Off trail backcountry ski trip up Cadotte Creek

Along the bottom of Third Gulch looking toward the high point we we would climb

We skied past beautiful red and green rock outcrops

It was icy-cold in the wind

Mark looks out over the Blackfoot River valley

I've now healed sufficiently since my Oct. 17 car accident that I'm venturing again into the backcountry off-trail.
On Monday, Mark Hertenstein and I, took advantage of the good Sunday snowstorm to enjoy the upper reaches of Cadotte Creek, just west of Rogers Pass and the Continental Divide Trail.
There are three parallel gulches west, between Bartlett Creek and the Cadotte Creek Road.
There's also a large powerline that runs through the area, with a wide swath cleared along its bottom.
The area is webbed with old logging roads, which make access terrific.
We've been able to do long loops across the tops of the ridges above the gluches.
On Monday we went right up the bottom of Third Gulch, the first gulch west of the Cadotte Road.
At the end of the gulch we climbed the ridge between Third and Second gulches, climbing to a high point, before skiing across to an even higher point, roughly 6,300 feet, on a ridge between Third Gulch and Cadotte Road.  We were able to ride this ridge all the way down to a powerline road and out.
I figure we did about 5 miles and gained and lost about 1,700 feet on inconsistent, but very ski-able snow.  The weather, in the low 20s, was perfect for the snow.
Our views from the ridge lines and high points were of the Continental Divide country above the Blackfoot River.
We cut around some very beautiful outcroppings that had Glacier Park-like red and green stripes.
I was very pleased to be able to do such a ski after such a long lay off.
Now, I need to keep it going!

Our route is marked in blue