It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood....

Skiers: Erik Schmidt, Michol Smilenski, and Lindsey Clark

March 1st, 2013

Most sunny ski days lead to Broken Top. On this day, however, the sun was being a bit fickle so we decided to ski its next door neighbor: Ball Butte. Ball Butte is a fun little spot right next to a wilderness boundary, which means you can park your snowmobile right at the bottom and start skinning up.

With crossed fingers and bated breath, we drove around the corner and into Dutchman Flat on a sunny weekend morning. Parking spots are hard to come by in this undersized, overused sno-park. We spotted our friend Smiley's Subaru, and were fortunate enough to pull right in to a perfect parking spot across from him. Sweet relief!

We geared up, got all our skis loaded up on our sleds, and took off! Smiley was my passenger for the day. All aboard the ski train!

We enjoyed the views on our way up to the high country. Smiley was squealing with happiness for the entire ride. I think that will be a requirement for all my future passengers!

We climbed the southeast ridge to the top of the bowl. Erik, always keen on keeping things spicy, led us up a steep bootpack to the true summit of the butte.

I got to drop in first, and made some happy turns down the southeast bowl. Erik and Smiley followed, smiling.

The snow was soft in the sunshine and firm in the shadows, so we spent the rest of the day climbing, skiing, and chasing the sun.

Beautiful indeed!