LONE MOUNTAIN RANCH - Day 4, Feb 6, 2025

 SLEEPING IN, GOLF COURSE SKATE SKI, SLEIGH RIDE DINNER 

Late last evening Karen got an email from the dog sled company asking to reschedule today’s mushing excursion until tomorrow. So, we slept in today and had a leisurely breakfast.

Thursday is my usual golfing day. With that in mind, I went down to the Outpost and checked out a pair of skating skis. The trails down in the meadows had been freshly groomed at 3:00am and with the temperature in the teens and low twenties, conditions for skating were expected to be ideal.

Big Sky Golf Course is closed for golfing in winter but is open for nordic skiing. To get there I had to climb some hills and then fly down some curving trails toward the condos and vacation homes surrounding the course. I haven’t been on skating gear in several years, so my adrenaline was pumping by the time I got to the bottom.

There are several trail loops that wind in and around the golf course. Located on the property, are a few historic buildings from the old Crail Ranch. I snapped a quick photo of what I figured was one of the more important of those structures.

Lone Mountain made its first appearance today. It’s been hidden behind snow and clouds most of time we’ve been here.

Tonight we went on the sleigh ride dinner. As we waited to go, we visited the goats who were ‘hogging’ the fire pit.

The two-horsepower sleigh (there were three sleighs, each with about twelve people) took us on a twenty minute ride up the hill to a rustic cabin for dinner. We were greeted at the door by a server who handed out shots of apple moonshine whiskey.

There is no electricity, gas or running water at the cabin. The restroom is a one-person outhouse. Inside the cabin, the lighting is provided by several oil lamps hanging from the ceiling. The heating comes from the huge vintage wood burning stove, which the chef used to prepare the prime rib and all the side dishes and dessert.

Our cowboy entertainment was provided by Bruce. He lives in Helena and drives to Lone Mountain every week and stays Wednesday through Saturday. He sang us several songs, some of them his own, describing life in Montana and the West.

It was very dark and snowing lightly as we rode back down the hill in the sleigh - a great way to end another fun day at the ranch.

NEXT: Dog Sledding