LSG's and Fall Lines: Snowbasin v. Jackson Hole v. Big Sky?
- Thread starter gpaulski
- Start date
Never been to Big Sky so I can't comment but I would say Jackson is really not like Snowbasin at all. There's nice intermediate groomers on Apre Vous (Casper lift) that are great but nothing I'd call steep. The rest of the lower mountain, in my mind, has very little in the way of groomers and candidly not a lot of real fun stuff to ski. The upper mountain has it's nice bowls and some nice short shots like Bivouac and if they groom Cheyenne bowl. Amphitheater is a nice run but not steep and Laramie bowl has some nice decently steep groomers.
I can't imagine going to Jackson looking for strictly groomers.
I can't imagine going to Jackson looking for strictly groomers.
gpaulski":2arlc01x said:
Yeah, I'm a big fan of Snowbasin after catching on a powder day just after New Years with blue sky's and no crowds.
I re read my post and feel it necessary to say that the lower mountain, OTHER THAN THE HOBACKS is not too much fun. I'm not sure I've ever enjoyed skiing anything as much as a few laps on the Hobacks on a powder day.
ALL of the Lower Faces from the Hobacks over to North Colter Ridge have the same consistent fall line and generally open terrain with just a few scattered trees for orientation, ideal for powder skiing. The Hobacks' claim to fame is the long vertical of ~2,300 I think. By North Colter it's "only" 1,500 or so, nothing to sneeze at on a powder day, or anytime the snow is decent. But all of this is likely irrelevant to gpaulski from what we've been reading in the other threads.socal":b7mfec1w said:
I think he will like Apres Vous and Casper quite a bit. Both are good fall lines of ~1,500 or so. Groomed skiing on Rendezvous Mt. is rather limited, mostly runouts from bowls and connector trails.
Which is why, if he has any sense, he will take lessons there.gpaulski":b7mfec1w said:
At Big Sky the only sustained fall line groomers are on Andesite, front side down to the base and backside down to Thunder Wolf. Moonlight Basin (now merged into Big Sky) cut some fun winding trails with variable pitch from the top of the Lone Tree lift down to Six Shooter. The direct groomers on Six Shooter and all of the groomers on the front side of Big Sky are as flat as Snowmass.
Of course gpaulski asked all of these questions before when planning this trip.
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Admin, can we get a "chew toy" smiley?
gpaulski":111tg4ue said:
If you can ski off the top at mammoth (ungroomed) then youll be fine. Its not all that tough but it is steep all the way down with generally no way out until the bottom.
Because they're lower and face east they are somewhat tough to get right if it hasn't snowed recently.
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Mike Bernstein
New member
Admin":2jqtm7jj said:
Indeed. Still wake up at night with the sweats from that one. To this day, I'm shocked that neither of us blew a knew on that nightmare.
Admin":2o8vp2nk said:
I had the same experience in early March (yeah yeah, Jackson is tough in March), breakable crust, took so long to get down, we were done for the day after that.
At the same time, i've been there on powder days and that's as good as it gets. Most of the locals lap the top or go out the gates so it stays pretty good all day long (assuming it's not March and sunny).
Only if an instructor with you recommends it. Can anyone here, sight unseen, seriously recommend the Hobacks for someone who:gpaulski":279u1cec said:
1) Basically has only skied groomers
2) Has always had rental boots, and
3) Has trouble turning skis longer than 150cm
Yes gpaulski loved Mammoth, but I don't remember any comments about skiing ungroomed off the top there. He probably skied groomed Cornice and/or Scotty's. The steep parts of top runs at Mammoth are about 1/3 as long as the Hobacks.
When skiing terrain that's above your comfort zone, you want to be on something short, or with an easy bail-out option. The Hobacks entail the exact opposite of both criteria.
I realize these comments may be taken as a challenge rather than a recommendation. That's why the recommendation you should heed should be made by someone skiing with you at the time, who knows you, the mountain and its conditions. As alluded above conditions at Jackson can be highly variable. Admin, Socal and I have all been at Jackson when it's been very masochistic even for those of us with lots of experience in ungroomed snow. If my intermediate friend Richard was in the Hobacks on a day like that it would take him hours to get down, and he would probably be so trashed he would need to take the next day off.
Bobby Danger
New member
with that criteria i'de recommend skiing along side the groomers . for a bunch of runs to get loosened up . there's a big difference in skiing on top of the snow versus in the snow . the lower body muscles act differently when your turning through it . and that's assuming that the snow is of some cold quality not sierra cement & jackson hole can get paste at the bottom . might be best to avoid jackson , i'de hate to see someone spend that kind of dollars and only ski groomers , that's not exploring the place . go to snowbasin that place has the best low angle beginner powder around , long not to steep powder runs , treed or open bowl skiing . never skied big sky !
Cornice is groomed daily, weather permitting. Scotty's is groomed intermittently, but most of the time on weekends and holidays. Cornice gets a lot of traffic, so it will be growing bumps by noon even though it was groomed overnight. Thus it is best skied early in the morning when smooth.gpaulski":x1k5hb2y said:
This is of course the type of sensible advice that we know gpaulski will ignore. He has expressed interest in better gear, lessons, learning to ski off the groomed. Jackson is best appreciated once some of that progress has been made, and it's a quite limited mountain before that. Big Sky is in many respects even worse, because much of its expert terrain is more dangerous due to more exposed rocks, and its groomed terrain is mostly quite flat, which gpaulski claims not to like.BobbyDanger":x1k5hb2y said:
Hopefully gpaulski has a decade or two of skiing ahead of him. Nobody is more obsessive than I about adding new ski areas to the "life list" count, which now stands at 182. But I never left the state of California to ski until I had demonstrated to myself that I could ski 90+% of Mammoth's terrain, which I presumed would allow me to more fully appreciate the destination resorts.
The above attitude is not possible from the DR, but repeat visits to places like Mammoth, Vail, some of the Salt Lake areas are likely to be more productive and enjoyable than going to places where the majority of the terrain is off limits. The upcoming trip is likely best spent in Salt Lake, demoing boots and taking intermittent lessons. Odds favor the quality of skiing early in the season being as good or better than at Jackson or Big Sky. At Christmas the savings in lifts and lodging in SLC vs. a resort town will probably pay for the boots and some of the lessons.
Jackson and Big Sky are not going away anytime soon. Gpaulski will have many other chances to visit, hopefully equipped with better gear and enough experience to appreciate those mountains far more than he would now.
The "compromise plan" would be to stay in the Salt Lake area through New Year's, taking lessons and selecting the right boots. THEN for the last week of the trip go up to Jackson and Targhee. The off-trail experience BobbyD suggests at Snowbasin might make Targhee quite enjoyable. You will also be better prepared for the group clinic recommended to you at Jackson from the instructor on Epic.
Cornice is groomed daily, weather permitting. Scotty's is groomed intermittently, but most of the time on weekends and holidays. Cornice gets a lot of traffic, so it will be growing bumps by noon even though it was groomed overnight. Thus it is best skied early in the morning when smooth.
Not when we were there, Jan. 2006, the day after 11 feet of snow dump! Had to avoid the road straight down from Tahoe, closed. Took 6 hours via Nevada. But well, extremely well worth it!
Yes, we do plan to hang around SLC until holiday rates drop (1/3 in BS, 1/4 in JH). Haven't been there since 2005....
Un abrazo.
Not when we were there, Jan. 2006, the day after 11 feet of snow dump! Had to avoid the road straight down from Tahoe, closed. Took 6 hours via Nevada. But well, extremely well worth it!
Yes, we do plan to hang around SLC until holiday rates drop (1/3 in BS, 1/4 in JH). Haven't been there since 2005....
Un abrazo.