Point Six and Jenny Lake

Point Six and Jenny Lake are an easy way to get a good amount of vert right out of Missoula.

The Basics

• Seasonality/Snow: Depending on the snowpack, Point Six can generally be skied from December to April from the car, and you can ski it later if you're down to hike.

• Timing: This route goes through Snowbowl Ski Resort. As a result, you can't skin up the ski runs while the resort is open. They're generally open from 9:30 am to 4 pm, and ask that skiers stop skinning uphill an hour before opening. So to ski this, you'll either need to get an early start, buy a lift ticket and then ski up toward Point Six, or wait to ski this until after Snowbowl is closed for the spring (which means you'll probably do some booting. Here's the link for Snowbowl's regulations.

• Parking: Park at a gravel lot a quarter mile away from the Snowbowl main parking area.

• Add-on options: 

  • You can continue out the ridge past Point Six to Burgundy Ridge and Murphy Peak if you want to find bigger terrain.

Equipment

Depending on when you’re going and what the snow is like, you’ll need some equipment to keep having fun. There are the obvious ones, including your backcountry ski/splitboarding setup, personal safety gear (helmets, goggles, medkit, etc.), and appropriate layers to keep yourself warm and dry. And then there's the more technical gear

• Avalanche safety gear: beacon, shovel, probe, and the know-how to use it!

• Traction: you might benefit from ski crampons on the lower slopes.

• Radios: Radios are becoming more and more common in the backcountry skiing world, as they dramatically improve communication and safety.

• GPS/Navigation: Bring it and know how to use it!

A disclaimer on this description and included GPX track - this line was skied on a single day with certain snow and avalanche conditions. The track described is a reasonable way to move through this terrain, and the description below mentions some of the hazards found during the trip. However, conditions may be significantly different when you visit this area. The advice in this trip report is not meant to be followed perfectly - you will need to adapt the route for the conditions you find and for your party’s abilities.

The Trip

First, make sure you're not skinning up during the resort's open hours! From the gravel lot (0.25 mi downhill from the Snowbowl main lot), you'll head into the trees following the frustratingly steep skin track. Soon you'll punch out onto the Paradise ski run. Continue climbing and traversing along the run for 2 miles and 2,500' of gain. You'll reach the top of the Lavelle Bowl. Descend north toward the saddle, then leave the resort and head up the ridge to the enormous radar ball - this is Point Six!

From Point Six, you've got options! Either continue out the ridge toward Burgundy Ridge, skiing whatever strikes your fancy, or head south toward Jenny Bowl, with nicely spaced trees bringing you to Jenny Lake. From Jenny Lake, lap the slopes as many times as you'd like before descending to ~6,700' and climbing up an east facing ramp. You can try to regain the ridge higher, but it's quite steep.

From there, rejoin the Paradise run and cruise back to your car. The ski resort prefers that backcountry users not ski through the base area, so ski down the skin track at the end.

Please post an observation to the West Central Montana Avalanche Center after your trip, describing the travel conditions and snow stability you found! Submitting avy observations and writing trip reports on forums are great ways to contribute to the community and improve avalanche forecasts. It's also incredibly valuable to read the observations and trip reports written by others, as they'll help keep you updated on what the mountains are doing on a day-to-day basis. This will help determine whether you have a fun time next time you get out!