What can you do in Yellowstone National Park when the wind-chill is pushing the "feels like" temperature towards 40 below? I'm not sure, but I'll figure it out Thursday when I find myself at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge.
Not quite a decade ago I made my first winter sojourn to Yellowstone to get a feel for the park in winter. Unfortunately, that January trip featured fairly meek weather, with temperatures in the high 30s and, if I rightly recall, even the low 40s at times. Snow cover was relatively sparse, though I managed to cross-country ski down to Lone Star Geyser and back to Old Faithful via the Howard Eaton Trail. There was snowshoeing to the brim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and searching for wolves in the Lamar Valley (and I did indeed spot one, a jet-black one).
Well, the calendar has turned over a number of times since that last winter visit, and while I've visited Yellowstone almost annually in summer, this trip is my first return in winter. I hope to learn first-hand what the evolution of snowmobile and snowcoach technology has brought us in terms of sound and air pollution and other impacts, and see if it has changed my thinking on how best to travel in Yellowstone during the winter months.
But largely I hope to simply experience the park in the gelid maw of a Rocky Mountain winter. And it seems as if Mom Nature is willing to accommodate my desire. It has been snowing in the park for a few days, and the temperatures have ridden an arctic express down into the single digits and then some. According to one forecast I checked, the storm accumulation should reach a foot of new snow by Wednesday morning. While the snow will then taper off, the temperatures are expected to continue to plummet. Overnight lows Wednesday will head towards 19 below zero, and by Thursday morning they say wind-chills could touch 37 degrees below zero.
Should be fun! I'll report back on the experience next week.
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We entered Yellowstone on Dec 19th to "balmy" temperatures in the 20's. As the days went by, the temps started to go down. On the 23rd, the day of our all day snowmobile tour, it was around zero. The next morning (Christmas Eve) was our Lone Star Geyser cross country skiing excursion and it was -10. I had on every layer of my Winter gear! (We later found out that the snowmobile tour that day had to return because the cold was affecting a specific part of the snowmobile.) Going into Lone Star being constantly on the move, I was fine and actually sweating by the time we reached our destination. Of course waiting an hour and 45 minutes for it to go off (we've NEVER had to wait that long in the past!) and resting, I did begin to feel the cold after a while. The ink in the pen for the log book was frozen and we weren't able to record the time, it was so cold! I don't know about the kind of temperatures you are expecting but as long as I was bundled up (thankful for balaclavas despite how ugly they are!) and moving, I was fine even slogging my way down to Black Sand Basin. Black Sand Pool was especially beautiful with the contrast of snow, black sand and blue color. The nearby trees were richly encrusted by ice and snow, it made for some beautiful photos! Another wonderful thing that happened Giantess Geyser went off on Christmas Eve and we were able to photograph it a lot on Christmas Day!!! We have never been fortunate enough to catch that one in all of our trips to Yellowstone!
The Snow Lodge at Christmas was a wonderful experience! I brought in a small Christmas tree and decorated it for my husband, son and I and set it up in our room between the beds on the small table. The Lodge was decorated beautifully and listening to the piano every evening was really nice while we played games at the couches and tables. On Christmas Eve there was caroling around the piano, refreshments and an ornament making activity.
Our only negative experience at the Snow Lodge was our exit. We were booked on the 2PM Express on the 26th but someone messed up. We received a call at 6:50AM reminding us to be down there for the 7:00 AM Express snowcoach! We weren't even packed and in a panic! As it turned out there was NO room for us on the 2PM and we had to leave! Packing was the "scoop and drop" method and I was very flustered! We left a little before 8:00 on a Snowcoach bound for West Yellowstone for a pick up, just the 3 of us. Our driver, Darrin of Florida was really nice and because of him, the gal at the front desk comped our ride out saving us about $200! Fortunately my husband had a copy of the Xanterra itenearary they had e-mailed him to prove it was their mistake. We got into West by 9AM, unable to check back into the Stagecoach Inn yet but loaded up our suitcases in our car in their small parking garage. We relaxed, hit the stores, ate lunch and dinner and caught "Alaska" and "Bears" at the IMAX. We left the 27th and it was -26 degrees out and headed back home to Texas!
Have fun, Kurt. They're now predicting an air temperature here in Bozeman tonight of -19F; that means probably at least ten degrees cooler at that elevation. We had 7 inches of fresh snow in the past day; that means probably close to two feet where you are.
Because of work, I haven't been able to get to the park much so far this winter - went skiing a couple weeks ago just inside the western boundary looking for you know what ... we have gotten into the Gallatin National Forest, a lot, though (especially, this week). The hidden gems of Greater Yellowstone are all around us. There are so many wonderful ski trails in the Hyalite Canyon, a place that would easily be a memorable place for any Yellowstone NP visitor if only they had drawn the boundaries of the park in any manner that actually reflected the ecosystem (so the summer and winter visitors skip these places thinking you have to go all the way to the park to be in Yellowstone). That's okay, though. When you're skiing on a snowy trail by yourself, and there's no one around, how can you complain that it wasn't included? As you've noted with the "wilderness" designation issue with the parks, some places seem accidentally more protected in some ways by virtue of not being in the park. Some very special places in the Yellowstone not officially in Yellowstone have managed that lucky fate.
Jim Macdonald
The Magic of Yellowstone
Yellowstone Newspaper
Jim's Eclectic World
My hubby & I will be at Yellowstone next month (Feb). Our first winter trip to the Park. Am really looking forward to your report on your trip next week! Hope it hits the Traveler before we leave in early Feb!
Hope you are having fun. Am interested to know the amount of snow at Old Faithful and the actual temperature. Here in Paradise Valley (just north of Yellowstone) where I live, it has been relatively balmy. Yesterday (Thursday) was the coldest and it still managed to hit 10, though overnight it got down to -6. Most days recently have been in the 20's and low 30's, while at night we have been hard pressed to hit zero. Snow is all but non existent, less than an inch I'd say. I was in the Park (Lamar) yesterday and at the north gate there is no more snow than we have here. Mammoth has a couple of inches and Lamar, maybe a foot...a little more where it has drifted....but I could easily walk around without my snowshoes in most areas. I had to go almost up to Cooke City to find enough snow that I felt comfortable using my snowshoes without fear of breaking them. Looks like more warm and dry weather coming, with temps this weekend expected to hit the thirties and no snow in sight. I guess Jim is hogging all the snow over in Bozeman!!:) Paradise Valley is in the rain shadow of the Gallatins. I understand that this is an El Nino winter, which means wetter than normal down south, but typically means drier than normal for us.
Frank,
Definitely been strange to have so much snow here relative to everywhere else ... though I think they've had some good dumping in West Yellowstone ... but have read elsewhere about the north part of the park being so relatively dry. That keeps me from feeling too bad as I've been so swamped with work that I just can't get away from our immediate area. I hope to hit Hyalite again Saturday morning or afternoon.
Jim Macdonald
The Magic of Yellowstone
Yellowstone Newspaper
Jim's Eclectic World