USA 2007 - PART 1

Monday March 12th - The Trip Begins

As I awoke early the anticipation of over four weeks skiing was a very nice thought to waken up to rather than the normal thought of the beginning of another working week.

We set off at just after 8am for the thirty minute drive to Aberdeen Airport and I finalised my plans with my dad as to where we would be meeting and before long we were through the traffic and outside the main terminal. Saying my goodbyes it would be three weeks before I would meet my dad and brother in Frisco, Colorado and for now I was on my own.

I travel this route pretty much every year with the only change normally being my final destination in Montana and by now I know what to expect and how much time I have between flights for a beer or two and how much time I have to spare if flights are late.

After checking my skis and bag in I headed into the J & R Tennents bar for a couple of pints. I love nothing more than sitting with a beer with the sun shining outside and thinking about where I am going and getting back on the skis for the first time since the previous year. After an epic trip last winter this year would have to be incredible to top it.

The first flight of my trip took me to Amsterdam which I have found over the years to be one of the easiest to navigate my way round and my bar of choice is the Casino Bar so I headed there and after a short wait I got a seat at the bar. Always an interesting collection of characters and next to me was a Brazilian guy who was determined to fit in another beer before his flight, which seemed to have left without him by what myself and the barman could work out.

After a grilling at the immigration services in Amsterdam I was eventually on my way to the USA and landed lucky with three seats to myself and surrounded by a group of American school kids returning from a trip to Italy. The films were pretty weak so I read my Frank McAvennie autobiography and although it was clearly watered down it was funny non the less and despite a delay in leaving Amsterdam we were pretty much on time when we arrived in Minneapolis.

Queuing up to pass through immigration I had been through the process often enough and knew that all I had to do was answer a few questions, smile, get my fingerprints and eyes scanned and I would be on my way to Montana. Or so I thought!

Handing over my passport I got the normal questions of what I was doing, was I meeting anyone and how long I was staying. Curiously the lady put a yellow cross on my immigration papers. "Head to the immigration services and they will process you" and to be honest although I knew I had nothing to hide and was sure it would be a formality I was still panicking a little that they would come up with some nonsense and send me home.

Through I went into a room about the size of decent living room, maybe slightly larger, where I was joined by two people that amazingly had sat in the seats next to me from Aberdeen earlier in the day and three other people. I took my little pink raffle ticket and noticed that I was at the end of the queue. Sitting for ten minutes nothing had happened at all until an immigration officer with latex gloves wonders in. With a couple of small rooms off to the left I was beginning to worry that an internal examination was coming up next but after a brief look at my documents it turned out that he was ensuring that the cases in the conveyor did indeed belong to people in the room.

I was beginning to look at my watch and wonder if this carry on would mean a missed connection but after processing everyone on the plane a couple of the officers came in and began to shout out the numbers. The guy next to me was being deported, the couple from Aberdeen seemed to be getting in as he was a US citizen and he was taking the lady into the USA after working abroad for over six months. Next it was my turn. Same questions, same answers and the only extra question regarded the money I was travelling with, which was only a few hundred dollars, and how much I had in the bank at home. To be honest I could have said anything and the figure I claimed was good enough, passport stamped and I was in. Bags collected, time for a quick beer to settle me! I headed into a small bar and grabbed a red lager and read the last few pages of my book.

Next was a 2 1/2 hour flight to Missoula, Montana. Bang on time I had a beer and some Pringles before we arrived at what I thought was 11.30pm. Picking up the 4x4 I headed into the Days Inn motel just a mile or so from the airport and headed to bed for what is normally a pretty poor night's sleep. Strangely I seemed to put my head on the pillow at the same time that I had landed.

Tuesday March 13th - Time Zones

Not getting much sleep I was just as well getting up and getting on the road. Packing up I decided to head across the border to ski at Silver Mountain(2200ft, 1500a), Idaho. Idaho is an hour behind Montana so I knew that even leaving at 9am local time I would hit the slopes by 10.30. Leaving at 8am I knew I was ahead of the game, or was I?

Parking up it was an overcast but warm day and clearly it was going to be quiet. I made my way to the bottom station of the world's longest single stage gondola and as I dropped my skis in the rack I was aware of someone in the ticket queue talking to me. Unsure of what they said I asked them again and it turns out that the guy was offering me a ticket for $10. A bargain that I would never refuse! Turns out season pass holders get a free ticket for friends on a Tuesday. $10 profit for him and about $40 saving for me. Great start to the trip!

I jumped into the first gondola and sat back in the knowledge that this was the beginning of the trip. Eager to get some turns in I decided to ski Kellogg Peak as the snow was compact and softening in the sun that was beginning to break through. I noticed that the time was 10.20am but that confused me more as I thought it would be earlier. Anyway, off I set.

I headed to lift 2 which serves some great terrain on Kellogg Peak and as normal there were no queues and this was a great beginning to the trip. The blue trails were superb cruising and as the sun worked its magic it was possible to venture onto some of the spring snow. However I made the mistake of heading into Tall Paul which was largely in the shade and to be honest was pretty nasty. Still, it's nice to get to the quiet places.

After a few more runs I decided to head to the lodge for some lunch and noticed that the clock in the lodge was an hour ahead of my watch yet again. I was seriously confused as I'd never had this problem in the USA before! I settled on the burger and fries($10) and a bottle of beer. I was now in holiday mode 100%.

A few more runs in the afternoon and I decided to call it a day at around 2pm. Knowing that it would take over two hours to get to Drummond and I would loose an hour on route I decided to grab a quick beer for the gondola and get on my way. One of my favourite things about Silver Mountain is that they encourage you to take a plastic cup down on the lift and the journey is the perfect time for a beer.

On route to Drummond I'd had a great first day, plenty more to come and was on my way to see a few friends in Montana.

Heading into Missoula I had made good time and decided to stop for a beer in the Wye West Casino which was right next door to the Days Inn which I'd stayed in the previous evening. Catching a little American Idol I thought it very strange that it was on so early in the evening. Back on the road I rolled into Drummond at what I thought was 6.45pm.

I wondered into the office of the Sky Motel($109) where I would base myself for the next three nights and it was great to see Bill and Kathy again and got a warm welcome. It was good to be back.

After a bit of a catch up, Bill said he had thought that I was not going to make it. After all the problems with the time it turns out that I'd got bamboozled with what time it actually was and found that it was now 8.45pm and the main reason I was thrown was that the USA had changed the date that they move their clocks forward from the last Sunday in March to two weeks earlier. I still to this day have no idea how I managed to get my connection flight in Minneapolis at what I thought was the correct time. Turns out I'd been an hour out all the way and compounded that by shifting it while in Idaho when I noticed the clock in the lodge. Totally confused I was happy to get the correct time and Bill introduced me to the latest addition to the family, Tank, a one year old retriever.

After a quick catch up Bill and I headed down to the Canyon Bar to meet another old pal, Mike Coyle, who runs the bar in Drummond. A few beers and I was tiring so Bill and I headed back to the ranch for a good nights sleep.

Wednesday March 14th - Disco Dust

Popping my head out through the door at 8am I was excited to see a trace of snow in town and evidence of more on the distant hills. Drummond does not often see snow and I felt sure that this would be the beginning, as it had been the previous couple of trips, of a superb trip with lots of powder snow.

A quick couple of coffees in the office and I was en-route to Discovery(1670ft, 614a, $32) which was a drive of little more than 40 miles. I had skied here several times before and knew that it would be cheap, deserted and friendly. I was surprised that the closer I got to Philipsburg the less snow seemed to be on the ground and the clouds also began to lighten. Knowing the road I made good progress although I had to slow down after spotting what appeared to be a horse in the distance. As I drew closer I realised that it was in fact a moose. Clumsily it made its way over the road and into the forest. It's always nice to see wildlife and the realisation is that this is a very remote part of the world and one that I love to visit.

Arriving in a deserted base I had a dozen cars and a schools party for company although it was clear that my early optimism regarding the snow was to be dampened a little with a little over 2" of fresh in places. With a little more than a covering of snow I decided to head to the Jubilee chair which services most of the resorts beginner terrain. The skiing was fantastic with a wind blowing snow into your face as I made my turns down deserted slopes while concentrating on technique. The best description of the conditions came from the liftie who described it as "disco dust on disco crust!" I made around 6-7 runs and probably saw less people than runs before heading into the lodge for a burger and fries.

Heading back out I decided to check out the conditions on the back side of Rumsey Mountain which is steep. Conditions were awful! All the snow had blown off the ice underneath and it was arguably the toughest moguls I have ever skied. My love of these places though is undiminished and I had a laugh with the liftie who was keen to know if I'd found anything soft yet! By mid afternoon I'd skied enough and having been here before I knew that it is a much better mountain than I was seeing today. I packed up the car and headed down to the town of Philipsburg and a few beers in one of my favourite bars, the White Front Bar.

Grabbing the last seat at the bar I was in need of that first ice cold beer in a frozen glass. Quality! I sat and had a few glasses of beer and listened to the locals discuss their days at work and what was going on in the local area. I always take a kind of satisfaction when I think to myself how lucky I am to be on holiday. An hour or so passed and it was time to head back to the ranch.

Arriving back in Drummond I headed into the shower and decided I would have a glass or two of wine before heading down to the Canyon Bar for a few beers and some pizza. Topping up my glass I was surprised to hear the phone ringing. I answered and I had my first dinner date of the trip! Kathy and Bill had a friend, Kenny, round and invited me along for beer and dinner.

Finishing my wine I headed into the office and was introduced to Kenny, a mountain man in his 70's. A lovely salad followed by spaghetti Bolognese washed down with plenty beer and good company. A comment about my love of steak and the lack of a decent fried one at home resulted in Bill making the offer of dinner again tomorrow. As a keen hunter he offered me BBQ'd mule deer steaks wrapped in bacon and after a discussion on the merits of UK or USA cooked bacon Bill knew that I wanted my bacon raw!

Kenny's health had not been so good and he tires easily but Kathy remarked that he lasted a lot longer than normal before heading home at 9pm. I don't know who enjoyed themselves more but I loved the stories and jokes of this old guy and he seemed interested in my travels and tales from back home. In Bills gun cabinet was a wooden box full of Kenny's coins and we swapped some UK and Euro coins for his US coins. I felt I cheated him as I had 20p, 50p and £1 coins and he had coins from the 50's and 60's. I will level things up on my next trip.

Bill told me some of his stories about people appearing at the motel at all hours. My favourite was the young lady who asked if the rooms were bug free and then showed him her rear after a night elsewhere. I could listen all night but with an early start I decided to head to bed at around 11pm.

Thursday March 15th - Montana Martini

I set off early for a day at Maverick Mountain which was one of a handful of resorts in Montana that I had yet to ski and with a drive of around 3 hours to get there I was happy to see another beautiful morning when I set off just before 7am.

My route down took me from Drummond along I-90 to the east until its junction with I-15 which runs from the Canadian border in the north to Los Angeles in the south. I took this as far as Dillon before making my way back west to the resort. I've driven this a few times before and although the distant hills are majestic with sparkling white coverings of snow it is a fairly bland drive although from Dillon to the town of Polaris it became a little more scenic.

I laughed at the local radio station that gave me a snow report from a number of local ski hills including one for Discovery Basin that claimed powder and packed powder. It very much reminded me of skiing back home in Scotland in the 80's when The Lecht would claim Alpine conditions every week and you would get there and find sheet ice and heather!

I could see the trails from a good few miles away and although not particularly steep the mountain has a vertical of over 2000ft and the pitch was steady all the way down. With the sun in the sky and snow on the mountain I was going to have some fun today, or so I thought! I drove the last mile or so into the parking lot and by the tracks, or lack of, on the road it was becoming clear that the ski resort was not open. I'd checked as late as Sunday night to ensure that my plans for the first week were in place but the very warm weather coupled with late season meant that the resort had closed with the sign at the entrance to the lodge stating that they would open on Saturday and Sunday.

No point in getting upset or annoyed but I had the rest of the day to fill and I was in the middle of nowhere! One option that I quickly ruled out was driving for another hour and hitting the resort of Lost Trail. I'd skied here before but was concerned that I'd land in the same situation again in another hour so decided to take a scenic drive north to Drummond.

I set off in the direction of Wisdom and then on towards Anaconda and the Pintlar Scenic Route that I have driven many times before between Anaconda and Drummond. This is true cowboy country with mile after mile of ranches and empty spaces and roads. Just after Wisdom I came across a lone cowboy on horseback herding cattle up the main road. I was in no rush and was quite happy to give him and his herd all the time and space they wanted while getting a picture of him at work. Such a different way of life and it must be great to work in such magnificent surroundings.

Heading into Anaconda the first thing that you see is the huge 585 feet high smoke stack which was built almost one hundred years ago and is apparently one of if not the tallest free standing brick structures in the world. Although the copper smelting plant was closed and demolished in the 1980's the stack was declared a state monument in 1985. Quite an ugly mark on the local hills in my eyes.

I stopped off at a local supermarket for some supplies and a bite to eat for a late lunch and setoff down the road to Drummond. With an hour to spare I pulled into Philipsburg for a beer at The White Front Bar. I settled down and ordered an ice cold glass of Budweiser and although disappointed to be missing a days skiing this early in the trip it would probably do me good in the long run.

Beside me was a local biker who was curiously sitting with a beer and a salt shaker. I had overhead a conversation at the bar in Missoula a few days earlier regarding someone with heart problems having to use a salt substitute. I was unsure what they were talking about but I felt sure this was the same thing. Next beer up I noticed that 3 olives were placed at the bottom of the glass before it was filled. Next, every couple of sips or so a good shake of salt was thrown into the beer. It looked disgusting and I had to laugh when he said to the barmaid that his belly was not due to too much beer but the amount of olives he was eating! It later transpired that this drink is known as Montana Martini and is not as bad as it looked but surely I thought to myself, the drinker must be a heart surgeon's next patient judging by the amount of alcohol and salt!

Heading back to the Sky Motel I was really looking forward to my night and I was delighted when I pulled into the motel and found Bill out getting some exercise with Tank. I quickly dumped my gear in my room and wondered over to the local gas station to pick up some beer for my hosts and joined Bill, Kathy and Kenny for a catch up on my days activities, or lack of!

Bill took control of the grill and I left it too him even though he was a little worried that he would over cook my mule deer steak. I was delighted that when it came it was cooked to absolute perfection. The bacon was not crispy and my steak was still red in the middle which as we said throughout was just the way I wanted it! Served with a baked potato and beer this was one of the best meals I have had in a long time and the company made it all the better.

Bill opened up his gun cabinet and gave me a look at his large collection of guns. Most of them were different styles that are needed for shooting different game and birds. He also had a few old guns and I was wandering around like John Wayne wearing a pair of sunglasses and am pretty sure that I must have looked absolutely ridiculous!

After taking Kenny home Bill and I headed into the Canyon Bar for a few beers to round off the day. We were sitting chatting to Mike Coyle when the Late Late Show with Scottish presenter Craig Ferguson came onto the TV although I think I was the only one to notice. A guy playing on the slot machines behind me with his girlfriend was clearly a little boozy and decided to do some impressions of a Scot! He obviously never ever thought that a Scottish guy would be sitting in the bar behind him but Bill and Mike must have thought that he was taking the piss out of me and I could sense that Bill was a bit uncomfortable. I just laughed as it was a pretty poor impersonation! Calling it quits at around 1am we headed up the road and it was not too much effort for me to get to sleep.

Friday March 16th - Spooked

After three great days in Drummond it was time to say my goodbyes to Bill and Kathy and head on my way for a couple of weeks touring around before meeting up with my dad and brother in Frisco, Colorado in early April. A quick coffee in the office and I was on my way to Great Divide(1330ft, 1600a, $20) which is an easy 1 1/2 hour drive from town and one that I have done previously from a base in Drummond.

As I headed north from Helena to the hill the weather became a bit bleak and I lived in the hope that the rain would be falling as snow up on the mountain. Climbing steadily the temperature was not nearly cold enough and it was clear from the water cascading down the access road that this was not going to be snow but a miserable day of rain. Arriving in the parking lot there were less than a dozen cars but the lifts were turning. It was now decision time. It was pouring with rain, the snow cover low down was marginal but having not skied the day before I decided to give it a try. Looking back I am certain that had I skied the day before I would not have skied at Great Divide but I felt it could turn into a driving holiday with every resort on my route closed due to the unseasonably warm temperatures so I got my skis out and headed to the lodge.

I grabbed a ticket from the office and wondered how much worse it could get when I was told that Mt Belmont was the only chair operating and then I would have to take my skis off for a short walk across a certain area of the two trails that seemed to be open. What on earth was I getting into!

I jumped on a chair and headed to the summit in what can only be described as awful weather with the wind blowing rain into your face. However, I could see white ahead and by mid mountain the rain had turned to snow, and lots of it, although I could clearly see that the snow pack was low in places and non existent in others. I chuckled to myself though as the ground up here was fairly grassy and it reminded me of my friend Mike Richards's tales of skiing in the Brecon Beacons back home in Wales. A covering of frost and Mike gets his skis out so there was no problem here for me!

I tightened up my bindings and headed to the left of the lift which seemed to offer some lightly treed sections and as there was one track in front of me I was sure it was one of the open parts of the mountain. The skiing to my surprise was actually quite good and in places I guess had a covering of 3-4" of fresh wet powder. I passed the section that the guy in the office had said would need to be walked but I managed to ski it albeit with a quick turn and hop over some small rocks.

The skiing after that was good with some nice fresh turns until a couple hundred feet above the lodge when the snow turned to rain and the snow was sticky and skiing along the cat track was becoming barely possible. A few more laps and although I was enjoying my turns it really was cold, wet and miserable on the lift so I headed into the lodge for a spot of lunch with my choice of chilli cheese fries and coke($5) and was joined by a handful of other skiers and boarders who seemed to be enjoying themselves on what was the final day of night skiing. Even though my ticket was valid til 9pm I did not fancy going back out after drying myself and decided to head on the road north to my next destination, Havre, which is just 40 miles south of the Canadian border.

The drive took me through Great Falls, the city that I'd flown into last year and also the small town of Ulm where I'd been taken by some locals for a few beers. It was nice to see it in daylight! The drive north from Great Falls was scenic in the first part with the Missouri River winding beside me and the very scenic area of Fort Benton, which is situated in an area of sunken land next to the Missouri. Heading further north the land turned very much into huge open plains and on the right hand side what appeared to be large mountains. Knowing the land I knew that they were not that big but they were covered in places by white. Surely a good sign I thought to myself.

I pulled into Havre around 5pm, passed my motel which was on the outskirts of town near the sprawling railway and headed into town to see what I could find. A fairly busy place with a noticeable Indian influence I made the decision to head to Bear Paw(900ft, 80a) for a look. Bear Paw is a small resort with a vertical of around 900ft and basic facilities. No lodges and the like here just a shack for food, drinks and tickets. The resort is run by a local Indian tribe and has a fairly poor operating record in recent years with it only being able to open for a week or two in the previous couple of seasons. I had noticed in a report a couple of weeks before I flew out that they were reporting 48" of snow so decided that if I was to ever ski here then this was my chance.

The drive from Havre is scenic with lakes, trees and mountains all around the pot holed road and after a few wrong turns I eventually arrived in the small parking lot. Looking up I could see that there was enough snow to ski from around half way up the chair to the base area but it looked a little sketchy above that. Another spur of the moment decision and I decided that it was a bit of a risk coming back in the morning for skiing. Would they still be open? So, I got my ski sling out and put the skis on my back and got ready to hike for my turns. Just as I was getting ready to go a car arrived. It stopped as it was about to swing into the parking lot and I assumed it was because the driver had spotted me. Changing their mind they backed up the road and went up another forestry track and parked up there. I could see the roof of the car but nobody getting out but combined with the whistling wind and Bill's tales of bears and the like I was for the first time spooked about heading uphill.

I quickly climbed uphill but I had a real uneasy feeling and after reaching midway I took a few snaps and got the boots and skis on and made a few turns on corn snow back to the base before loading the car again. I never saw anyone and to this day have no idea what the other car was doing. Was it a dog walker looking to leave me in peace, perhaps a young couple up for a bit of Friday night fun or something else? Who knows but I do know that if I had not seen the car I would not have been unnerved and would have climbed to the top just for the views alone.

On the way back to town I passed several cars pulling trailers with snowmobiles and each of them gave me a hearty wave which was reassuring after panicking a little earlier! A lot of tents, fires and people fishing as I drove along and it seemed like a really nice part of the world to escape to on a Friday evening. I headed down to Havre and checked into the Super 8($48.03) for the night and settled down in front of the TV for a few glasses of Livingston Cellars Merlot which was fantastic value at $6 for 1.5L. The Livingston Cellars would become my wine of choice on the trip. A few crackers with cheese and I headed to bed with my plans for tomorrow being far from finalised.

This article was written by Quintin Chalmers, a 32-year-old skier from Aberdeen in the north of
Scotland. Quintin has skied at over 80 North American resorts and is in the process of setting up
www.offthebeatenpath.co.uk designed to help like minded people find the best turns in some of the
more unusual resorts in western USA. He has over 20 years skiing experience and enjoys nothing
more than seeing new places that many people write off as being not worth the hassle.