Winter Has Arrived!

It's snowing. Big, fat flakes swirl around outside my window as the wind figures out where to set them for the first time. Wherever they land the first time will likely not be their final resting place. That's the really neat thing about the snow in Southwest Montana. It'll accumulate, rest, get fluffed back up by the wind, redistributed, blown out, blown back in, sometimes blown away, but always somewhere. The snow that loaded the A to Zs that one Sunday probably blew over the ridge into the Headwaters to be reclaimed by another on Monday. Montana's 3% Cold Smoke is notorious for behaving this way. It's moisture content is so low, and creates flakes so light, that it's no match for the sometimes hurricane-force winds the peaks receive. Those 9" of blower you skied today? The wind will turn that into 4" of cream cheese tomorrow. Maybe not right where you found it on the first day, but it'll be out there. It's always somewhere, just waiting to be found. Powder days last 3-4 days in these parts.


 

Warning: this is the only place I've ever skier chest-deep pow and still blasted rocks underfoot. Powder hunting, while occasionally euphoria-inducing, may take its toll on your sticks. Take it in stride; it's all part of the game.