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When I started my Turns All Year journey, I never imagined I would make it to Month 100. What an obscure and meaningless and ridiculous pursuit this is. And yet, here I am. I’m happy to have reached this milestone, and happier in general because of the incredible community of people who helped me reach Turns All Year: Month 100!

Achieving 100 months of Turns All Year seemed extra tenuous after skiing only one day in January (and barley one day in November). So when it was time to figure out where to celebrate, I opted to go back to my roots: Montana. Specifically Big Sky to ski with my family. They were there from the beginning, they might as well celebrate this “monumental” achievement with me too!

February 2, 2020 | Big Sky, Montana

A person wearing a ski helmet and goggles takes a selfie in front of four other excited skiers in a whiteout.
I love skiing with my family in Big Sky so much. This is how you take a selfie with five people in ski gear. Photo by Michele Ciari.

J and I flew to Bozeman, my hometown, on February 1, and wasted no time getting to the mountain the next day. Happily joined by my dad (whom we call Popi), my sister, and my wonderful brother in law, we found lots of snow and dust on crust due to unseasonably warm weather the day before.

Popi led us on a Tour de Big Sky, going through all of our old favorites as kids. We ripped groomers until we were too tired and had to take ourselves in for lunch. Then we ripped some more. If you like to ski fast and not have many other people around, Big Sky is a good place to be.

I was extra excited to get home and see custom made congratulations signs from my niece and nephew. Thank you sister Montana for making that happen!

February 4, 2020 | Big Sky, Montana

Three skiers stand in shadow in front of a Lone Peak covered in snow in Montana.
When we arrived in Big Sky the temperature read -1. We wore all the layers. As long as we tried to stay in the sunshine it was not so bad.

For day 2 of Month 100 of Turns All Year, we continued our Tour de Big Sky, this time with my mom en tow. The weather was completely clear and totally gorgeous and absolutely freezing. Driving up the canyon the car temp read -13. By the time we made it to the lodge it had “warmed” to -1. We wore all of the things.

Again we went traipsing all over the mountain. We started on my mom’s favorite run, Elk Park, then worked our way up into the bowl and across over to Challenger lift and Moonlight. The snow was surprisingly good in places, albeit a bit crusty. Eventually our legs and the elevation got the better of us, so we went to the brewery in town to rest our weary bones. In all, an excellent start to Month 100 of Turns All Year!

Two women and a man hold beer glasses to the camera to cheers 100 months of skiing every month in a row.
Family cheers!