GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — Montana boasts 15 ski areas, but for backcountry skiers the number of “ski areas” in the state is almost infinite.
Those backcountry powder stashes don't come with chairlifts, lodges or ski patrol, but the tradeoff is solitude and tranquility.
Kyle Kenik took up backcountry skiing three years ago after he got tired of skiing the same runs over and over at established ski areas.
Now Kenik's ski options are practically endless.
“There's so much terrain and so many places to go,” he said.
One of Kenik's favorite things about backcountry skiing is finding new spots to try out. Often he hears about them from other skiers or finds them on a map.
“It's a ton of fun,” Kenik said. “I enjoy the heck out of it.”
And no matter what spot he tries, Kenik doesn't have to fight lift lines or crowds.
“You're always skiing powder and untracked snow,” said Ryan Foley, who works at Bighorn Outdoor Specialists and is an avid backcountry skier.
Foley has seen backcountry skiing grow in popularity in recent years.
“Backcountry skiing is just becoming a lot more popular,” he said.
Foley got interested in backcountry skiing when he was living in Idaho where he worked as a teacher.
Foley long has enjoyed downhill skiing but had never skied in the backcountry.
“I had no background in it at all,” he said.
He got the gear and then found places to go.
Foley likes the solitude of backcountry skiing, as well as the mental challenge of the sport.
“I think it's very stimulating as far as your thought process,” he said. “You're making decisions and reading the terrain.”
Before anyone heads into the backcountry they should take an avalanche class and should be aware of snow conditions. It's also important to carry a beacon, probe and shovel and know how to use them.
Megan VanDenHeuvel checks area avalanche reports every day.
“We keep an eye on what the snow conditions are,” she said. “We really are careful when we go backcountry skiing.”
VanDenHeuvel started backcountry skiing in 2010 when her now-husband introduced her to the sport.
“It's something I'd always thought about,” she said.
On her first backcountry ski trip, the VanDenHeuvels stayed in a Forest Service cabin outside West Yellowstone and skied near Targhee Pass.
“It was amazing,” VanDenHeuvel said. “The day that we went, it was blue skies and light wind.”
From the top of their climb, she could see mountains forever.
“I was hooked,” she said. “I liked the peacefulness of it.”
Since then, VanDenHeuvel has skied in Glacier National Park, off of Highway 2 and in the Little Belts.
Most backcountry skiers use skins to climb slopes. Skins, which were once made of animal fur, are now made of synthetic material that allows skiers to travel uphill without sliding backward. Once at the top of a hill, the skins come off and the skier can ski down.
“It's definitely a workout,” VanDenHeuvel said. “Once you get to the top, it's always worth it.”
A day in the backcountry often only includes one run.
“Montana is notorious for having really long approaches,” she said.
Often one “lap” might be more than 10 miles, and obviously ascending a mountain under your own power requires a lot more effort than riding a lift.
There's no need to be an expert skier to get into backcountry skiing, Foley said.
VanDenHeuvel describes herself as a lower-end intermediate skier before she started backcountry skiing. She could proficiently ski blue runs.
“With backcountry skiing you basically can make it as easy or as difficult as you want,” she said.
Ski films and magazines make backcountry skiing look like it's all steep chutes and jumping off cliffs, but that's not the only kind of terrain skiers will find in the backcountry.
“We keep it pretty mellow in the backcountry,” VanDenHeuvel said.
A lot of that is for safety reasons, she explained. Lower angle slopes are less likely to avalanche than steep ones.
“For us, it's not about skiing the biggest lines,” she said.
Instead, it's about the experience of being outside and enjoying nature.
Backcountry gear is different from alpine ski gear, Foley said, and it can be a substantial investment to buy skis, boots, skins, poles and avalanche gear.
However, once you own the gear, there aren't lift tickets to buy, he said.
“No one's charging you to be out there.”
Foley estimates he skied about 20 days last season.
“I didn't pay for any of it,” he said.
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