D-Sub Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 Ok...so...in addition to looking in Bend... I have a friend who is going back to Bozeman. he lived there for 4 years, came back to CA, earned a lot of money, and is now gonna buy a beautiful house for a third of what it would cost here in SoCal he loves the place. Ive looked at RE there...and its definitely affordable, but...the most important question anyone ever ridden bridger? Big Sky? I dont doubt the availability of powder days, but...what about the carving? heh. time was that sick powder would be all that I needed, but now...must...carve... anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy D Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 I've ski'd both of them. They both ROCK! If you are looking for carving, Big Sky is the place to do it. Bridger is IMO the "Mad River Glen" of Montana; not very big, but lots of fantastic in-bounds off-piste terrain to play with. When I was in Bozeman, the winter was turning out to be rather dry. So Big Sky was much like skiing in Vermont. But it is HUGE, and there are a lot of groomers for carving. I can't wait to get out there again! :) Of course, I liked Big Mountain a lot more for skiing and carving. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted July 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 thanks for the input Big Sky is also significantly more expensive and isolated, so Bridger is the main area of interest. I can tell by looking at maps that its not the best carving mountain in the world, but it might have something to offer obviously there are other aspects to consider... anyone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fin Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 D-sub, The man you need to talk to is Dave Kirk as he is the contact for plate riding at Bridger (and a good friend as well). I will e-mail him telling him about this post and see if he can shed more light on this for you. Side note: Bridger received so much snow last X-mas they had a guy take a jump, land in snow so deep he sufficated before they could get to him. All in boundes. Tragic and crazy. I visted Bozeman two years ago and though it was one very cool place. Everything you need but without all the crowds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted July 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2004 thanks Fin! I just realized that I dont think I made it clear that Im talking about buyin property and moving there looking in Bend as well. Also south summit county (Alma, or closer if possible) so far Bozeman actually has the best properties for the best price. sure is isolated though! Ive already had a couple people be VERY helpful re: Bend, and Id like to thank them for their kindness! oh oh...Fin...are you familiar with Idaho Springs, just east of Summit area? D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fin Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Ha, just got back from a day in Idaho Springs yesterday. Spent the day pre-running the Mnt. Evens Uphill course. Let me put it this way, 7000ft of climbing in 28 miles. It is an amzing climb if you are into that kind of thing. Great town but it is pretty much based around a huge higway that runs through it, I-70. So it is NOT a "off the beat'n path" town. Have another contact for you in Bend. That would be Doug Dryer. Huge carver in that area and he just moved up there himself a couple of years ago. Send me an e-mail with your e-mail and I'll get you his phone number if you like. Alma is a very quite and beautiful area. Very resonable cost of living. However, you are a tad farther from the resorts and you have to go over Hosser pass everytime and drive through Breckenridge which can be a traffic nightmare on some days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kriss Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 is anyone familar with the new area opened on the other side of big sky....looks very nice on the web. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kirk Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Greetings from Bozeman, Yes as my good friend Fin said I live in Bozeman and can tell more than you want to know about riding in the area. Both Bridger and Big Sky are great areas and offer very different terrain and feel. Bridger is more of a local area but it has some of the coolest and nastiest steeps in the country. Pretty serious stuff. It takes a long time to figure the place out but it's a fun thing to do. The carving is OK but not the mountians strong point. Powder, steeps, no crowds and longboarding are. Big Sky is more like a Summit county area that but it empty. It is HUGE!. You can ride there for a week and see only two thirds of the place. It has very good carving but it also has a 15 passenger tram that goes to the summit of Lone Peak. It drops of 15 people every six minutes onto an area about the size of Killington....so yes it's got some room to move and but puckering steeps. Not to be missed. Living in Bozeman is wonderful. Very easy going and laid back. Not at all like a ski town and it's not touristy. You see yuppies and cowboys in the same place. Real estate is cheap and plentiful and the weather is wonderful....most of the time but it can get stupid hot in the summer for a few weeks. I can only think of one thing bad to say about Bozeman. It's that there aren't to many jobs outside the building-construction industry. I have my own deal ( www.kirkframeworks.com) and life couldn't be better. Let me know if you have any questions. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted July 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 wow, thanks all so much for more info! the work thing might be an issue...Id have more than just myself to consider, and Im not skilled in the building trades. I actually thought maybe I could go back to school and get my masters or even PhD and teach like I always meant to do. I figured bridger wasnt perfect for carving, but...if it was "good enough" that would suffice. how hot is "stupid hot" in the summer? Im actually kinda keen on getting away from "stupid hot" like it gets here in SoCal.... Fin...I'll email ya! thanks again all! anyone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rekre8r Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 I ride at Big Sky and it is a great carving mountain, Wide open, decent grooming and they let you rip. I want to second what Dirk said about jobs though, the joke is that it is a great place to live but you need to bring your job with you. Even with a Masters or Phd you are going to have a hard time finding a job anywhere around 40k. Lots of well educated competition for the available spots because... it's a great place! Good luck on your decision. By the way there are a couple of guys a Bridger that tear it up on Alpine gear so you won't be alone. Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted July 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 nice. thanks actually...the job thing...if I went with my girl, she'd be lookin to teach elementary and I could always do what I do here in SoCal..sell music gear. Just have to start a shop online...figure all that out or work on my billiards skills a bit and start winnin some money;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kirk Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 check with Gibson ,....they make their acoustic guitars here. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted July 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 oh oh...I do mostly recording gear...actually focus on electronic music equipment. Synthesizers, samplers, computer stuff, etc... theres a small niche market for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted July 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 have my own deal ( www.kirkframeworks.com) and life couldn't be better.Let me know if you have any questions. Dave [/b] man..that looks COOL! oh..again...whats "stupid hot" in Bozeman? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kirk Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 there are two places that come to mind then..... Music Villa is a retail store that is also the local Gibson dealer. I hear that they are the **** but I don't know much about it. The other place is the "Thirsty Ear". They are a retailer that sells utra high end hi fi stuff. A national reputation I'm told. I know neither of these is directly up your alley but I figured it couldn't hurt to mention them. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kirk Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 stupid hot....ahhhhh. last season we were in the record 5th year of drought and it was above 90° for 6 weeks. It's normally in the low 80's in the summer and the humidity is about 30%. So far this year has been very nice...it's even raining sometimes. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted July 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 yeah...90+ SUCKS. Im sure Bend gets pretty hot. I sure loved it in Crested Butte in the summer. I dont remember ever once being too hot. hope your drought ends! thanks again for takin the time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 You can get average and record temps by day or by month from weather.com e.g. http://www.weather.com/weather/climatology/monthly/USOR0031?from=search I was surprised to learn that Bend actually has lower midsummer record highs than my current hometown Sandy, OR does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted July 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 funny...the area Im from only shows 86 as the average high for August and Sept... I want somewhere that never gets over 75 in the summer, and never gets below say 20 in the winter;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted July 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 ahh seee? Summit County is where its at;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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