Don Gisselbeck: Spring Skiing Guru

By YogeshSimpson, 6-21-05

When I walked into the Bike Dr. on North Higgins this morning I wasn’t looking for a check up, I was there to talk skiing. Don’s eyes sparkled behind his wire rim glasses as he looked up from a disassembled bike. “Skied Gash Point Saturday,� he said. “Six, 700 feet of sweet spring skiing.�

With the end of June just around the corner skiing is the last thing on most Missoulians’ minds, but for some of us a skiing addiction is not something that fades with the passing of winter. The mercury is rising to uncomfortable temperatures in the lowlands and the allure of a few hard-earned turns is stronger than ever.

At this time of year skiers can expect long approaches to short, stalwart snowfields and shaded chutes. When it comes to these bastions of winter’s bounty there is no one more knowledgeable than Don Gisselbeck. He is a spring skiing guru of western Montana.

“When god created the universe he had two things primarily in mind. One was the music of J.S. Bach and other was skiing,� Gisselbeck says. I asked him if he listens to Bach on his iPod while he skis, but he says he’s philosophically opposed to such things. “You’re supposed to be out there with your solitude or your good friends.�

In addition to “wrenching� for the annual RATPOD (Ride Around The Pioneers in One Day) race this weekend, Gisselbeck plans to ski Storm Shadow Pass in the Pintlers and “do some serious recon� for the next peak on his list: Homer Young in the Beaverhead Range.

In the winter Gisselbeck works the rental shop at Snowbowl and since the resort closed in March he’s been skiing in the backcountry on all but one weekend. Of all the local runs he says Trapper Peak is probably his favorite. “It’s got a beautiful face and you can put huge hero turns on it,� Gisselbeck says. “It’s dreamy.�

Judging by how hard he plays you’d think Gisselbeck was in his 20s, but his gray beard hints at his 49 years. “It’s the big 5-0 on July 29th, and I’m hoping to get a bunch of crazies together to ski Trapper,� he says. “I’m going to try to put the hurt on the maximum number of 20-year-olds.�

A Montana native, Gisselbeck has been a bike mechanic in Missoula for 13 years. After graduating from the University of Montana he served in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone and then had a brief stint at Spring Creek – the behavior modification facility featured in this week's >Missoula Independent. He says he switched from troubled teens to bikes because “bicycles don’t swear at you in the morning and they’re fixed by evening.�

Gisselbeck also plays trombone in the Missoula City Band, which performs in Bonner Park every Wednesday from the end of June through mid-August. “You dabble in whole bunch of stuff and you have a whole lot of fun,� Gisselbeck says.

So if you have questions about a local run Gisselbeck’s likely skied it recently and will probably have pictures. Trapper, Gash and Lolo Peak should still be skiing well, but Gisselbeck’s top pick for an easy approach and plenty of vert is St. Mary’s peak in the Bitterroot. Happy hiking.

Editor's note: This is part of a series of profiles of folks in New West country we think you should meet. Click on "read more like this" to see more. [End of article]