt the drinks from the night before—and the bruise on his hip from falling off a bar somewhere. Jamie and Tim were just happy to be there.

Eli and Jack popped their heads up over the edge, replaced their boots with blades, and we all got after it with a game of pondy at 8,000 feet.

Once on the trail and skinning uphill, morale was high. The moderately-sloped route passed through snowy forests and picturesque glades. The snow got deeper and deeper—this was a serious powder stash, especially for this early in the season. Jack, however, had his eye on something else: the ice pillars, coming in thick along the canyon walls. He and Eli split off, with plans to rendezvous at the hanging alpine lake a bit higher up-canyon.

The rest of us moseyed on, and once on top, we found a sheet of exposed ice. The wind had swept the snow off the lake and into an adjacent couloir, leaving a surface as smooth as glass. We laced up our skates and got a little stick-and-puck going while we waited for Eli and Jack to show up. As we took our first hot-cocoa break, they popped their heads up over the edge, replaced their boots with blades, and we all got after it with a game of pondy at 8,000 feet.

As we told jokes and shared a few beers, everyone was thinking the same thing: Who’s gonna get first tracks down that couloir?

After a couple hours, it was time to move onto our next activity—which, to be honest, was the raison d’être for the whole trip. Out came the swimsuits—and floaties, for Tim. While the outlet of this particular lake freezes solid, the inlet pools up with bubbling heat, thanks to some nearby geothermal activity, including a hot-springs waterfall. That’s right, we were soaking it all up, restoring our sore muscles after an intense game of hockey.

But the best part was yet to come. As we told jokes and shared a few beers, everyone was thinking the same thing: Who’s gonna get first tracks down that couloir? The race was on.

For detailed directions to this multi-sport hot-spot, visit outsidebozeman.com/secretspots.