Season ending ski?

The impressive Little Belts skyline.

Porphyry Peak lookout at the top of the peak

My near-birthday backcountry ski

 We had a nice surprise on Thursday, a wet snowfall that coated the Little Belt and Highwood mountain ranges east of town.

I often try to get a final season ski in sometime around my birthday, and the snowfall arrived right on time, if a day late.

I did the new 747 loop, throwing in some turns down Golden Goose and an unnamed run along the way.

There was about two inches of thin snow that coated a hard base on these Showdown runs, which haven't been groomed since the ski area closed some three weeks ago.

While the forecast was for fog, I found billowy clouds and bright blue skies.

Off the ski hill on the west side of Porphyry Peak the snow was deeper and softer and there was a short stretch where I dealt with snow clumping up on the bottom of my skis.  I had applied a glide wax at the car, and it did a pretty good job for most of the trip.

The 747 6-mile loop has become a default when I don't have much time or the weather is threatening.  With the added runs on the hill I figure I got in at least 1,200 feet of elevation gain and loss.

There were several other skiers using the hill, but they were on all terrain outfits and staying on the runs.

I encountered no one off-piste.