Trails into the National Park
By Hal Higdon
OUR BAND OF SKIERS had paused on a crisp winter's morning in a warming hut along the Rendezvous Trail. We were skiing on the edge of Yellowstone National Park. Through the window of the hut and the crossed tips of our skis stacked in a snowdrift, we could see Lionshead mountain and the ragged edge of the Continental Divide, which separates Montana and Idaho.
Lewis and Clark missed Yellowstone on their expedition opening America's West. The famed explorers passed one hundred miles north during their crossing of the continent. Partly as a result, Yellowstone remained mostly the home of bison, elk, bears and wandering tribes of Indians well into the nineteenth century.
John Colter, a member of the Lewis and Clark party, is credited with being the first white man to visit what is now Yellowstone National Park. As Lewis and Clark returned to the East, Colter left the expedition and headed back towards the West in the company of fur traders. At some time during the winter of 1807-08, he wandered into a vast plain sitting atop the caldera of an ancient volcano and was amazed at what he saw. Over the next several decades, Colter and other mountain men would tell tales of boiling mud pits and roaring geysers that were largely disbelieved back east. After the Civil War, the U.S. Congress finally dispatched several expeditions to determine whether the tales of the mountain men were true. Their findings led finally to the establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872.
Congress recognized that Yellowstone was unique, thus deserving of preservation. One-fourth of the world's geysers (most of the rest being in Iceland and New Zealand) lie within the borders of the park that encompasses two million acres of mostly Wyoming, but also Montana and Idaho. Yellowstone is not only the largest National Park, it is also the most popular with three million visitors a year.
But
most visitors come in summer, when cars and recreational vehicles
jam the Park's narrow and twisting roads and hundreds crowd the
area around Old Faithful, to see the world's most famous water
show. By October, the snows begin to fall, the kids return to
school and the bears hibernate. Yellowstone returns to near its
natural state. If you want to see Yellowstone as John Colter and
the mountain men first saw it, winter is the time to visit. That
is why I had come on cross-country skis.
Winter Gateway
The main gateway for many winter visitors is the town of West Yellowstone in southwestern Montana. (Although only a small portion of the Park is in Montana, that state has three of the five gateway cities.) West Yellowstone often has been called the snowmobile capitol of the world. While those darkly polished machines might seem frightening crammed into parking corrals in the rear of the West Yellowstone Conference Center, snowmobilers and skiers inhabit different worlds within and around the park. Yellowstone is large enough to encompass both groups that visit in winter. During several hours skiing the Rendezvous Trail, I neither saw a snowmobiler, nor was aware of their machines buzzing in the distance.
There are two nordic ski areas in West Yellowstone. One is the Riverview Trail, ten kilometers of groomed track up and down the banks of the Madison River. Hike two blocks from Free Heel & Wheel (a mountain bike and nordic ski shop that rents equipment summer and winter) and you're there. Walk a few blocks more in the other direction, and you enter the Rendezvous Trail, 34 kilometers total, 26 of those kilometers groomed on a daily basis for both skating and classic skiing.
You won't pay a trail fee, something locals both boast and complain about. "We can't charge a trail fee, because the trails are on public land," says Kelly Criner, who with Melissa Buller is one of the co-owners of Free Heel & Wheel. "That's good for skiers, but if we could charge a fee, we could groom more trails."
As
it is, the town of West Yellowstone invests $20,000 annually in
its ski trails. Half of that money comes from businesses who
benefit from the visits of skiers. The rest comes from profits
from training camps for skiers in November and the Yellowstone
Rendezvous Cross Country Ski Race that attracts more than 500
competitors in March. The camp and race, both directed by Drew
Barney, officially open and close the ski season in the park,
although patches of snow may remain through June by which point
the bears have long since left hibernation and the regular
tourists reoccupy the roads.
Early Snow
The U.S. Ski and Biathlon Teams frequently use West Yellowstone for their pre-season training, and even the Norwegian Ski Team has begun to visit the mountain plateau, looking forward to the 1998 Olympic Winter Games, which will be held in Salt Lake City, 300 miles to the south. "One of the appeals of West Yellowstone is that we get snow earlier than most areas," explains Barney. "Another is that the trails are gentler than most found in the mountains and the altitude (6,666 feet) not too intimidating--so you can get a good aerobic workout without killing yourself."
The western United States was in the midst of a bitter cold spell during my visit in early January. En route to West Yellowstone from the Bozeman airport, I had stopped for two days at Big Sky Ski Resort, staying at Huntley Lodge at the foot of the ski slopes. On a Saturday morning, I had gone downhill skiing, and in the afternoon I had gone cross-country skiing at Lone Mountain Ranch, just down the road. Overnight, the temperature had dropped to minus-32 degrees Fahrenheit, rising only into the minus-teens by mid-day. The chairlifts did not open Sunday.
That did not stop me from skiing the Rendezvous Trail the next day, when the temperature nudged a degree or two above zero under a mid-day sun. Swings of 30 to 40 degrees from morning to afternoon are typical on the high plateau. Strangely, it did not seem cold as I skied. In addition to the sun being out, there was little wind. Yellowstone is famous for its dry climate, as low as 2 percent humidity in summer. Barney suggests that temperatures during the Yellowstone Rendezvous Race typically are 10 degrees at the start, 40 degrees at the finish, which makes for difficult waxing going into the race, but offers pleasant conditions for trading stories afterwards at the finish line.
The Park is closed to wheeled vehicles during the winter, but not to tracked vehicles, such as snowmobiles or snowcoaches. On my second day in town, I signed up for a snowcoach tour with Yellowstone Alpine Guides. The company, owned by Scott Carsley, operates a fleet of vehicles that were originally designed in the 1930s to transport schoolchildren living in remote Canadian villages. Our coach, built in 1953 but still running strong, seated ten inside with a rack on back for our skis. Seeing Yellowstone in winter by snowcoach was breathtaking--and not because of the cold of the altitude. We hadn't gone more than a mile into the park before our driver, Dan Hoskins, stopped the coach so we could view and photograph a bald eagle perched high in a tree.
Spooky Skiers
Over the next several hours we would see countless bison, elk, coyotes, swans, geese and ducks. No grizzlies, however, since the bears remained in hibernation. The males would emerge late February; the females with their cubs, a month or two later. Dan cautioned us about approaching the wildlife, causing the birds or animals to flee. "They need all their energy supplies stored in fat to survive the harsh winter." Ironically, cross-country skiers seem to be more of a threat to wildlife in this respect than the much noisier snowmobilers. "The skiers can approach closer to the animals without being noticed, and it spooks them more."
The eagle had been perched in a lodgepole pine blackened and bare, having burned in the massive forest fire that swept Yellowstone during the summer of 1988. It was a dry summer and many trees in the park were dead or damaged already because of beetles that drill into the wood to lay their eggs. During the first century of park management, forest fires were fought to protect the habitat. But this interrupted the natural cycle of the forest. In fact, some cones off the pine trees won't open and germinate unless exposed to the extreme heat caused by a natural fire. Thus, nature had been permitted to swing somewhat out of balance. In recent decades, the National Park Service adopted a policy of interfering as little as possible with nature, which includes forest fires.
Then in 1988, a fire burned so ferociously it threatened to consume the entire park as well as surrounding communities such as West Yellowstone. By the time rain began to fall and the fire burned itself out, nearly one third of the Park had burned!
The Park Service and its critics still debate the wisdom of allowing the 1988 fire to burn unchecked. Yet, the fireburn possesses its own stark beauty, particularly in areas where vistas have been opened to show far-off mountain ranges. We could see green branches of naturally seeded new trees, a few feet high, poking through the snow, but it will be decades before the forests return to full foliage.
Old Faithful
The snowcoach stopped several miles short of the visitors center at Biscuit Basin, our plan being to ski the remaining distance to Old Faithful. Four of those in our coach had come down from Big Sky Resort. Another snowcoach contained people staying at Lone Mountain Ranch, who also planned to ski over a trail leading to the geyser.
Rather
than skis, I had chosen snowshoes for my journey. The trail
meanders over rolling hills and between geysers and steam
fissures. It was ungroomed and crusted, uneven because of the
boots of hikers who had preceded us. By moving into the snow
beside the trail, I found I could move faster than most of the
skiers in our group.
I had hoped to reach Old Faithful for its next eruption, which was expected just before 1:30. A writer for National Geographic in an article some years ago wrote that Old Faithful erupted every hour on the hour. That's not true: the eruptions come at somewhat regular intervals of 70 to 80 minutes, depending on how long it takes the pressure beneath the surface to build. As I snowshoed along, a plume of steam above the last remaining hill between me and the geyser announced that I had missed the show, but I was there with several dozen other touristsósnowmobilers and skiersófor the next eruption just past 2:30. If it had been summer rather than winter, there might have been hundreds, even thousands, in the viewing audience.
Other geysers in the park are less regular and less predictable than Old Faithful. Heading back, we stopped by a flat that featured the four hydrothermal displays seen in Yellowstone: geysers, hot springs, mud pots and fumaroles. Geysers are sudden spurts of hot water. In hot springs, the water flows from holes in the earth, rather than spurts. In mud pots, the water gurgles and bubbles. In fumaroles, you get vapor, not water. We were standing on a snow-covered boardwalk beside the Fountain Geyser when it and two other geysers nearby began to erupt. The Fountain Geyser erupts only once daily, and it could be at any time. We stood, water and steam rising on all sides of us, amazed. So was Dan, our guide. "You could visit the park for a year and not be lucky enough to see it," he said.
Skiing The Trails
The following day, a friend and I skied Riverside Trail. A mile down the trail, we paused beside the Madison River to regard burned trees on the opposite bank. That was how close the fire had come to consuming the town in 1988. "I packed all my most important possessions in boxes and put them in the pickup truck," one resident had told me. "I was willing to lose my house, because it was insured, but I didn't want to lose my high school yearbook."
We skied the Rendezvous Trail later that afternoon. One day a week, schoolchildren are allowed to leave school early to participate in winter sports, mostly cross-country skiing. On any given afternoon, parents and coaches might be out skiing with fifty or more children from kindergarten to sixth grade. Here may lie the future of the U.S. Ski Team.
The groomed slopes of the Riverside and Rendezvous Trails, however, barely touch the skiable terrain in and around West Yellowstone. On another day, we threw our skis in the back of a pickup truck and drove along the highway to Bozeman, stopping at a parking area off the road. A trail follows a valley created by Fan Creek, which lay invisible far beneath several feet of snow. My two companions chose skis for a trip into the back country. My muscles sore from a week of skiing, I decided to switch again to snowshoes. Allowing them to break trail, I found it easy to keep pace with them as we twisted upward through open meadows and groves of trees. We were within the borders of Yellowstone National Park, although we did not have to enter through a gate or pay an entry fee.
After several hours of skiing, we paused in a meadow for a snack lunch. My snowshoes proved handy for packing down a snowbench where we crouched out of the wind. My companions were completing their meals as I left early, figuring I needed a head start on our downhill run to the trailhead.
Soon, I was alone in the wilderness. Looking from the top of a hill, I could see countless miles of snow-filled valleys rimmed by fir trees, all the way to the Continental Divide, the same mountains I had seen during my first day in town. My companions were behind, obscured by the last hill. I could not see a single human being or hear any other sound other than that of wind in the trees. I thought back to John Colter crossing this region during the winter of 1807-08 and seeing venues that must have looked the same. Many changes had come to the plateau atop the caldera in the nearly two centuries since his first visit, but in many respects Yellowstone remains the same.
Getting There: West Yellowstone, one of five gateway cities leading to Yellowstone National Park, is 90 miles south of Bozeman, Montana via Highway 191. Bozeman is served by Northwest, Delta and Horizon Airlines. Idaho Springs, Idaho, 100 miles to the southwest via Highways 20 and 191. Idaho Falls is served by Delta, Skywest and Horizon Airlines.
Housing: One of West Yellowstone's main industries is providing lodging for visitors to the park, who can't find rooms at hotels within the park (most of which are closed in winter anyway). The Stage Coach Inn (406/646-7381; 800/842-2882), a historic old hotel recently and tastefully remodeled, is located central to the ski trails. Other luxury hotels include: West Yellowstone Conference Hotel (Holiday Inn: 406/646-7365; 800/646-7365) and the Three Bear Lodge (406/646-7353; 800/646-7353). The Chamber of Commerce operates a central reservation service (406/646-7701).
Getting Fed: Prepare to eat meat if you come to Montana, where carnivores rule in the forest and also on Yellowstone Avenue. You're more likely to find elk and buffalo meat on the menu of most West Yellowstone restaurants than you will tofu. The Oregon Short Line Restauran at the West Yellowstone Conference Center has as a side attraction a restored Pullman car. Breakfast and lunch spots include: Cappy's Bistro, Canyon Street Grill and the Running Bear Cafe, but don't miss the cinnamon rolls at Nancy P's Bakery.
Activities: Ski the Riverside and Rendezvous Trails without paying a trail fee (although a donation might be appropriate). For information on training camps in November and the Rendezvous Ski Race in March, contact camp and race director Drew Barney c/o P.O. Box 104, West Yellowstone, MT 59758 (406/646-9379). Skis and snowshoes can be rented at Free Heel and Wheel (406/646-7744), and you can stop in the shop after a hard day's skiing to sip a cup of coffee and chat with co-owners, Kelly and Melissa. Cross-country skiers don't always appreciate snowmobiles, but one way to access back-country trails is to rent a snowmobile and head into Yellowstone Park to a trailhead, then start to ski. Nearly two dozen outfitters rent snowmobiles; a list is available from the Chamber of Commerce. The best way to visit Yellowstone Park in winter is by snowcoach tour, such as those run by Yellowstone Alpine Guides (1-800-858-3502). The snowcoaches are equipped with racks for your cross-country skis. Or take a Klondike Dreams Sled Dog Tour (406/646-4004). While in town, take time to visit the Grizzly Discovery Center, a wildlife preserve featuring wolves and grizzly bears, and the IMAX Theater with regular showings of "Yellowstone" and other giant-screen features.
More
Skiing: En route to West Yellowstone from the Bozeman Airport, you'll
pass within a few miles of Lone Mountain and Big Sky Ski Resort (406/995-5000;
800/548-4486), which boasts the most vertical drop (4,180 feet) in the U.S.
and the double-black-diamond trails to go with it. Big Sky's web site is:
www.bigskyresort.com. Down
the road from Big Sky is Lone Mountain Ranch (406/995-4644; 800/514-4644)
with 65 kilometers of groomed cross-country trails and a better view of Lone
Mountain than you'll get from the Big Sky chairlift. The Ranch web site is:
www.lonemountainranch.com.
One week packages cost $1,015 to $1,295 per person based on double occupancy.
For additional information on Montana ski resorts and skiing, contact Travel
Montana (406/444-2654; 800/847-4868) or check the web site: travel.mt.gov.
Armchair Travel: Two books offer valuable information for cross-country skiers. Yellowstone Winter Guide by Jeff Henry contains a wealth of information on lodging, snowmobiling, skiing and ski trails. It is available from Roberts Rinehart Publishers, P.O. Box 666, Niwot, CO 80545: $11.95. Cross-Country Skiing: Yellowstone Country by Ken and Dena Olsen, Steve and Hazel Scharosch is one of those labor-of-love trail guides that makes cross-country skiing such an enjoyable sport. It is published by: Abacus Enterprises, P.O. Box 9035, Casper, WY 82609 (307/235-1829; 800/582-2665) $10.95.