Cross Country Skiing Through Yellowstone

That's exactly the predicament I found myself in when I did the Yellowstone on Skis program, a six-night trek sponsored by the Yellowstone Association. It's one of the association's popular lodging and learning programs, which includes lodging, food, activities, a guide and, in this case, rolls physical activity, education and wildlife encounters into one awesome trip.

In a nutshell, I spent three nights at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and another three at Old Faithful Snow Lodge, which was much a treat as the skiing. So, too, were the rides in the snowcoach, which took my group to the trailheads. As we rode, our guide Julianne gave us the scoop about Yellowstone's history and wildlife.Each day, we skied different trails, sometimes logging over 10 miles and doing two ski excursions in a day. (So yes, you have to have a moderate fitness level and because terrain is somewhat challenging at times, some cross country skiing experience.) During my journey, I skied to frozen waterfalls along the rim of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, around geysers, including Old Faithful, and through thick forests of lodgepole pines.

As Julianne warned, though, Yellowstone can be as brutal as it is beautiful, and although I spent the first day skiing under sunny, blue skies, the wind began to pick up, blowing in a storm that dumped several feet on us. One day, we faced epic conditions, as the wind was howling at almost 60 miles per hour, whipping the falling snow into such a frenzy that mini snow tornadoes formed around us. Call me crazy, but it's part of what made the trip. (Plus, it gave me a legitimate excuse to have yet another cup of hot chocolate!)

Weather was just one of our obstacles. Those two bison on the trail did pose a small problem. Of course, we'd seen dozens, if not hundreds, of bison as we traveled by snowcoach through the park, but these two were directly in our path, and we had no choice but to go around them. Park rules advocate that you stay at least 25 feet from wildlife, so we simply moved off the trail and skied around them. Of course, I didn't take my eyes off them until they were out of sight.

That wasn't our only wildlife encounter, though. Around Old Faithful, we were again on the lookout for bison in our tracks as we passed herds of them. We also saw elk, trumpeter swans, otter and coyote, including one that crossed my path as I was skiing. I stopped in my tracks and observed the gray and white beauty for several minutes before he darted back into the woods.

Magical? Without a doubt. So much, in fact, that if I could do it all over again, I would, "natural" obstacles and all.

For help getting in shape for a trip like this, check out Fit for Trips.