1991 & 1992 Yellowstone Ski Trips

Our 1991 and 1992 ski trips were both to the same area,
the Canyon area of Yellowstone National Park, so I’ve combined them into one entry.

We had thoroughly enjoyed our 1987 winter trip to Yellowstone but decided in 1991 to start the trip from the North Entrance (Gardiner/Mammoth) rather than the West Entrance (West Yellowstone).  In addition, rather than using the snow coach to take us to Old Faithful we used the snow coach to takes us toward Canyon Village, at the NE corner of the Grand Loop Road.

As it turn out, there isn’t (or at least not than) a scheduled run to Canyon Village.  For our 1991 trip, we arranged to get dropped off and picked up at the Norris Junction on the loop road and then ski the 12 miles to Canyon Village.  In 1992, we organized a trip with 7 other people (a total of 9) and hired the snow coach to drop us off at Canyon Village and then pick us up five days later.  The main snow coach used in the park then was the classic Bombardier Snowbus, originally designed in 1939.

The dramatic thing about active thermal areas is the substantial amount of rime ice that forms on vegetation and structures on account of the moisture pumped into the air from the thermal features which freezes back out on anything nearby.

While staying at Canyon Village, the Park Service asked that we pitch our tents in the campground area.  Fortunately, the winter warming hut and its restrooms were open 24 hours a day and only a short ski away.  We’d usually spend our evenings in the warming hut, taking advantage of its warmth and light to make the long winter night more pleasant.  Often times the most enjoyable skiing was at night when it is quiet and the white snow reflected whatever meager light came from the sky.

We’d do short trips from our camp at Canyon, skiing trails or roads.  The skiing is delightful because the snow is so dry it was easy to wax the skies for it.  Except for a short period at mid-day, when snowmobilers doing the Grand Loop would come in to refuel, we had the area pretty much to ourselves.  Park Service regulations restricted snowmobiles to the main park roads.  Unless we were skiing the road, to get from one location to another, we never had to contend with the snowmobiles.

To minimize the drain on vacation days, both trips were during the same period, between Christmas and New Years.  The extremely short days were the price we paid for that choice.