You don't necessarily need a hut and a frozen lake to fish Montana in the winter, though, since summer's best blue ribbon trout streams—the Madison, Blackfoot, Yellowstone, Bitterroot and other rivers—remain free-flowing most of the winter and are very fishable if you have a good guide. It may be impossible to avoid getting hooked once you commit to a Montana winter experience. But winter doesn't just draw in visitors. It also turns the locals a bit more adventurous. For proof, see two of winter's craziest pastimes, both with significant footholds in the Treasure State: ski joring and snow kiting. Ski joring comes in two flavors: dog and horse. Both in- volve an animal running quickly, with a person on skis or a snowboard in tow. Both boast national governing bod- ies, competitive tours, and some of the most fun spectator events of any sort, in any season. Skijorers behind horses aren't content with breakneck speed and so construct large jumps to be pulled over to weed out the more timid.
invigorating…I feel at home in the woods on a cold winter morning. Here you are in amongst the trees, with the tracks, and the animals that are there."
PAUL RAPPAPORT
FIELD PROGRAM COORDINATOR, GLACIER INSTITUTE
Snow kiting is a combination of wind, ice, and skis or snowboards. Growing communities on some of Montana's consistently frozen lakes strap into large kites, following the wind back and forth across the ice and occasionally letting their equipment carry them high into the air before returning for a soft landing.
"Winter in Montana is extremely
WE KNOW WINTER AND THE GEAR THAT WILL KEEP YOU OUTSIDE HAVING FUN!
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