Alpine Vibes

OUTSIDE MISSOULA, MONTANA, IS A NEARLY ENDLESS ALPINE PARADISE

- Reagan Colyer

Montana’s mountains are, in a word, legendary. With nearly 3,000 peaks, 250 of which are over 10,000 feet, and over 27-million acres of public land, the state offers nearly endless adventures. But it’s equally easy to get lost and overwhelmed by the sheer number of options.

Forrest Boughner can relate.

When the Arizona native moved to Montana after a collegiate running career in Alabama, he immediately began exploring the state’s trails and peaks. After nearly a decade, he’s found more hidden gems than most, due in part to his ongoing project of summiting as many of Montana’s peaks as possible (there are nearly 300 that top 10,000 feet). He also attempted what he called the “Pintler Perverse” earlier this summer, a traverse of the Anaconda-Pintler section of the Continental Divide Trail. He didn’t end up completing the whole trip, but even on that failed attempt he crunched 15,000 feet of elevation and 42 miles over a day and a half.

In 2017, he was struck by an idea: Montana trail enthusiasts presented a need here that he could fill. And so Alpine Running Guides was born, as an option for trail junkies who wanted to access more remote and less-maintained locations.