Yurt Skiing
the Swan Range
article and
Photos By
Aaron
Theisen
I
coax my skis to the edge of the hill, just before the point
where slope and lack of friction overcome inertia. The
horseshoe-shaped ribs of western Montana's Swan Range stretch out
to my right. To my left, more than 3,000 feet below, lies Seeley Lake.
This is only my second time on skis in 20
years, and my first ever in backcountry powder. I couldn't think of a better classroom.
Forming the westernmost buttress of
the broad swatch of peaks that comprises
the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex,
the Swans lie within an hour's drive of
Missoula but well off the beaten path of
12
the skiing masses. With an annual average annual snowpack of around 10 feet,
the Swans boast some of the state's best
backcountry powder skiing, on the edge
of one of the largest tracts of wilderness in
the lower 48 states.
"There's a lot of really good skiing to be
had in the Swans," says Carl Sievers, one
distinctly montana • winter 2014
