Ski and snowshoe trips in Little Belts

Katie, Suzie Taleff and Camille Consolvo at warming hut at Silvercrest

The snowshoe trail overlook outcrops at Silvercrest

Crossing the Deadman bowls on backcountry skis

We continue to get great snow in the Little Belts this early season and I took advantage of the powder on two trips over the past couple of weeks:  a back country ski to the Deadman bowls, and my first time snowshoeing at Silvercrest.

Along with all the snow, we've had considerable wind and the snow on the Deadman trip showed it.  There was some icing and crusting, but when we got to the bowls it was powdery enough that Gordon Whirry and I got a chance to do some turns.  We had a bluebird day that complimented pretty good snow when it wasn't exposed to the breezes.

My highlight trip was a snowshoe (of all things!) at Silvercrest with Katie and two other friends.

I'm always reluctant to get out on snowshoes because they are so clunky and slow moving compared to back country skis.  It usually feels like I'm plodding when I'd much rather be gliding.

Katie helps me get into the snowshoes and always offers encouraging words to get me to enjoy the sport.

The powder at Silvercrest was absolutely superb and deep. (I did wish I had my skis with me) I had never been on the snowshoe course and was blown away by its beauty.  Much of it was in the trees, but that opened up into gorgeous parks every so often.  At the end of the trip we climbed to an overlook marked by limestone outcrops with great views of Porphyry Peak and the Showdown ski hill.

The trip was enhanced by lightly falling snow.

One of the reasons it took me so long to try snowshoeing there was that Silvercrest had been developed by the Great Falls Cross Country Ski Club, which wanted to keep it skiing to the exclusion of snowshoeing.  I sided with the skiers.

Gerry and Chuck Jennings had the vision that the area could easily accommodate snowshoe trails. Until this trip I hadn't realized how right they were.

The ski and shoe paths cross each other only occasionally, and we saw no other skiers as we shoed.

Although I'm still not a fan of snowshoeing, I intend to return those Silvercrest trails for some more.