Viperdoc wrote:
Recently, on a long cross country from Portland, OR to Wisconsin, we stopped
at Helena, MT for a gas and pit stop.

snip
Once on the loc BC, there are several step down fixes, but since we were
given the approach clearance several thousand feet high, I had a hard time
reaching the DME fixes at a low enough altitude.

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It was a great learning experience, but I'm not sure what to have done
differently. I already had the approach flaps out, and contemplated putting
down the gear to help the descent, but hesitated doing this in icing
conditions (what if I needed to pull up the gear again for some reason
during the approach covered in ice?)

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I think one of the approaches to this airport was discussed in IFR
Magazine (maybe it was IFR Refresher) some time ago. As I recall, the
article discussed a pilot who decided to do a 360 to lose some
altitude and hit some granite. Because of the terrain, the slam dunk
is all you've got there, I believe.