Winter 2024-25

Behind the scenes with three local businesswomen. Bozeman is a haven for outdoor business—after all, we’re more or less surrounded by mountains, rivers, forests, and abundant opportunities for adventure. But those kinds of…

Exploring the frozen waters of southwest Montana. It was a dry, brown winter. Early-season snowfall lulls had the Gallatin Valley looking unseasonably bare in December. Bridger sported a measly 13-inch base. Big Sky wasn’t…

Theresa Leland’s ongoing impact on the ski-education community. It’s a brilliant day at Crosscut Mountain Sports Center, with last week’s powder dump now neatly groomed into corduroy Nordic ski trails that sparkle under…

The trials and tribulations of building an illicit, slopeside ski shack. Let me set the scene. We were four high-school ski buddies spread across the state for college, but from Thanksgiving to mid-April, we would meet for…

Switching roles with the red planet. “That Mars is inhabited by beings of some sort or other we may consider as certain as it is uncertain what these beings may be.” So wrote astronomer Percival Lowell early in the last…

Tips for a strong Nordic season. Bozeman’s Nordic skiers don’t waste time in winter. Think about it: by late December, you’ve likely gotten out for a handful of groomer days, and you probably have a few off-trail sessions…

Tips for winter skin care. Montana’s harsh winter climate offers countless recreational opportunities; however, the extreme weather poses challenges to our health—particularly the skin. Though skin is the body’s largest…

Perfecting the short-radius turn. Skiers who can carve a short-radius arc on a steep groomer can ski anything with elegance: chutes, pow, frontside, and crud. And no one slices more perfect turns than the slalom racers on…

Shifting perspectives on winter in Montana. “Bozeman’s a winter town.” For the uninitiated, it might be hard to believe—Montana winters are certainly known to be brutal. When the trails are buried, the air stings with cold…

A dystopian vision of Bozeman’s future. “Hi, are you the mechanic, the one who’s skilled at getting old equipment up and running?” “One and the same, Will’s my name,” the young fellow said, as he reached out to shake the…

A new spin on an old practice. It’s a calm winter night in Big Sky. With a new moon, it’s nearly pitch black, and a soft snowfall quietly blankets the mountainside McMansions. For the most part, they’re dark, the occupants…

A Utah stunt has implications across the West. Spend any amount of time hunting, fishing, camping, or otherwise recreating in Montana, and you’ve surely found yourself on federal land. It’s abundant, and we’re incredibly…

Winter driving in Montana. “Have you ever noticed that anyone driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?” —George Carlin Winter is the preferred season for many Bozemanites, and for…

A guide to tuning skate skis. Nordic skiers are wax nerds—ski wax, that is, although some are equally passionate with other uses. Regardless, a proper coating of wax is essential for a good day of skate skiing. The…

How animals survive the Montana winter. In the thralls of spring and summer, Montana brims with year-round resident critters, big and small. But when the days grow shorter and the temperatures drop, sometimes well into the…

A strong case for snowshoeing. It’s nearly a half-mile from the car to our campsite. There’s enough food and gear strewn about in assorted piles and containers to outfit the Russian army—or so I think, as I’m the one who…

A beginner’s guide to low-angle touring in the Gallatin corridor. US Highway 191 travels south through the tight, scenic, and potentially dangerous Gallatin Canyon along the Gallatin River, famous for fly fishing and…

Catching up with a local Olympic skier. Andy Newell took to cross-country skiing early in life. Growing up in southern Vermont, he skipped the bunny trails and began competitively racing at age six. He continued on to high…

Off-season biking at Lewis & Clark Caverns. In most mountain towns around the West, it’s common to hear about diehard skiers who carve turns every month of the year. It’s possible around Bozeman, too, with a little…

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…

Life lessons from a morning bird hunt. We all know how hunting plans go down. Ideas are tossed around, remarks such as, “That would be awesome!” or “We should totally do that!” are exchanged; but then other things in life…

A winter weekend in Seeley Lake. As much as I love skiing, sometimes I crave variety in my winter lifestyle. After 40-plus years in Bozeman, I’d been feeling motivated to experience something a little different than the…

Setting a record at Jackson Hole. There’s something about skiing hard by day and sleeping in bunk beds by night that just hits different. It typically means you and a bunch of friends are cramming in someplace to get the…

Old-timers take to the ice. People often say they want to watch hockey, but they have trouble keeping up with the action. Well, there’s an opportunity to view, or play, the game in slow motion: the Legends of Hockey Senior…

An organized hockey league brings skaters to the rink. Wild-ice skating and pond hockey are casual, athletic ways of getting on the ice around Bozeman, but for those seeking more structure, there’s an organization in town…