Big Sky Conditions

Skiing has improved. We had a couple of 10" storms with high density snow that is covering the place up pretty well. The tram is open but limited. The bull wheel for Challenger chair is in the parking lot but if you know your way around you can still get to the top where the skiing is excellent. But not in a snoloco kind of way. It's still time for the rock skis although I don't have any. Just about the entire mountain is open and we have enough base so that the skiing is as good as last night's snowfall. More snow coming Sunday.
Hey TJF, it's going to be good. Family huh? You may want to steer them into taking a tour in Yellowstone Park. During the Winter it is like going to the zoo. They offer both guided snow coach tours or you can rent snowmobiles which can be a lot of fun. Let me know when you're coming out and I will work on getting us into the Yellowstone Club for a day. We could go to Bridger but would you really want to hike for a day while skiing Big Sky all week? They have lifts but the only game on that hill is hiking the ridge. ( Bridger Sucks ).

lolkl wrote

We could go to Bridger but would you really want to hike for a day while skiing Big Sky all week? They have lifts but the only game on that hill is hiking the ridge. ( Bridger Sucks ).

Does it really suck? Or just suck in comparison?

I only ask because Bridger looks on the surface to be my kinda place (never been there in the winter, but the trail map looks fun).

lolkl wrote

We could go to Bridger but would you really want to hike for a day while skiing Big Sky all week? They have lifts but the only game on that hill is hiking the ridge. ( Bridger Sucks ).

WTF!!
Bridger doesn't suck! Big sky is definitely cool and the skiing off the tram is really great but Bridger is one of those special places. lolkl, I didn't take you for a resort rat but we all can be mistaken. With the lift they put in to the top of the ridge I imagine that Bridger is in all it's glory is easier to access now. I really want to get back there and try it.

Re: Bridger Sucks!
It doesn't really suck. It has some very good skiing and, in general, Bridger Skiers are better than Bigsky skiers.Their terrain is more challenging than ours and the place has history and a cool vibe. " Bridger Sucks " is pretty much like a High School rivelry. It goes back to the days before the tram when hiking was everything. And somewhat good natured ribbing in the tram line if we see known bridger skiers... the old wash-ups.
On the other hand, it is crowded, especially if the skiing is good. The new chair gets you to some cool stuff. You and 6 trillion MSU kids skipping school. Or you can get in line with the other "Ridge Hippies" and hike to the ridge. But, otherwise, it's like going to Mad River instead of Stowe or Sugarbush.
It doesn't really suck... the Bridger skiers that come down here and ski our lines suck.
We just got another foot of snow last night/ today. The skiing is Good.

what lolkl says!  I loved Bridger especially the terrain that is served by the lift you can only ride if you have beacon and balls!

But like lolkl says ski it on a weekday cause it's small-ish and I could see how it could crowd up.  Day we were there was early week and it had been a few days since last storm.  It was no people, a lot of moguls and then the ridge terrain.  The ridge terrain was sick w/ lots of untracked blown in lines.  Big boy lines that drop straight down the fall line through tight chutes!  

I loved it there and I loved Big Sky too!  Especially because we got great tours from Lolkl and another friend of a friend.  Lolkl also hooked us up w/ a trip to the Underground Dirtbag party.  What a cool scene!  Oh yeah and it was wide up as far as people at Big Sky!  Never waited more than 3 minutes to get on lifts - well except for tram which was about 10-15 minutes.

Our skiing was starting to get real good. Then we got a warm spell and 2" of rain instead of the 12"  of snow they predicted this week. But the skiing is still pretty good. The tram is sking well and the coverage up there is much better. We don't have any of the backcountry going on yet. Avalanche danger is high.
It sounds like I will have some Harvey Road types out here this weekend. PowderQueen is making a return visit. She and Rochester Mark came out a couple years ago and we had a good time. I'm hoping we get some snow tomorrow. I don't exactly know how it is back East this season. The optimism of some of the posters here clouds the actual conditions. It might suck but nobody will admit it. Hopefully she will enjoy what we have.

lolkl wrote

The optimism of some of the posters here clouds the actual conditions. It might suck but nobody will admit it.

That does happen.

Lokl, what's going on with the Challenger lift?  I've checked the report a few times over the past week or two and have noticed it's the only lift not open.  Mechanical issues or does that terrain simply need more snow than what has fallen so far?
Love the tree skiing off Challenger, got to get back to Big Sky sometime...

The shaft nearly came off the bull wheel. They took the whole thing apart and shipped it to Spokane to have the shaft pressed into the bull wheel again. The latest report says next Sat. at best. Challenger can still be skied via the Headwaters chair.

It's pretty bleak out here. While the EC gets a record storm we are getting record high temps. Probably be in the 50's today on the mountain. I don't know the stats for our snowfall this season but it ain't good. We do have a good base ( 0 - 50" ) so if it does snow we can rebound quick. It will take at least three storms, close together, to bring us back to normal. It didn't start to really snow until Feb 7th last season. And then it never stopped. So there is hope.
Just about my entire life has been spent hoping for snow.
Good Luck with that monster headed your way!

You da man lolkl. Good skiing coming your way I just know it.

It has been pretty bleak out here.
 Raining again this morning. Who knows what kinda crap is happening up higher. The temps have been in the 30's - 40's and windy. The skiing is OK in a spring skiing kind of way but I have only had one true day of hero powder skiing this season. I've got 42 days on the mountain so far, and 41 of them have been skiing bumps and hardpack. The peak is only open to limited skiing. Lenin and Marx are truley slide for life. The kids are worried about having enough snow to build a kicker for the Big Air contest.
I live at 5700' and have no snow on the ground around my house. Forest fires will be the next big problem. And then the Army Corps of Engineers will draw the water out of Montana's resevoirs and send it down to Missouri for Barge traffic.
The good news is that the skiing can change overnight.

It has been a month since my last report and there is nothing new to report. The conditions are Spring like. South facing stuff corns up in the afternoon.
Rochester Mark and his sister showed up on Saturday and I got to ski the morning with them. The top of the tram is angry. You pretty much need to snowplow and side slip thru the rocks to get to the skiing. Lower down the skiing is wind buff almost flat chalk.
I had some other friends in town. Old sugarbush buddies. They hired Dan Egan to guide them around and allow us to cut the tram line.
We ended up skiing every steep thing they could see. The skiing is seriously steep and this season it is seriously narrow. The constrictions on some of these chutes are about 200 cm wide. I had at least a centimeter on either end of my skis in a coupe places. The rocks help slow you down so it wasn't too bad. We hiked up to the headwaters area on moonlight side. My helmet was flexing as I tried to choke down some air. At one point, I thought I was going to have kittens. I don't think that I have hiked anything since the 90's.
Well, if you're still thinking of a Montana trip... think again. Think about next year.

Hey Azz Clowns,
                          We got a couple feet of snow above 7000' last week. It didn't stay around very long but it was fun to see. I don't care much for predictions and I have no idea what kind of season we will have. For the most part, early season snow doesn't mean much except for 1995. We got a hundred inches up in the bowl during October. It stayed.
So who is coming out this year? I mean coming out here... not what scotty jack did last year.
Next year is the 50th annivesary (no spell check ) of our 4th of July Family reunion in Schroon Lake. I HAVE to attend and I am looking forward to some Adirondak Fun. We usually have a golf tourney in Lake Placid. Too bad the Olympic Bar and Grill is no longer. My uncle worked there in the 50's which made me a legacy. After the beating I gave in foosball, Darts and billards I guess they had to shut it down. The" Tavern Arts " has always played a big role in the family. They won't let me bring my darts on the plane but I can probably get my foos shoes on ( the rental ones suck ).
The e-mail address that this site thinks I still have is no longer good. I guess it didn't matter as I got this post in but I'm not sure of how to let people get in touch with me. A couple of you might still have my cell number which is still good.
Let's play!

I be watching the weather before committing to any western zone this early! No doubt I will return though.

CampPP is a big foozeball talker who never shows up to back it up!  

Dirt bags Rule!  

Attn Harvey, Pls fix this former Adirondack wood chuck turned Montana Hill Billy 's email....

ScottyJack wrote

 

CampPP is a big foozeball talker who never shows up to back it up!  
 

DUDE!! That's nasty talk right there  I sent you a text 2 weeks ago asking if the Big Wink had da fooz with no reply. See you in a few months to put a fooz whoopin on your dacky Azz

Hello.  What?

Lolkl did you change your email addy?  If so maybe update it in your forum settings so our boy can spank you backchannel style?



IF that is what we are talking about.

Hahaha. "spank you back channel style " and " dacky azz fooz ".... the liberal left bend here continues.

November 2015
The ski area opened for a Saturday on Nov 7th. They opened a trail off the triple chair down to the base. I had a cold and couldn't rally for the earliest opening day I ever saw since '91. The trail conditions were minimal from what I hear. Clicking rocks with most of your pole plants kinda stuff. But it is a good sign. The first couple storms we got were wet and it stuck very well. We are getting decent snowfalls for this time of year and the real opening day ( Thanksgiving )  should  be pretty good. Hopefully this bottom layer will do us right this year.
Thanksgiving is supposed to have a high temp of 11 degrees in the morning then dropping. I'm getting softer every year. So many years where I would be standing in line at 5am for the first chair of the season. My powder 8s partner ( a sacred bond ) still does it and I am going to have to hear about it if I don't show. I was fairly hardcore for more than 20 years here, besides 11 years of trying to be a Vermont hardcore. At what point can I say " been there, done that " and try to get my bones thru another season?
Maybe it will snow the night before and I will have the excuse of plowing in the morning. Or hunting! That might work.