After three days of spring skiing at Whitefish we headed south to chase predicted snow, first to Lost Trail on Friday 3/24, and then to Discovery over the weekend.
It snowed less overnight than the forecast had predicted. LT reported just three inches in their morning snow report. However, with temps in the teens it was snowing very hard as we drove up to Lost Trail Pass. We were very happy to have appropriate tires. We arrived in the parking lot about 15 minutes before the lifts opened to find 5 to 6 inches of light, dry snow, and a few dozen other cars.
There was no line at the ticket window, where walk-up tickets cost $59. This pic was taken on our first ride up,10 minutes after opening:
In my report from my previous visit to LT in 2014, I expressed the opinion that LT would be a great place to learn powder skiing. (https://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/threads/lost-trail-powder-mountain-mt-2-27-14.11399/) My wife learned to ski after 30, and would agree that in terms of form and speed she is more or less a terminal intermediate. On the other hand, she enjoys a challenge and has routinely sought out and competently skied single black diamond trails, under a wide variety of conditions, at resorts as varied as MRG, LL, A-Basin, and all the areas we hit on this trip. She has had a bit of previous powder experience at LL, Sunshine, and Loveland, but powder has not been her favorite snow condition. Our day at LT, followed by two more powder days at Discovery, changed that. LT also gave my daughter a chance to get a much-needed refresher on powder skills prior to skiing Discovery’s steeper terrain on over the weekend.
When we got to the top of chair 1, patrol was just changing the sign to indicate that chair 4 was open, so we immediately headed that direction.
When we got to chair 4, we discovered that in the microclimate of the pass, substantially more snow had fallen there than at the lodge. Additionally, it snowed hard all day. We spent the whole morning until we returned to the lodge for lunch after 1pm lapping chair 4 with just a handful of other skiers. We started with a couple of runs altogether on the untracked cut trails.
After that, my daughter and I repeatedly lapped the Sac Jac Trees, meeting my wife to ride back up on the lift together.
After lunch, we spent the afternoon lapping chair 2‘s steeper, but shorter runs, also with just a handful of other skiers.
My daughter managed to get a few action shots of me:
Overall, we could not have been happier with the day. In addition to the wonderful snow, and very low competition for powder, the vibe at Lost Trail could not be friendlier.
It snowed less overnight than the forecast had predicted. LT reported just three inches in their morning snow report. However, with temps in the teens it was snowing very hard as we drove up to Lost Trail Pass. We were very happy to have appropriate tires. We arrived in the parking lot about 15 minutes before the lifts opened to find 5 to 6 inches of light, dry snow, and a few dozen other cars.
There was no line at the ticket window, where walk-up tickets cost $59. This pic was taken on our first ride up,10 minutes after opening:
In my report from my previous visit to LT in 2014, I expressed the opinion that LT would be a great place to learn powder skiing. (https://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/threads/lost-trail-powder-mountain-mt-2-27-14.11399/) My wife learned to ski after 30, and would agree that in terms of form and speed she is more or less a terminal intermediate. On the other hand, she enjoys a challenge and has routinely sought out and competently skied single black diamond trails, under a wide variety of conditions, at resorts as varied as MRG, LL, A-Basin, and all the areas we hit on this trip. She has had a bit of previous powder experience at LL, Sunshine, and Loveland, but powder has not been her favorite snow condition. Our day at LT, followed by two more powder days at Discovery, changed that. LT also gave my daughter a chance to get a much-needed refresher on powder skills prior to skiing Discovery’s steeper terrain on over the weekend.
When we got to the top of chair 1, patrol was just changing the sign to indicate that chair 4 was open, so we immediately headed that direction.
When we got to chair 4, we discovered that in the microclimate of the pass, substantially more snow had fallen there than at the lodge. Additionally, it snowed hard all day. We spent the whole morning until we returned to the lodge for lunch after 1pm lapping chair 4 with just a handful of other skiers. We started with a couple of runs altogether on the untracked cut trails.
After that, my daughter and I repeatedly lapped the Sac Jac Trees, meeting my wife to ride back up on the lift together.
After lunch, we spent the afternoon lapping chair 2‘s steeper, but shorter runs, also with just a handful of other skiers.
My daughter managed to get a few action shots of me:
Overall, we could not have been happier with the day. In addition to the wonderful snow, and very low competition for powder, the vibe at Lost Trail could not be friendlier.
