Backcountry snow as good as it can get

Enjoying the O'Brien Creek bottom

The snow in the backcountry is about as good as it has been in many years.
The Teton Country got 10 inches over night. The Little Belts has 6 new inches. I know that there is at least that much in the Stemple Pass on the Continental Divide.
It’s great powder.
Unfortunately, I haven’t been feeling all that well, and haven’t been using it to full advantage.
I kept my skiing to the minimum on Sunday, going for only a quick shot down the 8-mile O’Brien Creek run with my wife. We were the first ones on the trail, finishing in about 2 hours and 40 minutes, despite breaking about 4 inches of new snow where we were at.
The trail was a winter wonderland with the new snowfall on top of more than 2 feet that has fallen over the last couple of weeks.
All the snow bridges look pretty good. The one I broke through on New Year’s Eve, seems stitched together now.
On the great willow bottoms and beaver ponds we watched a water ousel dip and bob. I didn’t realize these birds hung around during the winter.
We also saw lots of sign of some big game animal, probably elk, just north of Divide Road above the O’Brien Creek bottom. We haven’t seen moose sign in this area yet.
For those who want to know such things, I think the Deadman Run is now fully broken for cross country ski touring. Wayne Phillips was to have led a group down this run while I was pushing down O’Brien.
This is the time to enjoy the great snow!