Blaze Mountain is a prominent mountain in the Spanish Peaks that has a 2,000' gully on its smooth NW face that holds snow late into the year called 'The Blaze'. It's a classic summer ski destination for Bozemanites, and is a proper adventure to ski in a day. The round trip is a tad over 15 miles, with 6 miles of pristine singletrack in the Lee Metcalf wilderness just to reach the bottom of the snow gully. Running with skis on the back makes this an interesting challenge for those interested in doing the route quickly. The gully can be boot-packed in the snow, or scrambled to either side of the snow field, and its a real leg burner! Sustained 35 degrees for 2000'. The standard approach to The Blaze starts at the Spanish Peak trailhead, and follows the South Fork of Spanish Creek Trail #407 for about 5 miles before turning onto the High Lakes Trail (413) and then the Spanish Creek Trail (411). At some point, you need to jump off the trail heading south, cross a small creek, bushwhack through some deadfall, and then start the bootpack/scramble in earnest. At the top, be sure to tag the true summit, which is a bit south of the top of the snow field, and then ski back down as far as you can before switching back to running shoes and retracing your steps.
Note: "Multisport" here is for running & skiing. The lack of a multisport designation will indicate that the FKT is for running/hiking only (no skis).
