Guided skiing coming to Middle Fork of the Flathead

Glacier Adventure Guides begins backcountry skiing in Middle Fork

Skiers and snowboarders will now have guided access to some awesome backcountry skiing near Glacier National Park.

David Reese photo/Montana Living

The Hungry Horse-Glacier View Ranger District on the Flathead National Forest is issuing a temporary special use permit to Glacier Adventure Guides of Columbia Falls for guided backcountry skiing in the non-Wilderness portions of the Essex Creek, Dickey Creek, and Paola Creek drainages along the U.S. Highway 2 corridor near Essex, Montana.

The permit is for the 2017-2018 winter season only and will be limited to 6 customers per trip for a maximum of 200 service days.  That is the equivalent of 33 trips with a group of 6 per trip, for the entire winter. The temporary special use permit is a means of exploring the potential viability of backcountry skiing opportunities through a guided service.  The one year permit does not imply exclusive use rights or exclusive areas for the permit holder.  If future outfitting and priority use days were ever to be considered, a long term permit would only be issued after appropriate analysis and only awarded through a competitive process open to the public.

FOR INFORMATION

For additional information about this permit, please contact Rob Davies, District Ranger (406)387-3801, M.J. Crandall, District Recreation Lead at (406) 387-3818 or email comments-northern-flathead-hungry-horse-glacier-view@fs.fed.uswith “Temp Permit” in the subject line.