Bridger Solstice

By DANIEL PERSON Chronicle Staff Writer

Today's the first day of summer. Grab your ski boots.

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SEAN SPERRY/CHRONICLE Chronicle reporter Daniel Person skis down the South Bowl of the Bridger Bowl ski area Thursday morning. Long after the lifts closed, skiers are still finding enough snow in the mountains to make a few turns. A cold, snowy spring has area backcountry skiers searching their memory banks for a better "third-season" in the mountains.

"This month had the best June powder that I've had in my life, and I've had a lot of Junes," Doug Elson said, as he geared up to hike Saddle Peak Thursday morning. "And that's not hyperbole."

That got an "Amen" from Kevin Wiesner, owner of PhD Skis, a local ski shop.

"I don't think I've seen it like this, this late in the year, and I've been skiing there since 1963," he said.

Elson and Ken McKenna didn't waste any time after parking at the gate below Bridger's Deer Park Chalet. They were headed for Saddle Peak, which accents the southern end of Bridger Bowl's famous ridge.

They set out with skis on their backs, but it wasn't long before they were clicked into their bindings, skinning up Pierre's Knob towards the summit, 9,100 feet above sea level.

Bridger Bowl had already extended its winter season to April 13, and by that warm Sunday mountain managers had recorded 397 inches falling over the season. That's almost double the 215 inches that had fallen by the end of the season in 2007.

But just because the lifts stopped running didn't mean the snow had stopped falling.

Michael Gill, Bridger's assistant marketing director, said one skier measured 33 inches of fresh powder last week. In late May n a month and a half after the lifts had closed n one mountain employee measured an 88-inch base on the upper mountain, a base some ski hills in Montana would be happy to see in February.

On Thursday, snow was still plentiful on the mountain. A skier could stay clicked into his or her bindings from the ridge to a few hundred yards from the base of Pierre's Knob lift.

While skiing in the summer months is not rare in Montana, the fact that so much of Bridger Bowl is still ski-able is a good omen for those who hate to see winter go, McKenna said.

Last year, skiers ditched the bowl at the start of June, he said. But this year, the snow has just begun to melt.

McKenna, who skis in the area several times a week, said he and others were skiing March-style powder last week, and this week just started to see the "corn-cycle" set in. That's skier- and snowboarder-slang for the freezing and melting that snow goes through when days get hot, but nights still see freezing temperatures. If you hit the snow right in the morning, it's like skiing through corn.

"This will go into August," McKenna said.

Like winter backcountry skiing, summer skiing has its risks n namely wet slides. When the snow heats up in the day, it becomes dense and is liable to break off in layers. While it's unlikely to get buried by summer snow, the slides are powerful enough to pull skiers off a cliff or throw them into a tree.

"They're bad," Wiesner said. "It's such heavy snow."

Wiesner said getting onto the mountain early is vital to avoid the slides, before the sun has a chance to cause any mischief. How early? "Start up at 3 or 4 in the morning," he said.

Indeed, summer skiing takes dedication. Far more time is spent sucking air on the ascent than on the descent. The sun is hot, the snow is deep.

But while many choose to hang the skis up for the season, McKenna, with a grin, offered this pun: "Summer skiing, some aren't."