Pick your season, summer...

...or winter/Kurt Repanshek photos.

My first visit to Avalanche Lake a short distance into the backcountry of Glacier National Park started from the trailhead parking area. But that was in the summer months, and winter places that parking area six miles of skiing up the Going-to-the-Sun Road from Lake McDonald Lodge.

Is there a better way to spend a winter day?

The plan, Greg Fortin, owner of Glacier Adventure Guides, was to ski six miles to the trailhead, past McDonald Falls, which serves as a good picnic spot and turnaround point for many day tourers, and on to the Avalanche Creek Campground.

While we considered skiing the rest of the way from the campground to the lake with its frozen waterfalls, forest debris and poor snow conditions convinced us to leave our skis behind and hike the last 1.8 miles to Avalanche Lake.

But what a way to spend the day!