Normally, Michael Gue arrives at the mountain three days a week around 8 a.m., ahead of the guests. He takes a snowmobile to the top of the ski runs along the base of Lolo Peak, where a large yurt sits at the edge of Maclay's property.
He ignites a fire in the fireplace, turns on the coffee pot, and then waits for the snowcat to arrive with the guests.
There may not be a chairlift or a ski lodge or unrestricted public access - and no word on when there will be - but the Bitterroot Resort is home to the displaced Marshall Mountain Ski Patrol.
“I can't wait until we have chairs,” Gue said.
It began in 2003 when the small family ski hill up Marshall Canyon decided to shut down its chairlift for good.
Gue, a firefighter from Missoula, started patrolling at Marshall Mountain three years earlier, partly because, as a toddler on the bunny hill, he remembers looking up to the men and woman in the bright red jackets with white crosses on them.
“I remember thinking, ‘What a great job,' ” said the 25-year-old.
When Marshall shut down, there was still hope it would reopen after a few years. Gue immediately got on with Snowbowl's volunteer patrol, as did others. Some patrollers volunteered at Lost Trail, Lookout Mountain and Discovery Basin in order to keep their toboggan and medical certifications up to date.
“We had such a tight-knit group, we wanted to keep that group together,” Gue said.
They tossed around the idea of starting a Nordic ski patrol, but no one was excited about that option. The National Ski Patrol urged the Marshall patrollers to either find a new home or disband.
Over the years, the crew had purchased oxygen masks, first aid gear and sleds. They had a bank account with the proceeds from the SOS Fair. But most of all, they needed a new home because they just wanted to patrol as they always had in the past - together.
That's when they noticed someone clearing spots along the base of Lolo Peak. From a distance, it resembled the making of ski slopes.
James Banister, who patrolled at Marshall for a decade before it closed, knew Maclay. So the 38-year-old nurse took the initiative of driving to the longtime Bitterroot Valley rancher's house and knocking on his door.
“I see you are cutting ski runs,” said Banister. “We are interested in providing a service. We are rarin' to go.”
Coincidentally, the Bitterroot Resort at that time was throwing around the idea of offering snowcat rides to the public as a way to promote its proposed ski resort and housing development.
“To have a volunteer work force show up at our door like that was a tremendous bonus,” said chief operating officer Jim Gill.
The resort bought all of Marshall Mountain Patrol's gear, sleds and first aid equipment.
Now nine former Marshall Mountain ski patrollers volunteer and work at the Bitterroot Resort. Gue is the head patroller and on the resort's payroll. Only one or two patrollers work at a time. Banister enjoys the resort because it's just down the road from his house.
Up to this point, there have not been any serious accidents on the slopes.
“We are giving a tour, pretty much,” Gue said.
The guests arrive at the bottom parking lot around 9:30 a.m. and unload their gear into a snowcat that carries them to a carpeted yurt, which encloses couches, picnic tables, a portable toilet and a full supply of goodies and snacks.
Typically, the routine goes something like this: hit a couple of early morning runs, break for lunch provided by the resort, and hear Gill give a presentation about the project and answer questions, then ski until about 3 p.m.
It's not fast-paced skiing. It's a controlled environment, Gue said.
The group skies together, stopping to regroup every 200 yards or so. People enjoy the scenic panorama of the Bitterroot Valley. The terrain is intermediate - meaning blue circles.
Both Gue and Banister continue to volunteer at Snowbowl to keep their patrol skills sharp. Banister looks forward to the day he can bring his family with him skiing at the resort and Gue, too, wants to see more skiers enjoying the snow.
They don't like to talk about the controversy involved with the resort.
However, both see it as filling a niche left vacant by the closure of Marshall Mountain. They agree there's a need for more beginner and intermediate terrain.
“The closing of Marshall was a loss to Missoula,” Banister said. “I still hear about it all the time. Marshall was a small, family ski area. Snowbowl is a mountain that has a certain clientele and I don't know how much of an overlap there will be.”
Bitterroot Resort is in the process of applying for permits with the state transportation, environmental quality and natural resource departments. The resort must also apply for an amendment to Missoula County's growth plan.
Though the timeline for installation of a chairlift at this point is fuzzy at best, Gue is nonetheless preparing his team of patrollers.
Last week, the patrollers hosted a mock night rescue, inviting Life Flight, Missoula County Search and Rescue and the backcountry emergency response team to participate. Two skiers hid in the trees, while everyone else simulated what an actual response would look like.
“There's a lot of backcountry terrain,” Gue said. “We were there to show 'em the mountain and landing zones. We are getting ready to expand.”
Reporter Chelsi Moy can be reached at 523-5260 or at chelsi.moy@missoulian.com
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