Ski plans for next season?

I've never skied out west but I know plenty of people who have. All of them have one thing one thing in common, Big Sky is a must.

That's all I got

billyymc wrote

. . . And it's a much closer drive to Jackson than SLC or Steamboat.

Any reason to not go to Big Sky the second week in March?

The writer of the NY Times article about using multi-resort passes that was published recently flew to JH, found good deal on a 1-way car rental to Bozeman, and drove in a snowstorm to get to Big Sky.  I got to hear her car rental and driving stories first hand because she's also a Ski Diva and was one of my condo mates in a VRBO condo in Meadow Village.  I'm the "over 60" skier from Raleigh who she mentions having used Ikon Base and MCP for 42 days last season.  That was her first taste of Big Sky and she intends to get back sooner rather than later.  Probably without a stop at JH, which was less suited to her ski terrain interests.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/25/travel/ski-pass-multi-mountain.html
" . . .
In February I drove solo from Jackson Hole to Big Sky after a day of skiing. In normal conditions this takes just under four hours but I decided to spend the night in West Yellowstone, Mont., on the way. That turned out to be a good move because that evening a whiteout in negative-digit temperatures hit the area. The less time spent on a frigid mountain road with no cell reception, the better.
. . ."

Big sky is a good place but it’s been approaching 20 years since I’ve been there - it’s just too much screwing around with flights to get to Bozeman. Bridger is a great hill too. The problem
With skiing lone peak is the stupid beer can you have to ride up, takes forever to get through the line. You can maybe afford one or two passes at it as it will burn up a whole afternoon.

This season for me is going to be tough - have a new baby (one month old!) so 'nuff said for my usual ski season of around 30 days on average.  However, hoping to still make it out there, including spending some extended weekends or maybe even a whole week with family in Placid, once the baby gets his shots and can be out in public without much concern (mid-Jan).  So you could say I'm just waiting* this year for a nice base to develop, then get it in Feb/March/Apr**

So Whiteface/Gore/ADKBC where possible

*currently in negotiations to go this weekend with my dad for a quick trip!

**want to do Tucks this year.  I say this every year.

ADMike, does your wife ski? I used to know a guy that would just stake out a spot in the lodge for his wife and baby, ski as hard as he could all morning and then take over the parenting and give his wife his jacket with the ticket attached for the afternoon. I thought it was a pretty good system.

The guys from icecoastmag.com probably published 15 times last fall, both have newborns, and they've posted twice this year.

Kids happen!  Congrats, and I'm sure you'll get some skiing in. I found that when ours was that little I was able to ski more easily than a few years later.  Ours like the car, and my wife, didn't she but liked the change of scenery.

And welcome back to NYSB, the tool for flatlanders who are working the angles.

Brownski wrote

I used to know a guy that would just stake out a spot in the lodge for his wife and baby, ski as hard as he could all morning and then take over the parenting and give his wife his jacket with the ticket attached for the afternoon.

Good for the dude, snagging first tracks!

Gore was way cool, taking babies at six months, and ours turned six months on opening day.

Come to thing of it, maybe that is why my wife made the drive with me, all that cheap day care.

PeeTex wrote

Big sky is a good place but it’s been approaching 20 years since I’ve been there - it’s just too much screwing around with flights to get to Bozeman. Bridger is a great hill too. The problem
With skiing lone peak is the stupid beer can you have to ride up, takes forever to get through the line. You can maybe afford one or two passes at it as it will burn up a whole afternoon.

Big Sky is quite different now that the Moonlight terrain is part of the same lift ticket.  Also the Challenger lift is a decent triple, as opposed to a very slow double going right up the top of the ridgeline.  That means access to the chutes on both sides (A-Z and the Moonlight chutes) is easier than when you were last there.  The Lone Peak bowl access is also better with a detachable instead of a slow triple that was so narrow the mountain host I was with the first time would only ride it as a double.  Last, but not least access to the Shedhorn terrain is now by a high-speed quad.

My first trip was in 2011, my last was in 2019.  I'm hopeful that Boyne will announce the timeframe for building a new gondola from the base soon so I can plan my next trip.

Harvey wrote

NYSB, the tool for flatlanders who are working the angles.

I think that's my new sig-line.

Just book Utah trip #2. Going with my oldest and best friend (I met him last week and loaned him $1,000)

Seriously though, will be the first time in years  I have left the misses at home and batch'd it with the boys on a ski trip.

Brownski wrote

ADMike, does your wife ski? I used to know a guy that would just stake out a spot in the lodge for his wife and baby, ski as hard as he could all morning and then take over the parenting and give his wife his jacket with the ticket attached for the afternoon. I thought it was a pretty good system.

She's a snowboarder (went a few times before meeting me, became much better after we started dating, now a strong intermediate, rides Whiteface blues, could do a black if she had to).  However, she's not passionate about it like I am, but I come from a ski family where me and my brothers all starting at 3 yo, and both parents passionate skiers, but she's mixed up in it now by default so when winter hits...she knows the deal!  I would think she'd be ok with coming up and not skiing if our son is with us, so that I could ski like early until it gets skied off, then meet back up with them and we go do other stuff in the afternoon.  Or get a quick ski tour in.  That's my vision currently anyways.  Also helps my parents are often there and we have a place 10 mins from Whiteface, so I am definitely lucky in terms of still being able to pull off some skiing with grandparents being present and having something more than a hotel room to hang in, especially once we have kids at skiing age.  Wasn't always the case, been passholders since way back in the day, but bummed it at various cheap hotels around the region to pull off our ski seasons, slept in cars, redeye drives to avoid lodging costs, etc, so the whole having a place thing is a new way of doing things for us that my son will now get to experience skiing in a different way than we did growing up.

Harvey wrote

Congrats, and I'm sure you'll get some skiing in.

Ours like the car, and my wife, didn't she but liked the change of scenery.

And welcome back to NYSB, the tool for flatlanders who are working the angle.

Thanks!  And yeh he likes the car so far so that’s a start! Will be playing angle of change of scenery to my advantage - betting on she will get tired of being in the house while on maternity leave through the entire winter and then some.

Sounds like you can make this happen. Having the house close is key. Having a second car there would make it perfect. I found my wife or later, daughter we’re on different schedules and having a second car took off all the stress.