Flying by - Skiing in July:

Summer is FLYING by! I cannot believe that its July. Wow. Where has time gone? There's still SO much I want to do - places to go, people to see, I'm afraid I'm gonna run out of summer before I'm able to do everything!

But I have been having a wonderfully fun summer so far (hence the lack of blogging). My summer has been busy. Work (teaching) has majorly slowed down, giving me lots of free time to do fun stuff. My summer has been filled with family, out of state friends, gardening, skiing, personal art projects, kayaking, hiking, backyard bbqs parties with family & friends. I've been on the road a lot, always seem to be going somewhere. Nowhere very far from home, but when you live in a state that is as big, open and spread out as Montana, hoping into the car to drive 2hrs one way is nothin'.

In-between all the fun & action, there have been some wonderful lazy dog days…. Stay up half the night, sleep till 11am. Clean house. Watch tv on Amazon Prime. Work in the garden. Go on long bike rides. Watch the sunset from the roof. Cook good food, drink good drinks. I think its those stay-at-home days that make the "go-go" days all the more better, & vise versa, dontchya think?

Eventually I'll get some more photos up (because I just know that you are dying to hear more about my summer) and actually write something better then this chatty small talk. - haha. In the meantime enjoy these pics from a trip a recent July ski trip at Beartooth Basin! I've gone skiing 4 times (so far) this summer. Here's another post from another ski trip, with more information.

Beartooths and the highway snaking its way up the mountains side.

I don't think you could ever get enough of nature. To be surrounded by it is to be stilled. The mountains, the trees, the endless plains, the big sky. It salves the heart. Soothes the soul. Makes me think of how mighty God is - Close your eyes & just stand still for a moment. Take a deep breath & fill your lungs with cool mountain air. Mmm.

Skis on my feet make me happy!

Snow is frozen hard & gnarly in the morning. Later in the day, its was heavy & wet.
(And yes, I know the tip of my skis don't match, it drives me crazy.)

Awkward thumbs-up for selfies & skiing in July! 

30 foot cornice. I didn't ski off this, came down beside it on the edge  - but there were some amazing skiers who would take the drop. It was awesome to watch!

Below are some photos I found from last years' Beartooth Summer Session! 

This is the view when standing down below, looking up at a skier dropping off.
Photo by: Gavin Gibson

View from standing near the top - Photo by: Gavin Gibson

Skiing in June / Beartooth Basin

Beartooth Basin, summer ski area.  
Can't get enough of this mountain air in my lungs! 

So recently I went skiing! Can you believe it? Ya can't beat June in Montana. I enjoy getting out, & having adventures, & I absolutely love skiing. I went with a friend this past Thursday & Saturday - skied Beartooth Basin & Gardener Headwall. Here's some iPod photos! 

Beartooth Basin. 600 acres of skiing terrain that varies in pitch from 15 to 50 degrees. (That's pretty dang steep!) 
Top elevation is 10,900ft. with 1,000ft. of vertical lift serviced terrain. Two high-speed puma lifts & quick laps make for legit leg burn. 

I skied trails 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, & 9 multiple times.

This is a ticket office for Beartooth Basin. Parked just off the road, up top. $45 for a full day lift ticket. $35 for half day. $20 power hour. There is no shelter out here, other then this, & an outhouse.  It's basically backcountry skiing, with lifts. At 10,900ft. the weather can change in an instant! While I was out here, the temperature was around 45'f, but later it dropped to 34'f & started spitting snow. (This pic by Jamie Schectman)

Shreddin' the gnar, at Gardner Headwall. Ski down, hike out.

The cornices were anywhere from 15ft. to 30ft. tall! 
This ski area has some amazing steep headwall & cornice skiing - 
Check it out at http://www.beartoothbasin.com/about.html 

I spy a skier, do you?  

Gardener Headwall. Ski down, hike out. It was actually pretty sweet - we parked the vehicle up near the top, hiked a short distance to the snow.. Skied down & hiked for about 20 minutes out the other side. When you have to hike out, (backcountry style) you really savor skiing down, by taking in the views & making each turn count. After we hiked out, we would hitch a ride with whoever had room & was driving our way, back around towards the top.

This is me skiing down. The snow was so cool; heavy & soft, but totally fast. Gardener Headwall.

I had a fantastic time, & am hoping to get back up there at least a time or two more, before the lift operated area closes mid July.  The Beartooth Mountains are so amazing.

Here are more links to other blog posts on summer skiing:

http://gracierb.blogspot.com/2014/07/flying-by-skiing-in-july.html July 2014 

http://gracierb.blogspot.com/2015/05/beartooth-mountains-skiing-in-may.html  May 2015

-GB