Lone Mountain Summit

Proof that I made it...

Another great aspect of this hike was that I was nearly the only person on it. On the way up, I passed a couple that decided to turn around when the exposure got a bit much. On the way down, I met two guys that did make the summit eventually (in the photo on the last blog entry). But, other than those four people, I was alone the whole time. In the picture above, if you look closely, I am just about to catch a snowball (in the cloud so it is hard to see). The building behind me is the tram station/ski patrol office.

The next two photos were taken just before I reached the summit.

Lone Peak Tram Station, A to Z Chutes, and Spanish Peaks Beyond

In the photo below, you can see the private ski area of the Yellowstone Club, Sphinx Mountain (right center), and the Madison Range beyond. There was a large patch of snow at the top.

The weather at the top was really nice, maybe 75 degrees with a nice coolish breeze. The temperature at the base was more like 85. I ate more lunch at the top, quickly eating the other half of my sandwich and some cherries. I felt like I needed a bit of energy for the climb down.

But before I left the summit I walked down the other side of Lone Mountain to look into the Big Couloir. Jim and I almost skied it this winter but with reportedly sketchy snow conditions we decided against it. I have never looked at it from the top and I really wanted to see what it looked like. It is an extremely impressive couloir, more so from the top. When it fills in with snow, it must look very different but I still got a sense for the steepness and intensity of this marquee run. Hopefully, next winter I will finally ski it!!!

If you look closely in the photo below, you can see the base of the tram, the entire Lone Peak Triple chairlift, and the top of the gondola.

Big Couloir, Awaiting My Skis