Today, I skied at Lost Trail ski area in Montana. What a place! When I arrive to the parking lot at 8:00am, there were a couple dozen cars, many with lawn chairs, Coleman stoves, and camp chairs set up. It felt like a celebration! People were smiling and the vibe was happy.

The sun was bright, there was not a cloud in sight, and seven inches of fresh powder have dropped on the hills in the past 48 hours. David Brown drove down from Missoula to meet up with me. I was super excited to see him, and to have a local guide for the day.

A few quick details about Lost Trail: They are closed Mon-Wed, so THE day to ski, if you want fresh powder, is Thursday. Tickets are $41 for the sixty-plus set, $48 those under 60. The Lift operators were super fun and enetertaining. The top of Chair #1 has snow sculptures out front, which they feature on their dedicated FB page. The chair #4 crew posts their playlists on Spotify, they have a prayer wheel and burn incense.

After doing a couple of groomers on chairs #1 and #2, we headed over to the later-opening Chair #4. We were probably among the first 20 chairs and the fresh powder was untouched. David knew just where to go, and we glided down the untouched snow, through the trees, and then more trees, and then more smooth snow….. WOW! I said to David “Let’s do that again!”.

We skied that area many more times, choosing a fresh line on each run. The sun was out, but it was cold enough to keep the snow light and smooth. We finally took a break for lunch about one and then finished the day when the lifts were closing.

Today was my best day of skiing of the year! And that is saying a LOT!