The Mission Mountains are majestic, rising sharply over 6,000 feet from the valley floor, and a rugged, wild mountain range, even for Montana -almost entirely protected from motorized use as a designated wilderness area.
And after a whole month or so of snowy weather with the peaks almost constantly hidden in clouds even on the partly sunny days, the snow-covered peaks were fully visible in the clear, sunny skies.
I’ve been able to go on a few winter hikes and backcountry ski trips since I arrived in the area, most pretty crazy adventures with little good skiing, but I’m familiarizing myself with the area and the terrain, which is most often thick with trees and brush and super steep. There are some nice trails though, although finding the trailhead for the first time is not always easy, but the views are always amazing, like the view on the drive in to my short ski yesterday afternoon:
And the mountains above Ashley Creek just before sunset on the previous trip higher up the same trail:
Dakota loves getting out, and I’ve been getting some pretty cool pictures of this unique area.
Like this shot of the sun peaking through the trees one day:
Or Dakota with a snow mustache…
Or Saint Mary’s Lake from about a thousand feet above on the steep climbing trail that just keeps going up, and up, and up, relentlessly, for over 3,000 feet before finally reaching the ridge of Saint Mary’s Peak, where this particular trail takes you, although I didn’t get close to the ridge on this short afternoon climb, let alone the peak.
Although the forest tends to be way to thick for any good skiing in the lower elevations, and makes bushwhacking a nightmare if you lose the trail while hiking, there are still a few open meadows allowing for a more expansive view of one’s scenic surroundings.
Climb high enough and you hit the point, maybe around 5,000 ft., where the snow suddenly gets quite deep, and it really begins to look and feel like winter in the mountains, even with a thin snowpack in the valley.
Keep climbing, and eventually you get high enough where things open up for some amazing skiing, as I’ve seen from the pictures of others who have skied these mountains, though I haven’t made it that high yet, although close enough to the point where things were just beginning to open up a little and could soon be good for some fun downhill skiing if I had just kept on climbing. But I was out of energy, and time with the limited daylight, so it was time for survival skiing down to the point I’d have to take off the skis and climb down the rest of the way. Dakota sure was ready to go down!
Although on the next trip exploring another nearby trail, she wasn’t quite so ready to go back down when the time came…
But sunset in the mountains means it’s time to head down, if you wanna make it back to the trailhead by dark.
The snow glistening on the hillside covered in baby trees was so beautiful, but really time to stop taking pictures and head down!
I did barely make it back to the trailhead by dark that evening, and skiing down the steep road was a lot more fun in full light yesterday, and so far the best skiing I’ve had, despite only being some fast trail skiing. Eventually, if I leave early enough and make a full day out of an adventure, I’ll probably find some really good, actual skiing down the side of a mountain - I’ve just got to be ready and willing for a long trek in to get to it. When I do, I’ll make a post about it. Until then, I’m enjoying the sunshine, clear skies, and gorgeous winter views.
