Montana in March: Birch Creek Canyon

We awoke the next morning in Dillon to a totally unexpected 8 inches of fresh snow. Even Mike and Jackie were surprised. It was the most snow they'd seen in all year in a valley that only gets 10 inches of total precipitation a year. Perfect for skiing. Mike had meetings that Monday morning, so the girls slept in and we hung out with Jackie.

Mike took off work after lunch, and we loaded up the FJ Cruiser and the Tacoma and headed south on I-15 then jumped off at Birch Creek canyon and headed into Beaverhead National Forest. This is a favorite haunt of Mike and Jackie, who head out into the surrounding mountains most every Sunday.

We drove up the canyon on the forest service road through deepening snow and parked near the gate, donned skis, and continued up the road in the non-motorized zone in untracked snow. It was beautiful with the fresh snow coating the trees, covering the bare ground and old crust. Their dog Khaki did the terrier thing and ran ahead and back, ahead and back.

We worked up hill in the western style until we came to a long, steep climb in the road. Jackie said they usually went around this hill, but challenged me to try it. It was quite steep, just at the limits of adhesion for my skis. A nice challenge, and at the top was a wonderful panoramic view of the surrounding peaks.

I caught my breath and took a bunch of pictures, only to see the rest of the crew climbing the hill below. Soon we were all reunited at the top. The trail went on up the narrowing valley, but afternoon was waning and we needed to get back to start dinner, so we turned around there and took turns snow plowing down the hill we'd just come up.

Ann and I went last. There were numerous crashes on the way down, and Jackie took a pretty good tumble and scooted down the rest of the way. When we got to the bottom, Jackie had her pants rolled up and was packing snow on her knee. Not good! It was not stable and she couldn't stand on it - even worse. So Brynn, Erin, and I headed down to get the saucer she and Erin had been sledding in just the day before from the FJ, while Mike stayed with her and Ann skied down Mike and Jackie's skis. Erin brought the sled to me on her back (she said she looked like a Ninja Turtle, which she did), then I skied it up to Jackie while Erin brought the truck closer to the gate.

Mike pulled Jackie down the hill while she tried to stay on the saucer and I tried to keep her and the saucer from sliding sideways off the trail. It was a lot of work even going down hill. We were very grateful that we parked low and skied high and so didn't have to evacuate uphill. Ironically, a few years ago when Mike and Jackie were skiing alone, Mike fell and broke his leg and Jackie had to ski out, drive to cell reception, and return with the search and rescue team to evacuate Mike.

By the time we got to the bottom, Jackie was shivering from sitting in a saucer full of snow. We got her in the truck and Mike drove her to the ER while Ann, the girls, and I took the FJ home. We stopped at the grocery to buy fixins for a tex-mex dinner Ann had planned.

By the time Mike and Jackie got home from the hospital, we had beans, guacamole, sauteed peppers, and margaritas ready. Jackie was in a knee brace - torn MCL/ACL. No fun. Two weeks of rehab, then surgery, then more rehab.

We left the next morning on a crazy drive to Ann Arbor instead of home so Ann could help with some of her mom's legal and medical issues. We had a great time visiting the Dillon family. Sad to see Jackie injured, but we always have fun with them. Hope all goes well with her return to activity.