Mt. Fuji (Lolo Pass area)- BCPS

Fuji Mountain, Lolo Pass area, BCPS 

Date: January 4th, 2025

Leader: Francis Horton

Co Leader: Sean Colvin

Participants: Candy Hartman, Megan Perry, Kimberly Meade, Miguel Gonzalez, Kristin Jordan, Claire Joubert, Zach Robertson, Barron Pepper, Bily Brown, Sam Watson

Fuji Mt. is a Lolo pass area staple for backcountry skiing/splitboarding. It was initially selected as the inaugural tour of the Backcountry Progression Series (BCPS) for its relatively short approach, openness on the upper portion of skiing and it’s fairly easily avoidable avalanche terrain. In the two weeks prior to the outing the area had received 40+ inches of snow and the stoke was high. Unfortunately the day prior to the toure we experienced a short warming cycle and some light rain which radically altered the snowpack. Avalanche danger was somewhere low and moderate, a proper avalanche forecast was not available due to budget shortfalls with Missoula Avalanche so we based this off of community ops.

The approach starts out on the cross country ski trails beyond the visitor center. I forgot to record this portion of the day so it is not on the GPX track. Once reaching the base of Fuji itself we broke trail up the normal skintrack. It's not the hardest climb but does provide multiple opportunities for one to practice their kick turns. Once reaching the top we dug a pit while regrouping and assessed the snowpack as a group. Determining that avalanche conditions did exist we avoided the avalanche terrain skiers left of the main gully.

The skiing itself was challenging with heavy wet snow on top with a breakable crust. We skied off as a group to start, naturally breaking up into smaller groups on the way down. Though we started to separate we made sure that each group was still able to be in contact with each other via radios. In the end the 12 of us broke into 3 groups, one group headed back after one lap while the other two proceeded to take a second. 

Once people were satisfied with their turns we headed back to regroup at the trailhead. As per usual the ski out of the bottom portion was a bit of a bushwack and route finding exercise but most participants found it enjoyable. Once at the vehicles we partook in refreshments and bonded over our shared experience.

Looking back, a few things could have been smoother. I lacked the backbone to say no to many people and let the group swell from the planned 8 participants to a party of 12. This in itself wasn't bad but that large of a group was a little hard to manage. As a jumping off point, though Fuji seemed like a good idea, we could have started the series on something more subdued, perhaps Nascar. Planning as far out as we did conditions were always going to be the big variable, and as it happened the dice didn't land fully in our favor. That said I believe the trip went really well just judging off of the smiles and high spirits of everyone at the end of the day.

Keep the stoke high!