It’s always there – visible when you’re driving I-90 back to Bozeman from the west. I’ve looked at it for years, that vertical white stripe, because it stands out all summer. The blaze is the feature for which the mountain is named – a snowfield, as much as one hundred feet wide in places that runs vertically for 1200’ to 2000’ depending whether you’re there in June, July, August or September. I had heard it’s skiable year round so August seemed a nice time to check it out.
 
Blaze Mountain is located in the Spanish Peaks section of the Lee Metcalf Wilderness Area, less than 30 miles from Bozeman as the crow flies. Its NW face is a consistent 35 degree slope running from its 10,384’ summit down to the timber 2000’ below. One reason I hadn’t skied it before is its relative inaccessibility. The base of the mountain is a 7+ mile walk and 2000’ gain from the trailhead. The summit – the top of the snowfield – is another 2000’ climb from there. Although nothing extreme, it’s still a long way to haul camping gear, ski gear, food, etc. for one nice ski run in the summer. Some hardy locals do it as an 18 mile day trip, avoiding any needless weight, but it seems a shame to race through all that pristine wilderness without stopping to sniff the bluebells, columbines, paintbrush. Tired of hearing me grumble about it, Teri recently suggested I call her father who has 2 draft horses to see if he’d be interested in hauling our camping gear up the trail. Larry – an experienced backcountry horseman who does volunteer trail improvements for the forest service much of the summer – was more than willing. His response: “When do you want to go?” I said “how about this Friday?” Larry, it turns out, loves nothing more than to go riding in the mountains, even when leading a couple pack horses in the rain. Not only did Larry’s generosity solve our excess gear problem, it also allowed us to bring 48 beers and a bottle of Irish whiskey on our 3-day expedition. Teri’s mom Billie decided to ride along, joining us four ski junkies, now carrying relatively light packs. After dumping our gear 7 miles up the trail at the base of The Blaze, the horsemen turned around and headed for home, leaving us to our own devices. 
 
The next morning was beautiful so we grabbed our skis and scrambled to the top. The gorgeous summit afforded views of Lone Mountain, Beehive, Gallatin Peak and the weather was perfect. We took lots of photos then left for the business of the snowfield. Although not January powder, the snow wasn’t bad at all. Some sun-cups, partially frozen ridges and overall faster-than-expected snow kept our attention focused and the skiing quite interesting. We all agreed – for August skiing on the 45th parallel, it was pretty damn good. 
 
Since we had the next morning to play and none of us had been into that part of the wilderness area before, we explored further up the trail on Sunday, hiking up to the Spanish Lakes at 9000’, a crisp little group of 3 or 4 alpine lakes. With 10 miles still ahead of us to the trailhead, after lunch we started down amidst a few thundershowers, arriving early evening with big smiles but thoroughly beat. 
 
My bg control was a bit of a challenge this long weekend, often running low or just on the edge of low. I found myself continually lowering my pump’s basal rate during the uphill days, starting at 55% (of normal) and ending up at about 40%. I even needed to employ dp’s technique of significantly lowering my nighttime temp-basal rate to about 70% (of normal) to keep from going low while sleeping. But this worked well. It just took some time to get dialed in. Still, and as always, I hiked out carrying a good 2 pounds of uneaten carb snacks. Better safe, right?
 
Now, where to ski in September?
 
Click the links below for a sampling of our photos. Thanks to Thomas for uploading. Images courtesy of Phil, Jeff and Thomas.
Jeff
 

Photos:
http://bsi-director.msu.montana.edu/example/image/view/255/_original - Harriet, our friend
http://bsi-director.msu.montana.edu/example/image/view/274/_original - Packing though the lush
http://bsi-director.msu.montana.edu/example/image/view/220/_original - Larry, Billie & Jeff
 http://bsi-director.msu.montana.edu/example/image/view/221/_original - The beasts of burden
http://bsi-director.msu.montana.edu/example/image/view/231/_original - The object of our desire
 http://bsi-director.msu.montana.edu/example/image/view/278/_original - Backlit clouds
http://bsi-director.msu.montana.edu/example/image/view/263/_original - Tom getting a break on the ascent
http://bsi-director.msu.montana.edu/example/image/view/233/_original - Jeff laboring up the hill
 http://bsi-director.msu.montana.edu/example/image/view/282/_original - Summit - Jeff, Phil, Tom, Bret
http://bsi-director.msu.montana.edu/example/image/view/242/_original - Phil, top of the run
http://bsi-director.msu.montana.edu/example/image/view/266/_original - Tom flying down The Blaze
http://bsi-director.msu.montana.edu/example/image/view/244/_original - Ahhh... that was nice
 http://bsi-director.msu.montana.edu/example/image/view/271/_original - Spanish Lakes, Beehive in the background
http://bsi-director.msu.montana.edu/example/image/view/223/_original - Moose at one the the lakes
http://bsi-director.msu.montana.edu/example/image/view/228/_original - Phil teasing the fish
 http://bsi-director.msu.montana.edu/example/image/view/229/_original - Phil, Spanish Peaks
http://bsi-director.msu.montana.edu/example/image/view/272/_original - Layered rock formations
http://bsi-director.msu.montana.edu/example/image/view/248/_original - Spanish Lake, alpine flowers