Hi, I'm wondering if anyone can recommend any non-technical mountains in the Bozeman area that would be good to climb in the winter. I'm not concerned about long or strenuous outings, but am hoping to find some relatively safe climbs that don't require much for gear other than winter clothing and snowshoes. I'm also relatively inexperienced with avalanche conditions so would like to avoid areas where I need to be extra cautious until I can take some avalanche courses.

I love hiking/scrambling in the summer and am hoping to find some areas with decent access and conditions in the winter so I don't have to wait for summer to reach more summits. I've been up Mount Baldy in the winter, and would like to know of some more places to go.


Thanks for any advice!

Hey I'm a student at MSU. I'm in the same boat as you are, my only winter ascent of a mountain being baldy last year.

We're doing blackmore this weekend! let me know if you'd like to meet us up there. We'll be camping for one night probably. oh and don't bother if you aren't planning on skiing or riding.

Hey I'm a student at MSU. I'm in the same boat as you are, my only winter ascent of a mountain being baldy last year.

We're doing blackmore this weekend! let me know if you'd like to meet us up there. We'll be camping for one night probably. oh and don't bother if you aren't planning on skiing or riding.

Go climb Torrey Mountain in the Pioneer Range by Dillon. It's 6 miles of snowshoeing up a ridge with a great view the whole time. It will kick you butt thoroughly. There's not much avy danger, you can follow sparse timber on the only steep section.

You can get up Saddle pretty safely from Middle Cottonwood on the west side of the Bridgers. Finding peaks with no avy exposure is going to be difficult. The standard route on the Sphinx has pretty good protection if you stay as close to the ridge as you can, far left from the saddle. Blackmore and Elephant are good as well, but you will have some spots where you need to pay attention to snow conditions above you. Check out the Avalanche Report every day to get an idea of what's going on out there, you can take some free awareness classes from them. Feel free to PM if you have specific questions.