Snow holding up

Good snow cover on the trail at least

Approaching the Deadman bowls

Gordon Whirry gave up trying to ski the sun-exposed slope that was icy and rock-strewn

Despite our near-record warmth in Great Falls this December, the snow in the Little Belts is holding up well.
Our Wednesday hiking group did the Deadman run Wednesday and with the exception of about a mile the trail was in great shape.
The temperature was in the mid-20s, no wind, and there was a little snowfall while we skied.
Where it was bad was on the downhill side where the trail enters the trees from the ridgeline.  There we found a thin icy layer and some sharp rocks.  Glad I brought my rock skis.  The going was so rough that two of our three skiers took their skis off and walked.
All of us took a tumble on the icy slopes.
When we returned to the shaded side of the ridge the snow was perfect and we enjoyed the 3 mile ski back to the car at the bottom of Deadman Creek.
There were some problems with deadfall across the trail, though.
You can tell that no one is clearing this run now that the Great Falls Cross Country Ski Club went defunct.
This portends problems.