Big Sky 3/22-3/23 2013

[Powderqueen]

I've been to a lot of ski resorts throughout the US, Canada and a few in Europe, but I don't think I've ever been as awed as I was by Big Sky.

It was our 5th and 6th consecutive days of skiing, and we were pretty beat, but the awesomeness of this mountain renewed our energy.

The tram had not run for a week due to mechanical issues, but on Saturday it was good to go

The crowds turned out too. I think this was the most people we saw in one place during our whole week in Montana.

Well worth the wait for the tram. No effort required to get to the goods, other than the wait to get there

We met up with lokl and he took us on a tour of the local hangouts.

And through the trees

 

[Tony Crocker]

I had assumed the midweek tram shutdown was for weather. At any rate that first ski pic is inducing. Is that Liberty Bowl or maybe Lenin? Those would be such amazing runs with snow that deep.

I have to ask. How long was that tram line? How many runs per day did you get up there?

I note no mention of Moonlight Basin. Most people who are there for only 2 days aren't going to ski it. Nor are they going to pay the $103 for the combined ticket even if they would appreciate the North Snowfields. In fairness I wouldn't do it either on a day when the south side of Lone Peak runs are as good as your pics. At any rate Moonlight has already been through one bankruptcy, I don't think it's financially viable stand alone given typical destination visitor mentality and hopefully all of Lone Peak will be under common ownership sooner rather than later.

 

[coldsmoke]

Well worth the wait for the tram. No effort required to get to the goods, other than the wait to get there

Nice photos PQ. Looks like you got the local tour too. Last weekend was pretty sweet and the tram line was longer than usual with it being down all week for unscheduled maintenance. Glad you had overall great snow for your whole trip in Montana!

Last Saturday was a big day for me and my son (8 years old). He has been skiing the South Face, Gullies, Headwaters and North Summit very well the last couple of years so he did his first Big Couloir with the old man. Maybe you saw a small dot coming down the Big when you were in the tram line. He was pretty stoked at the bottom:

 

[Tony Crocker]

An 8-year-old in the Big. We are not worthy.

 

[jasoncapecod]

That kid must be some hot skier.. That said, what are the ramifications of a fall ? Is it death or embarrassment ?

 

[Marc_C]

That kid must be some hot skier.. That said, what are the ramifications of a fall ? Is it death or embarrassment ?

Note the dogleg nature of the chute and what's under you in the upper half. There's also the rock wall on skiers' right. Couple that with the ~50+ degree pitch at the top and it's certainly not somewhere I'd want to fall.

 

[coldsmoke]

That kid must be some hot skier.. That said, what are the ramifications of a fall ? Is it death or embarrassment ?

The conditions were excellent that day with a foot of settled powder top to bottom, good vis and no wind. The last time I did it, the top part of the dog leg was pretty firm, you don't want to fall in those conditions. The kid has done countless tram laps, including the Gullies and Dictators, so we felt he was ready under the right conditions and the planets aligned that day. Mom would only let us do it if we got a positive first hand report from a ski patroller who had done it that morning. Previous attempts were abandoned after less than stellar reports. The Big Couloir is the real deal and should not be taken lightly. You should ski and feel comfortable in the Gullies before attempting it.

 

[Powderqueen]

Nice photos PQ. Looks like you got the local tour too. Last weekend was pretty sweet and the tram line was longer than usual with it being down all week for unscheduled maintenance. Glad you had overall great snow for your whole trip in Montana!

Last Saturday was a big day for me and my son (8 years old). He has been skiing the South Face, Gullies, Headwaters and North Summit very well the last couple of years so he did his first Big Couloir with the old man. Maybe you saw a small dot coming down the Big when you were in the tram line. He was pretty stoked at the bottom:

=D>

that is so awesome that your kid skied that! I wish I had skied that too!

We didn't go back to wait for the tram, though I really wanted to. The guys would rather ski than wait. I was tired so I would rather have quality than quantity, but would rather ski with my friends than alone. We definitely had great snow all week and had a blast with lokl. I will definitely go back. It was better than a week in Utah, in so many ways. I particularly liked there were no crowds most of the week, except the Saturday the tram ran for the first time in a week. Even Sunday at Bridger, people said it would be crowded, and it was not. Not a single lift line there...even at Schlasmans.

The tram holds 15 people and takes 4 1/2 min for the next tram. There was probably at least an hour wait, though it took us that long to get from the base to the tram and then wait for our turn anyway. I would have done that again.

What time did you guys ski Big Couloir? Did you have to sign out with ski patrol to ski it? I presume all had avi gear.

 

[coldsmoke]

What time did you guys ski Big Couloir? Did you have to sign out with ski patrol to ski it? I presume all had avi gear.

We had the 12:30 slot. Yes, you have to sign out with patrol at the top of the tram and beacon, probe, shovel are required. The kid is psyched to have his own pack. I may have made a mistake though, I promised the kid he could learn how to snowboard if he skid the Big #-o.

You really nailed your trip, nice to throw in Disco and Bridger too!

 

[Tony Crocker]

There was probably at least an hour wait, though it took us that long to get from the base to the tram and then wait for our turn anyway. I would have done that again.

I appreciate quality (admin's been working on that for awhile!) but half an hour is about my limit for that tram wait. Not only is it the time, but it's cold and your muscles get stiff standing outside doing nothing that long. You need to bring your "A-game" skiing just about anything off Lone Peak and one of the reasons I personally did not try to ski the Big Couloir this time was that I would not have been "warmed up" when I had the possible chance.

Big Sky is indeed an impressive mountain, but that tram bottleneck when the skiing is good is a huge design flaw for expert skiers. At Jackson you can blow off the tram (which has what, 7x the capacity?) if the line is too long and get plenty of challenging skiing with 90+% of terrain served by chairs. At Big Sky you can spend the whole day getting 2 or 3 runs up there or else feel more like you've been missing the best it has to offer.

 

[Powderqueen]

There was probably at least an hour wait, though it took us that long to get from the base to the tram and then wait for our turn anyway. I would have done that again.

I appreciate quality (admin's been working on that for awhile!) but half an hour is about my limit for that tram wait. Not only is it the time, but it's cold and your muscles get stiff standing outside doing nothing that long. You need to bring your "A-game" skiing just about anything off Lone Peak and one of the reasons I personally did not try to ski the Big Couloir this time was that I would not have been "warmed up" when I had the possible chance.

Big Sky is indeed an impressive mountain, but that tram bottleneck when the skiing is good is a huge design flaw for expert skiers. At Jackson you can blow off the tram (which has what, 7x the capacity?) if the line is too long and get plenty of challenging skiing with 90+% of terrain served by chairs. At Big Sky you can spend the whole day getting 2 or 3 runs up there or else feel more like you've been missing the best it has to offer.

There was plenty of great terrain to ski. Tons of tree skiing and some steep bowls/ridges. While I would have liked to have done another run on Lone Peak, we did not suffer. When I go back, I plan to spend at least 3 days at Big Sky. There is so much to ski there, and the locals are really cool. I definitely want to spend more time in the Bozeman area. I think a week there would be ideal. We hit it on the last part of our week, so next time we'll go the other way and start off at Big Sky, Bridger and maybe Moonlight if it is still in operation. Who knows, maybe Big Sky will buy it and make an already huge ski area even HUGER! :wink:

 

[Tony Crocker]

Your report says March 23-24. How was Sunday? Did that line ease off some and where did you ski?

 

[Powderqueen]

Your report says March 23-24. How was Sunday? Did that line ease off some and where did you ski?

oops, I got the dates wrong. we skied Friday and Saturday at Big Sky. On Sunday we went to Bridger. I edited the dates to be correct. I'm still pretty tired from it all and haven't been in my right mind since I got home.

The tram opened Saturday, so that's when we saw the most people...lined up waiting for the Swifty lift to open at 9am. Some people got in line at 7:30am!! It was near zero degrees at that hour too. I got there around 8:40. Then we had to take another lift to get to the tram line, which we waited about 30 min. I was probably the 40th person on Lone Peak.

Everyone at Big Sky said it was going to be crowded at Bridger. They got a lot of snow that week. We got to Bridger at 9:30 and we parked in the upper lot. No lift lines. When we left there were a lot more cars and a ton of families and children in the base lodge. This did not affect us at all on the slopes, but just made it difficult to navigate through the lodge with all those kids running around. When people our there says "crowds" it just means that it is comparable to a non-holiday Tuesday at any eastern ski area.