Hyalite Peak Duathlon

Gallatin Range

Date: May 1, 2019
Distance: 46.32 miles (18.7 miles on skis)
Elevation Gain: 6,424’
Moving Time: 10 hrs 26 mins
Link to Strava Activities:

https://www.strava.com/activities/2335316840

https://www.strava.com/activities/2336635129

https://www.strava.com/activities/2335349298

Skis: Salomon S/Lab X-Alp 171 cm
Boots: Scarpa Alien RS
Bike: Open UP

Camera: iPhone X

Last summer, I did an overnight backpacking trip to Hyalite Lake and went up Hyalite Peak. Ever since then, I have been yearning to come back and ski off the peak. Hyalite Canyon Rd is closed to cars April 1 - May 15 so my only choice to access Hyalite this time of year was by bike. My original plan was to drive to the lower gate and then bike from there, but I figured I might as well just start from my house. I mean, what’s another 10 miles?Shockingly, I would later regret this decision.

I knew this would be an all day affair and I wasn’t afraid to finish after sunset so I decided to get a decent amount of sleep and eat a big breakfast before I embarked on my adventure. I left my driveway at 8:30 am and shortly after, I was riding south on 19th street. I got quite a few honks from people shocked to see skis on my back which helped my early motivation. I ride up Hyalite on my road bike quite often, but I was going half the speed on my gravel bike with a 30 pound pack on my back. Normally, the false flat riding south on 19th isn’t noticeable, but it is with an extra 30 pounds on your back and 48 mm tires.

After grinding away, I was at the lower gate of Hyalite and started up the portion closed to cars. The whole region received 6-12 inches of snow a few days prior in a late season storm which had many parts of the pavement completely covered in snow. Riding through loose snow requires about twice the effort compared to dry pavement. My plan was to ride all the way to the Hyalite Creek Trailhead, but I was barely able to get past the reservoir. After riding half a mile on the dirt road, the snow was too much and I decided to stash the bike and switch to skinning. Due to the difficulty getting to this point, I felt pretty confident that no one would steal my bike hidden in the woods without a lock.

It took 3 miles of skinning just to reach the Hyalite Creek Trailhead. I was not expecting this. Once I reached the trailhead, the snowpack was deep. The trailhead sign was almost completely covered in snow. Any existing skin track had been completely covered up by the previous storm and I struggled to stay on the summer trail. All the fresh, light snow saw sunlight and temperatures over freezing for the first time. These made the perfect conditions for huge snowballs to form on the bottom of my skis which made skinning almost impossible. I ended up getting so frustrated that I threw my skis on my pack and just booted through the snow for 2-3 miles. Lessons learned: start earlier and wax your skins. On top of it all, my energy levels were a lot lower than they should have been. I don’t know if I was fighting off sickness or what, but I was struggling. I’m sure the back to back 5 hour tours the previous days didn’t help either. I was on the verge of turning around so many times, but I decided to keep trudging along in hopes that things would get better.

Eventually, I made it to Hyalite Lake and things did in fact, get better but it was getting late. I made the decision to have a strict turnaround time of 5:30 pm and see how far I could make it. I was prepared to finish in the dark, but I wanted to be back at the Hyalite Creek Trailhead before dark. Once Hyalite Peak came into view, my motivation level increased and I was feeling better. I continued skinning and eventually made it to the base of the peak. As I was expecting, there was a large cornice on top of the ridge that I knew would be the crux of the trip. I picked a spot on the ridge where it appeared the smallest and headed towards it. I transitioned to boot packing about 200 ft from the top and before I knew it, I was just below the cornice on the top of the ridge. I couldn’t believe I had made it this far after coming so close to turning around countless times throughout the day and everything seemingly taking twice as long as I originally planned. To my disappointment, the cornice was worse than it looked from afar and had a hollow shelf beneath it. There was no way I could safely get over the cornice to get on the ridge to the summit, so I was forced to put skis on there. I was only 300 vertical feet from Hyalite Peak so it was very disappointing to have to turn around but I had to fight the urge of letting summit fever contribute to dangerous decisions. On the plus side, this gave me extra motivation to come back again and ski off the peak when conditions allow.

Before I knew it, I was back at Hyalite Lake and I was able to ski a little past it before I had to start the downhill skinning. Thankfully, the sun was setting and the temperatures were dropping so I didn’t have any problem with snow sticking to my skins. Also, I was able to follow my skin track which saved a lot of navigation time. My plan worked out and I was back to the trailhead just before dark. I was in a dark place (literally and figuratively) during the 3 miles skinning down the snow covered Forest Service road between the trailhead and my bike. Thankfully, I was able to find my bike in the dark and I swiftly swapped ski boots for cycling shoes. Never has slipping into carbon soled mountain bike shoes felt so good...

I had my InReach Mini with me so I texted my friend, Phillip to see if he would be able to pick me up from the lower Hyalite gate. I was not feeling the ride down 19th street in the middle of the night. At this point, all I could think about was food and I offered to buy him dinner if he picked me up. He willingly agreed to this deal. The elevation change that made riding up Hyalite such a chore previously, made for a pleasant experience on the descent. Most of the snow patches I rode through on my morning ascent had melted which was good. I learned that at night, with a headlamp, dry pavement looks remarkably similar to pavement covered in snow which added to the excitement but thankfully I was able to make it down crash free. Riding down Hyalite Canyon at night while its completely closed to cars was a surreal experience I won’t soon forget. My state of extreme exhaustion added to the euphoric experience as well. To my delight, as soon as I rounded the last corner before the gate, I was blinded by the LED light bar of Phillip’s Subaru Outback. I quickly threw my bikes and skis in the back of the battle wagon and we stopped by my house so I could grab a quick shower. It was 11:00 pm at this point, and there was only one place left to go.... BDubs.

I may not have skiied off the peak like I intended, but it was still an awesome day in the mountains. I will be back to ski Hyalite Peak and bikes may or may not be in the mix. Nobody knows!