Photos: Dirk Collins

It's an unpolished appeal. Double chair lifts, brown bag lunches and the sound of ski boots on a wooden floor - the roots of skiing that many have never even experienced. Tucked into the forest and around the next bend of a snow-covered back road, mom and pop ski hills remain a bastion for the soul of skiing. They are a sanctuary where time slows down, the riding is good and the smiles go on forever.

(Max Martin and Natalie Connell pack it in after a bell to bell day on the mountain)

(Natalie Connell lays into a silky-smooth heel side turn through the glades at Lost Trail Ski Area in Montana)

(Brittany Mumma and Max Martin catch the rope tow back to the lodge at Lost Trail Ski Area in Montana)

(Max Martin sinks into a frothy, untracked powder stash at Lost Trail Ski Area)