Reaching Ski-Quilibrium

The bright side of a warm winter.

For the Montana skiers who currently find themselves in various states of depression, anxiety, or rage as a result of snow-deprivation, we have some words of encouragement: it's not as bad as it seems. As frustrating as a warm, dry season might be, there is always a sunny side to enjoy.

Finding Inner Peace
Despite the sea of perfect bliss that engulfs us during the priceless moments of a nipple-deep powder day, the life of a powder hound is fraught with stress and mania. Powder Fever is known to affect the vast majority of the ski community throughout the year, but reaches its maximum influence in the months of December, January, and February. This common affliction isn't life-threatening, but in great snow years it has been known to result in abnormally high stress levels, destroyed friendships, and ruined careers. Seasons like this one give us the opportunity to calm down, focus our chi, and meditate on other important aspects of our lives, like fishing and climbing.

Working on that Beacon Tan
Goggle tans often hog the spotlight, but they’re a dime a dozen. If you want to really impress all your friends, show off your beautifully bronzed beacon tan. Some Bozeman skiers have been known to use bear spray as tanning oil in a pinch.

Living in the Moment
Chasing powder has us always scheming, envisioning events that have yet to come. Beautiful sunny days and mellow conditions, along with providing some peace, afford the opportunity to focus on simpler pleasures like wildlife tracks in the snow or ID-ing trees. No matter how masochistic you are, blue skies and a light breeze are a wonderful experience, plus a bit of vitamin D isn’t going to hurt anyone. At least not for the most part.

Taking the Good with the Bad
As bad as the season seems to be, there are benefits to all this warmth, like a strong snowpack, meaning that many ambitious lines are relatively safe. The mountains around Bozeman are littered with alpine objectives that are often covered with terrifying, unstable snowpacks. The current conditions don't constitute a universal go-ahead, but as long as normal avalanche safety is practiced, some pretty rad terrain is breaching the realm of possibility. All things considered, the season really is what you make of it, and—for the truly disillusioned—it’s climbing season.