Defying the deep freeze on Waldron snow shoe

Daren Kittleson is a big guy breaking trail, with snow above his knees

In the deep forest

Group shot at our lunch break

I had a hard choice Saturday,  whether to risk the long drive, high winds, deep snow and frigid temperatures to ski with the Badger Two Med Alliance at Marias Pass, or to join my wife's snow shoe group at the Rocky Mountain Front to do the Waldron Creek loop that begins at the Teton Pass ski area.

Anyone who has skied or show-shoed with me knows how much more I prefer skiing to snow-shoeing.

However, the dangers of the 145 mile drive to Marias, with the promise of 40-50 mph winds and the potential driving home in the dark drive, was enough to tilt the scales toward Waldron and snow shoes.

It turned out to be a really good decision.  

The roads were surprisingly good all the way to the ski area, and there were virtually no winds most of the day.

The bonus was incredibly good snow, if perhaps a tad a bit deep for comfortable trail breaking.

This trip involves starting at the ski area and proceeding some 300 feet up hill on a ski run to a cutoff trail through the forest, that is sort of difficult to find.  It is marked with a blue diamond, but hidden by trees.

Luckily, with seven of us on the trail taking turns, we were able to break trail handily.

The snow and forest were picture perfect, and the temperature even rose into the teens, although it was minus 13 when we left Great Falls.

I consider this area the heart of the Rocky Mountain Front adjacent to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area and the scenery is super-spectacular with towering mountain peaks in all directions.

We have been enduring a particularly long and harsh cold snap, so it was great we could get out.