With more than a foot of snow overnight in the Little Belts, backcountry skiing was a must, even if the temperatures were in the single digits and the winds honking.
The road was surprisingly in good shape for all the new snow. It fell on an old, crusty base.
We did the 6-mile Trail 747 loop, which amounts to a climb of the Porphyry Peak ski hill, traveling south down the peak's ridge for about a half-mile, just beyond the Glory Hole black diamond run, and then on to the 747 1-mile cutoff trail that drops down to a Forest Service Road that traverses the north and east sides of Porphyry.
Despite Covid, there were a healthy number of skiers, many of them children, but once we headed down 747 we were in deep backcountry terrain with not another soul in site.
Finding the trail was a tad difficult because of the logging just north of the ski slope. Just beyond Glory Hole we found the trail we were looking for. I imagine those who have never skied this run before will have difficulty finding their way to Mizpah and Ranch Creek.
747, a relatively new trail, has been difficult following in past years, but blue streamers and the ruts of ORV users make the route hard to miss.
I had a bit of difficulty with the uphill to the top of Porphyry because I had sloppily applied new base wax to my fish scales. I got a good work out to the top.
At the top the wind was howling, so we got behind the Top Rock shelter. At one point I went in, absolutely forgetting about Covid. It took me about 5 seconds to realize that was a place I shouldn't be.
The snow was about as perfect as one would find mid-winter. I hope this is a good sign for the back country ski season.
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