Big Sky Conditions

It you was NY Adirondack hardcore he'd understand but Vt is a little soft compared to Adirondack!!!  

Tomorrow is the first day of Winter. The end of Fall was very good to us. We have received more than a couple feet this past week. I have had to plow 7 out of 8 days. And I love it. We are getting a few inches every night and the light winds are moving it around. The tram has yet to open as the base layer we had was rotted out and this new light density snow just can't hold any weight. shit is ripping out everywhere. But if it doesn't slide then it makes for some terrific skiing.
Sorry about the weather troubles back East.

Since Harvey made this thread sticky I might as well keep it up.
The skiing at Big Sky is fantastic. We keep getting a couple inches every night and the wind blows it around like hitting the " reset " button. I got to ski the Yellowstone Club yesterday. The 4" they got turned into knee deep powder all day long. Probably 20 skiers on the mountain.
The snowpack is still very weak. A patroller from the club was killed last week in an avalanche while doing a test pit with some students from a local school. Very sad. I haven't been going OB much.
The tram is starting to ski well with a decent base. A lot of rocks at the top still but I heard it was " nut deep " on the first run down Lenin. IMO the lower mountain is skiing better, especially in the trees. Today will be sunshine then another series of squalls will push through this weekend.
Sure... it costs more to fly here than SLC or Steamboat. But NO liftlines, better snow quality, better terrain, no Mormons and if you use the promo code " Dirtbag " you get a tour from someone who has been here 25 years. Check our Smoke and Ski packages.

That sounds like a nice package!

February Update
It is a mixed bag this year. We are under average for snowfall yet the snow we got is holding up well. We're far enough North and high enough up to keep things nice. Packed Powder everywhere.
There is some powder to be had. The Tram is in the worst shape it could possibly be on the peak. Hundred yard streches of rocks and ice. Lately I have seen ski patrollers tying children off with ropes tied to the snow fences while they go to rescue 65 year old men sliding for their lives. Of course I find this funny but many were having the worst ski experience of their lives. Then you get down to the Yeti Traverse. Pure ice above 2000' of 50 degree slope. Don't screw up there. But then you get to Lenin and Marx that are covered in 2 - 10" of wind cream. The slopes are as flat as a pool table, about a 100 yards wide and empty. ( the azz clowns got some of this. That was wind chalk... this is creamier ) It is possble to ski VERY fast on a steep slope yet have almost total control.
This week is "Powder Days" for Powder Magazine here at BS. It was always held at Jackson Hole but they moved it. This is when ski equipment reps bring their stuff and the testers test them out. Some heavy hitters in the tram line yesterday skiing sick lines all over.
Good Luck with your conditions!

Was wondering when we were going to here from you.  Did the DBK get elected this year yet?   What is going on with the dog and the house?  Its pretty bleak up here.  No snow other than snow banks in LP and the shit show starts tomorrow.  

The Dirtbag Ball and Powder 8's are on March 19th. Ski Patrol votes for King and Queen at the Ball around midnight. Way past my bedtime. The ski area no longer allows the ball on their property. The whole thing is a fundraiser for the ski patrol to go to Chico Hotsprings for a few days right after the season. The " Chico Slumber Party." And that's OK because I think they earn it. Finding a place big enough and willing to handle that many drunk people is hard. We usually get pretty good bands. When I was King The Guess Who played the Ball. I got to sing " Big Sky Woman " on stage.
My young dog ( 4 ) just came home from ACL surgery. She did the other leg a couple years ago. The old dog is just old. Tough to watch. The new house is awesome and we are enjoying the Hell out of home ownership. Everything is new so I haven't entered the fixing everything years.
Challeger chair is broke down for the season. The transmisson blew up and siezed the chair so bad that the counterweight shot up into the bullwhell carriage. Nobody makes the parts for it so they have to shitcan it and replace it this Summer with a new doppylmeyer HSQ. I think it's too much chair for that area. Too many people at the top. Sometimes lower,slower capacity makes for a better skiing experience on the slope. Like our tram. So many people bitch about " why didn't they make it a 50 or 100 person tram?" Well, because it would suck to get to the peak and have 99 other people making chaos. Instead, I get off with a max of 14 other people and it is a much nicer experience.

March Update.
We have not gotten a real dump since December but we are getting 2" almost every night. Depending on the wind, it is going to be good somewhere. Lately the North Summit Snowfields have been getting the goods. If the winds are out of the SW we are getting knee deep to waist deep powder. Until the first group of shitty snowboarders go down heel slipping. Most of the time the wind heals it up but they can scrape the steep stuff down to rock. I can't shoot them so all I can do is heckle them and make fun of them on the internet. The rest of the mountain comes and goes with the weather.
Tomorrow is Dirtbag. Supposed to be warm. I hope so 'cause it could encourage the young lady dirtbags to show some skin. It's Montana and we don't get that very much. They closed a slope a couple days ago for the Powder 8s comp. It should be excellent conditions.
Here is a picture from last week of some of the backcountry stuff on the backside of BS. If you look closely, you will see my buddy Andy standing on the ridge above his tracks from a previous run. Then look at the right side of the photo in the sunlight where you can see the boot pack back up to that ridge. They hiked straight up that!
I got me one of them new fangled smart phones now. I will try to get some good pics of the NSS and other backcountry stuff you won't see on their website.

Sorry. Now that I see the picture here you don't get the same image size I had on the computer. Oh well, you can get the idea. It's big and unlimited.

sweet

Here it is.... 2016/2017 season update
Not much to report from Montana. It was -11 degrees again this morning. An expected high of 2 degrees. We are sporting a 19" base down low. Nobody actually measures the upper mountain. They just add 50% to the lower elevation number. We got a few lifts running with WROD here and there. Maybe the skiing is good today but too cold is too cold. I live here and I don't need to ski that stuff. Our time will come.
Due to urgent need, the ski area replaced 2 lifts over the Summer and actually got them done. The triple chair that used to access the Bowl was replaced with a high speed 6 - pack, complete with blue bubbles and heated seats. I can't believe they got it open but there it is. I haven't been on it yet, but word is that it is only a 3 minute ride to the top. They put less chairs on the line than it can hold to keep the skier numbers down at the top of the lift. It has the same capacity as the old triple. It is too fast to smoke weed on unless you have a joint already rolled.
They also replaced the Challenger double lift with a 3 person auto load. It should reduce ride time to the point where it is comfortable enough to ride. The trouble over there is that the Bridger skiers love challenger because it reminds them of Bridger. Plus, with enough of 'em, they can form a liftline that reminds them of home. "Little Bridger" gets skied out too fast anymore. It isn't open yet, as Doppylmayer cut the haul rope 5 feet too short and now must resplice a section back onto the line. This wouldn't be legal if we still had a State Tram board. But about 20 years ago, Republican Governor Judy Martz went about deregulating every thing she could. Her arguement... " Who knows more about chairlifts than the ski areas?" Certainly not a state agency. So now the ski areas police their own lifts. No inspections.
( The same people said, " who knows more about asbestos than the mining companies? " Now there are many sick people in Libby , Mt. State.... " too bad "  Opps, sorry about getting political, except for hoping Trump gets a fatal rash that spreads to his family and cabinet members ) and ( the entire Dallas Cowboys team, coaches, owners and facility managers ) and ( Big Popi ) and ( I'm thinking of more. )
But don't worry. We never talk politics while skiing.

BS Lolkl wrote

It is too fast to smoke weed on unless you have a joint already rolled.

Ha!  Would love to see the bubble come up on that puppy.  Forget shot gunning, just let it recirculate in the bubble!!

You've got the cold, hope you get the smoke to go with it soon!

MARCH '17 UPDATE

This is pretty much the worst ski season I have seen in Montana. The ski report doesn't talk about the base anymore. In reality, it is about 32" or less. Not enough cover. A friend visiting from Sugarbush looked around and said " Wow, Low Tide! "

The lack of snowfall combined with the wind has created a lunar landscape. Where there is coverage, the surface conditions are OK. There is some fun wind cream off the Summit. Don't fall. If you land outside of the fairway, the rough is brutal. I can't type fast enough to review the " slide for lifes " we have had this season. The new hospital is getting some action.

And it isn't like we are having sunny days either. Most days you can't see your own skis. That eliminates the tram line most of the time. Sometimes it is the bitter cold and 60+mph winds but it is usually the vision that scares people off. For a while people had to side step down about 300 feet from the summit and many still do. The locals have a way to blow thru but you better know what and where and when.

Last weekend Bridger got 3 feet and we got 1.5". It would have been easy to get bitter but they needed it worse than we did. And then the photos started to appear. It looked like a scene from a Trojan War movie. I heard that it took over an hour to get from the parking lot to the base area. A friend told us he was there all day and got 3 runs, which were crowded. Bridger sucks anyway but gets much worse on a powder day or weekend. ( Bozeman is growing out of control, literally.)

Yesterday was the Underground Dirtbag. Some local music events and internal mayhem caused the date to get changed repeatedly so turnout was light. Some complained that there was not enough snow for a safe landing. Nobody got hurt and there were some good laughs. Traditional Dirtbag is in a few weeks. I bought an old snowmobile suit from one of the rental companies in West Yellowstone. A one piece Arctic Cat suit. I took it out last week for a test run. I pulled up my balaclava and started running over the skis of my friends who didn't recognize me. Then I would swear at them and make a scene. I don't know how the locals at your hill would react to somebody in a snowmobile suit going off on them but I can tell you out here it doesn't go over well. More good laughs.

It looks like Brighton might stay open for a week after us. With it being a sister mountain to BS, our passes are good there. I am lucky enough to be friends with the people who can help down there so I can get a free room at the inn and early morning runs with the General Manager before the lifts open. One season a bunch of us went down there. We were getting pretty rowdy. In the morning some lady complained about the noise and the smell of marijuana. The manager politely told her she had to leave and gave us the extra room. Truth.

As much as I would enjoy skiing with some old azz clowns or new friends.... save your money. There is always next season. If it is too late to bail on your plans to come here I can still show you a good time... it just takes more effort and a good sense of humor.

BS Lolkl wrote

MARCH '17 UPDATE
  I bought an old snowmobile suit from one of the rental companies in West Yellowstone. A one piece Arctic Cat suit. I took it out last week for a test run. I pulled up my balaclava and started running over the skis of my friends who didn't recognize me. Then I would swear at them and make a scene. I don't know how the locals at your hill would react to somebody in a snowmobile suit going off on them but I can tell you out here it doesn't go over well. More good laughs.
 

Ahhahahahahhhaaaaaaaa!!!

Opening Day for Big Sky is 11/23/17.  Sounds like there will be plenty of terrain available given the recent storms coming in from the northwest.

I'm paying attention because I really want to get back to Big Sky and Bridger in 2019.

Drove down Sunday AM and rode my 1st chair of the 17/18 season at 11. Warm temps with spring skiing on swifty and ramcharger.Very firm in the bowl. Todays opening was a complete rain to snow changeover. Half a foot of snow skied great in the mid mountain trees.

Tuesday cleared cold and patrol opened Liberty bowl , and it skied very well with punchy turns up high and good powder on the lower bowl and Screaming Left.At noon Challenger chair opened with super snow on the north aspects , a little thinner on the east and southeast. Wednesday 2-4 " of new refreshed with wind smoothed the upper mt. in sifted snow,creating the best nov. conditions I've ever skied. Today they opened a few lines in the headwaters,one run gripped me good,solid rain crust most of the run.Hopeing they open Thunder or Shredhorn tomorrow.