Snow Stats - 2025-2026

I don't want to break my streak of keeping snow records so here are the stats, late as they are.

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Skiing Quadrant Mountain

Over Easter weekend Mike and I joined a few friends for a spring ski tour up Quadrant Mountain in Yellowstone National Park. 

Elements of mystery are inherent in many spring ski tours. Will there there be sufficient coverage? What will the weather do? Will the snow conditions hold up? What about the creek crossings?

As I began writing up this post I realized that our outing was very much like our tour up Sepulcher in 2021 where we asked the same questions, didn't know what to expect, and a web search that revealed nothing about skiing it. As with Sepulcher, we got very lucky and everything worked out perfectly. 

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Beyond the Obvious - My Favorite Backcountry Ski Spot Near Bozeman

This story has been floating around for a few years - a tale that runs through my mind on long approaches while backcountry skiing. I decided to get it down in writing and put it "out there." When I have time one day I'll refine it by adding sensory details, more thoughtful reflection, and all of the other writerly details. If only I were retired...

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My favorite place to backcountry ski close to Bozeman is a bit like Eastern Europe; a touch scrappy and rough-around-the-edges, but it rewards those who are willing to go beyond the obvious and explore deeper.

Embracing the Spring Ski Tour

Spring skiing. Do you love it or hate it? The opinions run strong on both sides of the argument.

Nothing to Strava About

A ski story from a few years ago. A shorter version appeared in Outside Bozeman last winter (https://outsidebozeman.com/activities/skiing/backcountry-skiing/tootle-loo) and the original draft appeared on this blog. 

What on Earth is a "Tootle?"

Tootling in Yellowstone National Park

Read my latest piece in Outside Bozeman to find out. http://www.outsidebozeman.com/magazine/archives/winter-2019-20/tootle-loo

The Sky was Magic

Here's a post from last March. I discovered

Some days just sparkle

  it the drafts folder - somehow I never got around to posting it. A quick story about a stunning ski in one of my favorite go-to locations last March.

The Joys of a Long, Mellow Ski Tour

Nothing to Strava About 

December 2019 Update: This post was later revised and appeared in Outside Bozeman magazine. http://www.outsidebozeman.com/magazine/archives/winter-2019-20/tootle-loo

Another Publication

Thanks Outside Bozeman for publishing my piece.

http://www.outsidebozeman.com/magazine/archives/winter-2018-19/sweet-spot

Shameless Self Promotion

My latest publication...

2018 Snowpack Update or How Good is this Year's Winter?!

It's a question all avid skiers debate, and it's not an easy question to answer. A good winter depends not just on abundant snowfall, but on a magical combination of temperature, sun and clouds, and wind. Right now, Bozeman has the combination just right. No hugely epic storms but regular snowfall. Warm weather but no real melt-downs. Big piles of snow line the streets, avalanche hazard is reasonable, and skiers are happy.

What follows is a comparison of snow conditions going back to 2014. There are also a few links to websites that can help you geek out over snow and make your own conclusions.

Writing Exercise: SCARPA Gea Boot (Imitation Exercise)

In my writing group this week, we did an imitation exercise. We were to describe either a piece of clothing we own or were wearing in the style of the advertising copy in the J. Peterman catalogue. I wrote about my ski boots and decided to refine the piece here. It was a fun exercise and a great way to move my creativity in a new direction.

Skiing the M - Stats & More Photos

Yadda, yadda, yadda, Below are few more photos, comments, and stats on our trip.

Skiing the M

(Stats from our day and more photos are here:: https://annvinciguerra.blogspot.com/2018/01/skiing-m-stats.html)

2017-2018 marks my 13^th winter in Bozman, but only the second time I’ve skied the M. Lack of snow at its low elevation and frequent winds make good conditions on the M trail a rare treat. My first attempt was a socked-in, wind-effected mess, and I have always wanted to hit it in good conditions.

Update: A revised version of this story appeared in Outside Bozeman in winter 2018-2019.

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Writing Exercise: Skiing Goose Creek Meadow

The writing prompt was: Describe a familiar setting to someone who's never been there. 

A Late Spring Ski Tour in America's First National Park

Over most Memorial Day weekends, you can find me skiing on Beartooth Pass (BTP). Between the abundance of road side skiing, challenging terrain, the camaraderie among skiers, and the chance to take an early season drive through Yellowstone National Park, it is always a great weekend. Mike and I headed down there this past weekend and took Lukas along for the adventure. While we did ski BTP, an unexpected, temporary closure of the pass on our drive over allowed us to explore the ski possibilities near Dunraven Pass in the park.

Luck & Powder on the Sphinx - 4.16.16

Sometimes a day in the backcountry comes together just as you want it to. When the outing is a ski tour in late spring that includes a long approach and it  works out perfectly, you are incredibly lucky. Mike and I must have had some good karma coming our way as our trip to ski the Sphinx couldn't have been better.

Update: I was able to rework this story into a piece for Ascent Backcountry Show Journal. Click to read "Solving the Riddle of the Sphinx."

Skiing with the Brits - Step Two, Teach Them the Lingo

Once again, I was surrounded by Brits on my most recent ski tour. in the Alps. As I mentioned in a previous post, one of the delights of traveling and ski touring abroad is the opportunity to pick up new words and lingo. My three European ski tours have taught me a lot of British lingo and as a member of guided trips, I am able to share American mountain town lingo with the group. Other than one American guide leading a trip, I've been the only American on all of the tours I have completed so it becomes my responsibility to serves as an ambassador for American mountain town culture.

A Typical Day on A European Hut Tour

Grand Combin as seen from Rhêmes Notre Dame

Note: This entry is copied from the journal I kept during the trip.

Gran Paradiso Hut Tour, La Dolce Vita

At Rifugio Vittorio Emanuele

If there is such a thing as paradise for backcountry skiers, I am pretty certain I found it in Italy’s Gran Paradiso National Park.