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I'm looking for a good relatively basic climb near Big Sky to do this February. Class 1 or 2. Any ideas?

February's rough month for a "basic climb," planning on skiing or snowshoeing into your destination? Avi danger is always an issue as well, not matter how safe an area may seem.

Try just heading into Beehive Basin if the weather is favorable for great views and good exercise - skis or snowshoes strongly recommended. Stay in the bottom of the drainage if avi danger is still an issue.

peakhugger wrote:February's rough month for a "basic climb," planning on skiing or snowshoeing into your destination? Avi danger is always an issue as well, not matter how safe an area may seem.

Try just heading into Beehive Basin if the weather is favorable for great views and good exercise - skis or snowshoes strongly recommended. Stay in the bottom of the drainage if avi danger is still an issue.

Yeah man, snowshoeing. I've been climbing all my life but I haven't done too much snow climbing. I'm looking for an entry level climb as far as snow climbs go. Also, I will be taking an avalanche recognition class up there so hopefully I'll be better at recognizing danger areas. Thanks for the reply.

I'd recommend the west face/gully of Sphinx Mtn. It's a bit of an approach on snowshoes (~5 miles to the base of the climb from the Bear Crk cabin), but it's one of the better winter/spring routes that's not too difficult and not as dangerous as many (in terms of avalanches). It would certainly be a long day - the summit almost tops 11,000 ft and you gain over 4600 vert ft.

The downside is that despite being less than 10 miles from Lone Peak, the only reasonable winter access is from the west side of the Madisons, through Ennis. It's over 100 miles to the trailhead from Big Sky, so not exactly close.

How about Cinnamon Mountain, just south of Big Sky? There's a summer trail up to the old lookout there, so it's about as basic as you'll find. You'll gain less than 3000', but will likely be breaking trail most of the way. The summit is over 9200' with great views on a clear day. I snowshoed there last winter - the lookout made for some nice shelter from the cold breeze.