Story and photos by Carol Polich
As I stood by my snowmobile in West Yellowstone, Montana, the bitter air hit me. So did brief second thoughts about driving up the steep Two Top Trail, with its 2,000-foot elevation gain. But the excitement of a new adventure abated my anxiety.
I pulled my scarf tight, threw my leg over the seat and hit the throttle. The snowmobile galloped toward our destination: the snow ghosts on Two Top Mountain.
Even though the temperature hovered around zero, I didn’t feel the cold. Anticipation warmed me, and I could hardly wait to reach the peak where the chilling wintry visions resided.
The trail up the mountain was meandering but well groomed. Even before you reach the peak, ghouls and goblins along the way stand like warriors ready to defend their mountaintop kingdom.
During winter, the relentless icy wind packs snow onto trees’ sturdy trunks and flocks the spindly needles and branches, transforming the arched and tilted windswept conifers into ghostly beings.
As I drove above the tree line, the dense canopy gave way to open blue skies. Mountains in three states reach as far as you can see: the Tetons in Wyoming, Centennial Mountains in Idaho and Lionhead here in Montana.
But it wasn’t panoramas I was looking for. Here on Two Top were the ghosts I came to see: smaller trees completely sheathed in snow, looking like pale, gnarled figures, their curved and twisted branches grabbing your imagination.
Countless snowmobiles raced up and down the slopes and in between the trees. Riders got off to look around and photograph these natural wonders. The people bundled up in bulky winter clothes near the snow ghosts help put in perspective how impressive these formations really are.
This 30-mile Two Top trail forms a loop. Adventure seekers will love the mountain’s numerous bowls, drop-offs and cliffs. Snowmobiling invites people with a flair for thrills and spills, but you should always treat outdoor winter activities with caution as weather conditions can change rapidly.
And wandering off course, by foot or on a snowmobile, can be treacherous. You can easily get turned around and disoriented as you try to return to the main trail. Off trail, you could sink quickly up to your waist in powder snow. It’s not easy to extricate your body—or a heavy snowmobile—from deep drifts.
As strong as the urge for free-range exploration was, I knew I had to give myself some limitations. I heeded the warnings and roamed carefully, spending hours riding the trails and photographing these haunting figures.
When the sun began to set, I captured the snow ghosts in silhouette. Then it was time to head to lower elevations and warm up in a cozy motel room. Other snowmobilers had already called it quits for the day, and as I drove back down the mountain under the wintry glow of dusk, the air was still.
Rising early the next morning and heading back up to the mountaintop before sunrise gave me another chance to enjoy the quiet peace of this enchanted wonderland. The cold hardly mattered. I just focused on the beauty of the day’s first light reflecting off the ice and snow.