Life's a Beach

Spring break, Montana-style. 

When March rolls around, it’s hard not to think of white-sand beaches and umbrella-adorned cocktails. Before you break out the boardies and head for the beach, celebrate spring the Bozeman way—by skiing until May. Here’s how to pull it off.

Stay Social
Skiers are social animals by nature—don’t fight your instincts. These are the parties you won’t want to miss.

March 16 – Bartender’s Cup, Maverick Mountain; skimaverick.com.
April 8 – Closing Day, Bozeman; bridgerbowl.com.
April 11-14 – Big Sky Big Grass, Big Sky Resort; bigskyresort.com.
April 20 – Pond Skim, Big Sky Resort; bigskyresort.com. (Pro tip: Go fast, lean back, cross fingers (better yet, make the sign of the cross).
May 24 – Beartooth Pass Opening Weekend, Cooke City; mdt.mt.gov. 

Sweet, Sweet Corn
Once the lifts stop spinning, spring corn starts ripening. The snowpack is generally—key word: “generally”—more stable, and the days are longer and warmer, so time outside is that much nicer. If you stay too long or it gets too warm, you could be in for a bad time, so make good decisions when visiting the following hotspots:

Cooke City. Cooke usually boasts the deepest snowpack in the region by spring, so there’s plenty of touring to be done well into May.
North Bridgers. With some of the most iconic routes around, our backyard range is not to be neglected.
Yellowstone. Access can be tricky, but solitude in this spectacular setting is hard to come by, so take advantage while you can.