Early risers get firm trails

Jilli and I rallied early for a snow bike from Slide Lake in the Gros Ventres yesterday in hopes of completing the ride before the sun turned the trail into mush. It was a brisk 5F with a breeze in our faces when we started and the trail was perfect. In fact, it never really felt warm out there yesterday due to the inversion and the river being the low point.

This baldy appeared to be napping and was content to hang around

Gorgeous views are in your face on the return trip

The willow-lined trail leads to the frozen Slide Lake...where the trail is not so sweet. :)

As an experiment, I wore my Lake Winter mtb shoes and ran clipless pedals yesterday. Inside the shoes, I had rooom for an uninsulated VB sock and a heavy wool sock. My feet absolutely froze. Experiment over. Ha! Despite the cold feet, I had a great 4.5 hour ride with Jilli.

More 2009 Togwotee Winter Classic race pics have been posted here.