Every ski area, big or small, whether you ever heard of it or not, has some seriously steep terrain. See for example,
http://www.bigskyfishing.com/Montana-Info/galleries/discovery/maps-discovery-backeast.shtm
I did not ski these but saw them from the lift. Much of the bowl is downright scary. I'd want 2 feet of powder before dropping in. Then, of course, there is the concern about avalanches

It is a very bad snow year by Montana standards, every day it is 50 deg in the valleys which are all brown and bare. At Chief Joseph Pass XC area the snow is about 5 feet deep and the skiing is beautiful but the locals say it should be 12 feet at this time and they are complaining that winter is over. There seems to be no prospect for change in the next week at least.

Missoula, home of the University of Montana, has an interesting cultural scene. See,
http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/missoula/im-an-indian-too/Content?oid=1730417

The interstate between Butte and Missoula has a half dozen billboards advertising the upcoming Testicle Festival, that's as in Rocky Mountain Oysters.

Distances are big here. I was told that both Lost trail and Discovery are near Missoula. They are 90 miles and 75 miles, respectively. It must be 400+ miles from Big Sky to Whitefish.

I could not get a beer in a brewpub after 8 PM, state law.

Every town in Montana has at least one fly shop, usually with a rainbow trout on the sign.

The people here are great.

Well prospects for this week are looking grim.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=48.4110757&lon=-114.33763340000002&site=all&smap=1&searchresult=Whitefish%2C%20MT%2C%20USA
I am strategizing. Folks may be right that winter is over. Yesterday, my first skiing Whitefish, I took the ambassador tour. They don't take you on black trails or in the trees, but are perfectly happy to point things out. The place is huge, and my initial trepidation that it all faced south was eased by learning that it has skiing on all sides, admittedly much less on the north. It had reached the 40s on Sat in bright sun and now it was cloudy with dense fog on the top half. The soft snow of the previous afternoon on the south slopes was rock hard. Nobody was going in the trees where it was crusted. I'm going to rest today, get a day pass at the local spa/gym and ride a bike to spin the soreness out of my legs. Tomorrow there may be new snow but likely mixed with rain. I'll give the mountain another chance.

The trouble is that as you go north in MT you lose altitude. If things are not looking quite a bit better here in 24 hrs, I will drive south to Lost Trail, where it is 1000 feet higher, and try to hit another powder Thursday. If that is a bust, Bridger is another 1000 feet higher. If all else fails I'll just have to pay Big Sky's Big $ to try to extend this trip another week. Their summit is 11,000

Wow, that Whitefish forecast is dismal. But is that the forecast for the town elevation, not at resort level?

This winter may have been the tale of two Montanas. From what I've *thought* I read, Bridger and Big Sky have more snowpack than normal.

The valley. You have to extrapolate. All NOAA/NWS reports are for the locale in the upper right corner, usually an airport, as in this case, at 3000 feet. Probably good spring skiing this PM. The entire south face is in the sun. But I promised my knees a rest today. Muscles are fine, knees are not. They are almost bone on bone and I have the X-rays and MRIs to prove it. Must be smart and rest them when they tell me. I'll spare innocent readers any detailed descriptions of symptoms. This powder thing is a disease. I envy those who are ecstatic with fresh corduroy on green and blue slopes. That is a lot easier to find than powder.

In truth things have not changed much, just a few degrees of temp. And a bit drier. We had been getting a little shot of moisture every 3 days or so, rain or a dusting in the valleys and 6" on the peaks. I'm hoping that going south to gain a few thousand feet might restore the former condition.

If you make it back down to Bridger and/or Big Sky let me know! A day or two advance notice will make it much more likely that I can catch up with you and help with pow seeking

Whitefish resort, formerly Big Mountain, has a long and distinguished history and a great vibe. There are trails named for Toni Matt, who taught skiing here for many years, and Tommy Moe (trail name, Moementum), who began his racing career here as a kid. Both are blue runs, easily accessible to anyone who wants to make a subliminal connection with ski history.

You can see things here that you would not see in New England, or Colorado, Utah or California. I saw a guy walk into the après ski bar wearing leather cowboy chaps over blue jeans. A few minutes later another guy came in and took off his ski jacket to reveal, not fleece, not base layers, but just a white cotton wife beater shirt, with every square inch of exposed skin covered with tattoos. Neither the individuals nor the other patrons acted as if this were unusual in the least, just something you might see on any given day in an après ski bar in Montana.

The name change was brought about by travel agents. There were too many instances where an extended family gathering was ruined when a travel agent in Texas sent the parents and kids here and another agent in Florida sent the grandparents to Big Sky. Many locals are unforgiving about this but it seemed a practical solution given the skyrocketing popularity of the much younger Big Sky.

I have a Bone to bone condition in my shoulders...luckily a fishing pole is easier to handle than skiing down a mountain!...
The moisture that you mention Denis is the same stuff that is heading to the Wv alpps...not all snow unfortunately...

Keep up your correspondence Denis...we love to hear from ya!

There are snow ghosts all over Whitefish, trees covered with rime ice, to the point where they are just bizarre white formations.

http://www.whitefishnewsroom.com/blog.php?uid=wnr6C1525FB0375E8D43

I have also seen this in southern interior BC at Red Mountain and Fernie. I've never seen it south of here. This has to make tree wells a lot deeper and more dangerous. Whitefish has occasional tree well deaths. The skier in today's photo of the day looks like a prime candidate.

http://skiwhitefish.com/shot_of_the_day.php

Snow Ghosts - I called them frozen hoodoos when I saw them at Mt. Bachelor, but I think snow ghost is the more commonly accepted term. What do you call this creature snipped from the WMR website?

HAPPY

For 4 days in a row it has been 55 at close but just above freezing at opening. Clouds most of the time; no sun = not much change. Some powder up high, some cream cheese, some good spring snow. No ice. Off piste is crusted. Another warm day coming today with rain. A front tonight with snow line dropping to the valley.

http://skiwhitefish.com/snowreport.php

Skied XC in Glacier National Park yesterday on the Going to the Sun Road. The first 9 miles from the west entrance are plowed in winter, after that its skis or snowshoes. It was magnificent. I'll rest today and await the powder.

Powder in the offing.

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php...nit=0&lg=en