Big Sky, MT 2/9 - 2/13

[ski now work later]

There is a LOT of snow here at Big Sky.

We arrived this afternoon, after two long but uneventful flights from Hartford and Minneapolis. It's a very relaxed trip once you land here. There are only 5 gates at the airport so everything is very close by and folks are super friendly. Stopped at a grocery store for some breakfast and lunch stuff (to avoid the room service fees) and then headed south to Big Sky, about a 50 minute drive. Traffic = none.

Tomorrow my DH and I are meeting up with Rio from Epic and his girlfriend who is thankfully also an intermediate skier, so we'll be getting a great tour of the mountain. Although this is our third time here to ski and ride, there's nothing like having a local guide and this mountain is so huge that I've only skied a small portion of it. A big storm is supposed to happen tomorrow so it will probably be somewhat windy and snowy. At 3 pm is the 4th annual dummy jump, which is always fun.

Sunday is my 3 hour session with Ursula Howland, an Epic coach who teaches here at Big Sky. With her guidance and coaching, I plan to explore some steeper and more varied terrain and see parts of the mountain where I would not venture to on my own.

Monday is demo day for me. I scoped out the options, and will make a final decision tomorrow afternoon. Tuesday? Well, that will be my last day skiing here, so I'll just have to let the spirit move me!

With the current conditions of deep, soft snow, I think my widest skis are in order, so the Solomon Scarlets will come out tomorrow for the first time since ESA Stowe. They are soft and short enough for bumps and trees, and I'm up for anything! My biggest challenge will be keeping my stamina up to do as much skiing these 4 days as possible. I'll quit if I get really tired though, as skiing when beat puts me at higher risk of injury.

I've got my camera and plan to take tons of pics, but won't be able to upload and post them until I return home. So glad to hear that Maine and Vermont are getting some snow, and I plan to bring some back with me!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

So glad it's going well, snwl! For the life of me, I can't find the post you made about your day out in the mountain and how you were able to maintain your endurance, etc. (Blame my lackings on ski-day fatigue here??) Anyway, wherever it is, I know I read it, and I'm SOOO happy for you! Having the right equipment and being in shape helps immeasurably.

Big Sky's been on my list for years and years - hopefully someday. Have a ball, looking forward to continued reports!
p.s. We are getting pasted with snow back home - another 8" due tonight. Maybe not much by western standards, but WE'LL TAKE IT here!

 

[ski now work later]

Two fabulous days of skiing so far, yesterday hosted by a local Bear (Rio) and today I had a 3 hour lesson with an Epic coach who was fantastic. I actually skied down a super long black diamond bump run and then did a blue bump and tree run and most importantly, I learned some great basics and tools to keep working in that terrain from here forward. Did some review of basic stance and other technique with her, and we'll see what tomorrow brings in terms of new snow and other adventures. I'll be posting pics later this week after I'm home. Glad to hear that the Northeast is getting snow as that's where I'll be skiing for the rest of the season!

 

[NannyMin]

I'm so glad that you had a good lesson with Ursula, SNWL.

I can't wait to see the pics!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

I can't wait to see the pics!

Me either! Especially the ones taken from the Lone Peak tram!

 

[ski now work later]

My coach called me awhile ago to say that the winds blew all the snow from the Liberty Bowl away so the bowl is sheer ice. No thanks. It might snow tonight and if it does and there isn't too much wind, then I'll do Lone Peak with her tomorrow. Even if I don't get there this year, just knowing that she felt I was ready feels like a great accomplishment!

Hope the pics come out ok. I have a new compact camera without a viewfinder (only an LCD) and I can't see a thing on that screen between my lack of reading glasses and the sun/snow reflection so the pics are a real shot in the dark!

 

[ski now work later]

Day #3 update: More wind today and not enough new snow to warrant a powder lesson, so no tram ride and no lesson. Had a great day nonetheless.

At 9 am when the lifts were scheduled to open, only Swift Current opened and as I went up this long, high-speed lift, I looked down to see nothing but untracked powder, about 4-5" of it. I made a bee-line for the run and skied untracked all the way down, quiet and easy as it wasn't too deep for my lack of pow skiing skills. Next run I took the same lift but headed over to the right and also found more of that nice fluffy stuff. When I arrived down at the base area, they just started running Ramcharger, so I hopped on and zoomed over to Big Horn (a very long blue run in a natural, wide, quarter pipe) and had a blast on untracked snow. That was pretty much it for first tracks, but I can't complain. Even at a resort like this one where there aren't that many skiers, I'm amazed at how fast the snow gets tracked out. We are finding Big Sky to be busier than when we've been here before -- the word is out about this place!

The winds continued all morning, but not enough to shut down the lifts. I skied about 2 3/4 hours, meeting up with DH along the way. Had a spectacular



at one point, watching as my leg with ski attached swung from one side of my body over the other, but fortunately was unhurt. I had a hard time warming up after that, however, so after a few runs and some shivering, we went to lunch at the mountain restaurant where I had a "hot apple pie" which was a drink made with apple cider, vanilla liqueur, and bits of dried apple floating on top, with a cinnamon stick added for flavor. Yum. Took another layer out of my backpack and headed back out for another couple of hours of skiing.

I'm not sure I've ever skied as much in 1 day as I have any of these 3 days, certainly not 3 days in a row. It's nothing short of thrilling. I tried bumps and trees again and practiced what I learned in yesterday's lesson. I got so much out of that lesson I could spend the rest of the season working on it. I also demo'd 2 pair of skis and will post reviews shortly.

Tomorrow is ski day #4 and then we fly home on Wednesday. Tonight we're attending the evening program for conference DH is attending. I think it's a preview of "Storm Over Everest," a film, but not sure (he's at a workshop now and has the schedule with him). He took a great workshop yesterday in compass and map navigation in the wilderness, and has been enjoying the lectures and learning about everything from frostbite to avalanche rescue to wild animal attacks.

 

[ski diva]

This sounds like a fantastic trip! Sounds like you're having a wonderful time.

I HAVE to get to Big Sky!

Thanks for keeping us posted.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

I'm getting jealous

Wow, snwl! Way to go! Sounds like all the cards have been falling into place for you this trip. You are living up to your screen name Lovely to read such positive trip reports. Oh well, too bad about the wind at the summit, but a peak like Lone is just out there and vulnerable.

Big Sky is currently offering all Boyne Resorts passholders (they purchased Sunday River and Sugarloaf last summer) either a discount on lift tickets (50% for silver and bronze) or 10 days FREE (gold). Boyne also owns Brighton. Hmmmm....would be a no-brainer for a Boyne, MI passholder. But oh the cost to get there from the east coast...

Have a lovely day 4 and a First Class trip home on 2/13!
Cheers! MSL

 

[ski now work later]

MSL, you will have to come here one day thought the lift tickets are the least expensive aspect of the trip. Air tickets are super expensive here, that's for sure (at least from the East Coast), around $550. We got a slight discount through the conference, and DH's ticket is paid for by his employer as part of his continuing medical ed. budget. Don't know how much lodging is typically because we also get discounts through the conference. This is how we've managed to pull off coming here 3x. We also get discounted lift tickets (they were $55-60 as opposed to $75) through the conference. I must say, however, that this is the first time of my 3 visits I've really skied this mountain. The other times I was definitely going up and down, but my technique was so poor that my days were short and filled with physical discomfort! I finally feel like I'm getting my money's worth here.

Last night we attended the evening program for the conference. It was a showing of a film that David Brashears (sp?) made about the 1996 Mt. Everest debacle when so many climbers and leaders were killed as they descended the summit in a major storm. I've read "Into Thin Air" by the journalist who climbed that year and this film gave the story another window into that tragedy. Brashears wanted to make a film about the "real" story, and interviewed the survivors and combined real photos (he was at base camp during that climb) with very effective reenactments. Absolutely riveting. The film is called "Storm Over Everest." Not sure if it's been shown around the country yet, but if you have the chance to see it, don't miss it. Especially compelling was observing the survivors who had no fingers, and in Beck's case, part of a nose gone, hands missing from frostbite, and probably no feet either (NannyMin, turn away!). Interestingly enough, we observed that the women survivors had all of their fingers left. DH did a little research when we got back to our room, and found that in general, women and girls survive frostbite and exposure better than men and boys. Perhaps it's due to our higher level of insulation? Not sure. Since women were solely responsible for birthing and raising babies in early cultures, I see it as a survival issue for our species.

OK, the moonlight that was illuminating the snow is starting to fade but the sun's not up yet. We must be on the Western edge of this time zone.... I'm going to take it easy on the snow today and play around. So I say!

 

[ski now work later]

Today was our final day on snow for this trip. We fly home tomorrow. Today's conditions were the most perfect snow conditions I've ever experienced. Little or no wind, snowing all day, and temps around 30 degrees. Much fewer skiers and riders, so it was very quiet and peaceful. Lots of first tracks in snow that ranged from 6-10" depth, enough to get the thrill of skiing powder for this East Coast Diva, but not too much to hang me up. It was light and fluffy and so the "crud" was very skiable in my Scarlets. On the "road areas," the texture of the snow allowed all kind of play: skating, edging, skiing switch, you name it, all effortless without slowing down in speed. I fell a few times, once in the bumps and my ski released from the binding so efficiently that I was grateful. No injuries from these falls, thankfully.

Early morning we explored a series of blue runs on the South side of the mountain where we hadn't skied before. Gorgeous views and great terrain. Did it 3 times because hardly anyone else was there and there were first tracks each time. Then we explored some other trails we'd been on before. Not sure what to ski/ride next, we were riding on the lift looking at the long super pipe and realized that it hadn't been groomed and that hardly anyone had skied it so far. Off we went to the expert terrain park run and skied around the features (it's a long, wide run) and found lots of deep powder and then . . . we went through the superpipe! My legs felt like jello from excitement and nerves the first time, and after some high fives, we rode the lift and did it again. This time I skied higher into the pipe, probably about 1/3 of the way up, and it was super fun. Hunger took over at that point, and we called it a day. Always good to end the day and a ski trip on a high note, and I want to poke around this afternoon to see if I can find little gifts for my kids who are back home with their Dad this week.

This trip exceeded my expectations and my hopes in terms of the amount of skiing, the conditions, what I learned from my lesson, and my skill improvement. Not to mention just plain fun. I'll post pics later this week when I'm home. Thanks for listening!

Big Sky =

 

[MaineSkiLady]

^^ Fantastic! Just delighted for you that it has all worked out so well. Sounds like you got some serious mileage out there! Have a pleasant, safe trip back---and be advised: there is another storm blowing in here (all of New England--what type of precip will be latitude dependent). I hope it doesn't affect your flights or journey too much! (most is due to fall tonight)

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Hmmmm....not the best day in weather-terms to be flying east....After such a nice trip, I sure hope there aren't endless weather issues for your flight(s) home. However, as the weather service has promised, this is a MAJOR sytem---and current radar is showing ice/mix in your home region

 

[ski diva]

What a great trip! Can't wait to see the pix!

Safe journey today. The worst that could happen is you'd have to stay in Big Sky longer. Wouldn't that be awful?

 

[ski now work later]

If only it were so simple as getting stuck in Big Sky....

We are supposed to leave at 2 pm from Bozeman and they are predicting light snow and lots of wind. Assuming conditions are ok to depart, Minneapolis is expecting heavy snow. Then by the time we are scheduled to land at Bradley (10:40 pm) the worst of the bad weather is supposed to be over but the forecast says to watch for black ice!

Last year we flew back on Valentine's Day -- y'all remember that storm, eh? We had to change our flight path to Laguardia in NY because Bradley was closed, and then rented a car and drove home, getting home at 3 am. The next day, DH drove to Bradley, returned the one-way rental, picked up our car, and went to work. At least that was worth it for the snow we got, but the weather forecast for today and later this week is awful for Southern NE -- hope it turns to SNOW~

So keep your fingers crossed for us that we'll make it home tonight, safe and sound! Meanwhile, I'm going to try to be patient and I'll listen to the rest of Finn while waiting for our flights (we bought it on audiobook and it's nothing short of riveting!)....

 

[MaineSkiLady]

very bad in the east

Right now, looks like ice/mix at your arrival airport, per weather.com's interactive radar (which I find to be the best due to color-coding for type of precip) -- I have the page up and am carefully watching the ice/snow line up here (currently 45 miles away). Listen, this is a big system, and there's a very real chance you're not going to get here tonight. Bottom line: roll with it & be SAFE. No matter what airport someone is stuck inside, if flying conditions are bad, it's surely the better place to be. Anyone who has done a sketchy flight/landing will agree. The headache of getting to/from the west is one of the main reasons why I'm glad to currently be sitting in my office! Good luck, keep us updated.

 

[ski diva]

SNWL, I think you should go out west every mid-February. It seems to ensure that we get snow here in New England.

Hope things go well for you.

 

[ski now work later]

Ski Diva, I wholeheartedly agree!

In fact, I think we should have a Diva gathering here in 2009 and I'll be your mountain host for intermediate and low advanced skiers and Rio from Epic can host the more advanced and expert skiers. I know the place pretty well now and it would be a blast!

BTW, it's another powder day here in paradise.

 

[Gloria]

What's the weather like there? That canyon back to Bozo can get awful too. Have a safe trip home. I am glad you had a great trip, I sure enjoyed reading your posts.

 

[ski now work later]

We're in the Minneapolis airport now, awaiting our flight to Hartford which is on time. The snow let up by the time we left Big Sky (around 10:15 a.m.) and there was practically no snow down in Belgrade where the airport is located near Bozeman. Flight was on time, not too bumpy, and very cushy as we used frequent flyer miles to upgrade to 1st class. It's our first time flying first class and boy, I could get used to that! :D We were able to check 3 pieces of luggage, so all I have with me here is my purse and laptop, a breeze after lugging my ski boot bag through this airport last week.

Anyway, I already miss Big Sky and am scheming to return next Winter. That whole area just captures my heart. I was mesmerized by the Gallatin river as we drove up the canyon back to the plains, and we saw 2 big horn sheep searching for food. At Big Sky, we heard and saw ravens as we skied along.... Sigh