We have in town skiing, for now. Without a freeze last night, I suspect our town trails will really break down today. There will probably be some light crust in places during the morning hours and the morning will probably be the best skiing. Go enjoy it while coverage is good and the snow is at its fastest! Best town skiing will be at Sunset Hills as it has a mostly Northeast aspect. Parts of Highland and the golf course are skiable but these areas are considerably bumpier. We will not be grooming in town until we recieve some snow.

The lower miles of Sourdough are holding on for now as well, up higher, you will find colder, dry snow, especially in the shady spots. Dont forget, you can access Sourdough from the Moser Trailhead in Hyalite if you prefer to skip the rocks, walkers, and dogs at the Bozeman Creek Trailhead. We have not groomed from the Moser gate down to the trailhead yet but this is a snowmobile trail so it should be quite skiable. Coverage throughout the upper portions of Sourdough is quite good and we were able to groom and level the Moser side considerably on Wednesday night.

On Thursday, the BSF crew teamed up with the Bozeman Ranger District to groom all of the trails in Hyalite. We did not set any tracks; the purpose was to pack down a nice, wide base that will facilitate grooming as we get more snow. I went and skied a nice loop up there yesterday and found a mix of dry snow and transforming snow (I could still kick on hardwax though; use a very warm wax and cover it with a layer of something in the violet range). Skiing in the morning hours and late afternoon/evening hours should be quite good. With the low sun, these trails get very little direct sun but tree cover does trap a lot of heat in some areas so be ready for variable snow. There are a few thin spots but overall, coverage is very good for how little snow there is.

With conditions as they are and cooler weather on the way, we will try to get out on Sourdough once it cools off. We are tentatively planning to groom Hyalite again on the 27th (with the help of the Forest Service).

Two dates to mark your calendars for: December 28th is the Hyalite Tour. This is a free, community event that is simply about getting out and skiing. BSF, Friends of Hyalite, and the Forest Service will all be there to chat and recommend trails to ski.

January 4th is the Bozeman Creek Climb; this is a race from mile 1 to the bridge (or a shorter race to the outhouse) in Sourdough. See the details on the Nordic Events page.

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Do whatever it takes to encourage some snowfall!