Back where I belong

Gordon Whirry practicing his tele turns

Through the trees off-trail on the west side of Porphyry Peak

In the open

I was surprised by the decent snow atop Porphyry Peak in the Little Belts Wednesday, what with our 60 degree temperatures in Great Falls.
It had snowed some 9 inches the previous four days and the snow was soft and pliable and not wind-glazed, despite the continuous gusts.
I went to Kings Hill Pass with the Wayne's Wild Wednesday Walks group.  Two of our group (including Wayne) wanted that new powder and took the lifts at Showdown.  I broke off with Gordon Whirry and we practiced tele turns on the former Poma Lift trail and adjacent open slopes.  We also did some practice on Golden Goose and at lunch headed for the lodge.
From there, Wayne rejoined us and we re-climbed the hill to the top of Porphyry and then skied down the west side of the mountain on Trail 747 in perfect powder, connecting with the perfectly groomed snowmobile trail.  At the small divide, we went into the trees off-trail, looking for open slopes, found them, and hooked back around on the snowmobile to where it connected with the O'Brien Creek trail and then back to Kings Hill Pass.
I figure we got in nearly 10 miles of skiing and 2,300 feet of elevation gain and loss.
It was about 34 degrees throughout the day on the hill.
It was sure nice to be back in snow after the 90 degree heat in the mountains around Tucson last week.