ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted November 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 (edited) Ok, so I got the Coda set up as best I could with bindings and got all of the necessary gear together. They are supposed to open at 10, so around 9AM I am about ready to go when I hear the lifties on the mountain ops radio call "first chair". Grrr. I hate it when they announce an opening time but don't stick to it. Anyhow, i get up there around 9:30 and find a place to park. There are already a number of people up here. I just do the best I can with parking, cuz I haven't yet figured out the parking lots and shuttles. This morning was ass cold, around 6-7F but the sun is out and it is warming up. After finding what turned out to be a really inconvenient place to pee, I went out and got on the Swift Current chair, the only lift running from the base. From the top, Mr. K is the only open trail down, but the nearby Lone Peak Triple lift is allowing people to access the bowl up there. The vast majority of people are looping this lift and there is a short line. The bowl is ungroomed and I don't feel like going up there. I feel like a complete yutz, just trying to not fall over. I'm on a skwal. I'm too hot. I'm too cold. I'm in horrible shape and can't catch my breath. My pants are too tight cuz I let my ass get fat over the summer. My boots feel weird. My rear knee hurts sometimes. All the neurons associated with riding a skwal and carving have either disconnected or are mired in fatty deposits of brain plaque. Anyhow, I go down Mr. K and the top section isn't bad. There are just a few shrub-tops and floating rocks but the snow is ok and I get a few short carves in. It seems hopeful at first, maybe even enjoyable, but the lower I go the worse it gets. There are marked sections where there are so many rocks churned in that it is impossible to not hit them. As I was skidding down trying to not hit rocks, some skiers came down at full speed and the scraping sound they made was awful. There has been some thaw-freeze here as well, and the nice soft snow up top has given way to icy chunkage. After I got to the bottom I took my board off and looked at the bottom. Not good. My Coda is my "rock board", but I don't want to intentionally destroy it, so I went back to my car and drove out. The bowl was probably better, but I didn't want to make a fool out of myself trying to re-learn how to ride in a crowded mess of cut-up ungroomed snow. If nothing else, it was fun just to suit up and try to get back in the habits of going to the hill in the morning. Edited November 7, 2015 by ExcelsiorTheFathead 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 Good job Art. Just caulk it up to a introduction "Shake Down" run!! Doing it all on a skwal would certainly be added dimension! Photos? :) Sorry to be such a demanding fan of your blog within a forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 Perception and reality can sometimes be a bitch. Here I was dreaming of all you lucky guys floating on angle dust carving trenches with ease. At least the stuff is white right ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted November 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 I totally forgot my phone at home when I went to the hill, a symptom of not being ready for the winter routine. It was too cold to take pictures anyhow, but I'll work on it. I might have to buy new liner gloves that will operate a touch screen. My old digital camera works with gloves, but the battery craps out when it gets cold. Some days are better than others, that's for sure. It usually takes a few days of riding under good conditions to get back in the swing of things, but those rocks were just unreasonable. Today I drove up to Bozeman to do some shopping and check out the big Ski Swap at the county fairgrounds. Not a single piece of alpine snowboarding gear was to be seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted November 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2015 (edited) Thursday, Nov 26, Day 2. Big Sky opened for the season today. It was 0F at open so I stayed home and spent the morning trying to figure out how to install CyanogenMod on my tablet because that's what vagabonds do on Thanksgiving. Around 1 it seemed tolerably warm so I headed up to the resort. I had to park in the free lots and take the weird open-air shuttle to the base. These things are basically rows of benches mounted to a trailer frame that is pulled around by a big pickup truck. 4 lifts are operating: Swift Current, Ramcharger, Explorer, and Challenger. Not many trails are open, and some of them aren't in great shape. I ask around and learn that Mr. K is the least-rocky run, so i head up Swift Current and do 4 laps down Mr. K. It is much better than on preview day, but the steep areas still have some floating rocks. At least it seems like the bedrock is covered. The snow is tolerably ok and I am able to somewhat get my skwal legs back. It was a little crowded, but not too bad. This evening the temps are dropping fast. It might be well below zero by tomorrow morning. Edit: At 7 AM on Friday morning the temperature at my home was -19F. Not going to the hill today. Edited November 27, 2015 by ExcelsiorTheFathead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted November 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2015 Sunday, Nov 29: Day 3. Every morning recently has been below -10F at home. It is inverty so the resort is a little warmer, but I'm not going to punish myself by going up at open. Friday and Saturday I gave away to the Thanksgiving crowds but went up this afternoon around 1 PM. Much like Thanksgiving day it is sunny and cold, but a little windy today. I just do runs down Mr. K. I asked people I met on the Swift Current chair how the conditions are over on the two green runs served by the Ramcharger chair on adjacent Andesite Mountain, and was told: "More rocky than Mr. K". But Mr. K is plenty rocky on the steep sections. On every run I hear a rock strike on my base and I am taking plenty of damage, making me wonder if this is worth it. Not big damage, but lots of small dents and scrapes. Little to no snow is in the forecast for the next week and it seems like the snowmaking focus is over on the Andesite runs. At least it will get a little warmer and the crowds will drop dramatically from tomorrow. There are lots of A-Holes speeding down Mr. K. Today I was even passed by a guy riding while holding his phone right in front of his face, probably running Ski Tracks to see how fast he was going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted November 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Monday, Nov 30. Day 4. I thought this week the crowds would go down, but noooooo. It turns out that holders of the Sky Card (AKA Johnasmo Special) can ski all this week for free. Ok, it isn't really crowded but it isn't empty either. This Friday will be a zoo because it is $20 day and many people will come down from Bozeman to take advantage since Bridger Bowl isn't open yet. So today was more of the same. Same run, same rocks, same damage. But I did make my way up the Ramcharger chair for the first time and came down Tippy's Tumble, the top of which can be seen in a few Johnasmo vids. Tippy's is mostly rock-free but some parts of it sure are steep, and the inconsistent snow made it uncarveable for me. Lots of snowmaking is happening on Andesite. There are big piles on Ambush and Elk Park Ridge waiting to be pushed out. Some people I talked to on the Swifty chair said that this is one of the weaker openings (snow-wise) that they have seen in the past 10 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted December 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 (edited) Thursday, Dec 3. Day 5: The cold snap is finally over and the temperatures are "normal" I went up at 1130 to find the resort just a little busy. More runs down Mr. K. More base damage. Not much is different in terms of open terrain except that the Lone Peak Triple is running and the bowl area up there can be accessed. Looking down the Swift Current chair from the top. The run directly ahead is not open yet. Andesite Mtn front-side runs can be seen in the background. Mr. K. Going up Swift Current. Edit: I didn't go up, but by all accounts the $20 day on Friday 12/4 was a zoo. Saturday morning 12/5 saw 5" of new and the Thunder Wolf chair has opened. There's a couple of new beginner green runs near the Explorer chair. This weekend is still free for Sky Pass holders so many people are streaming up from Bozeman. Edited December 5, 2015 by ExcelsiorTheFathead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted December 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 (edited) Sunday Dec 6, Day 6: Brisk, breezy and cloudy. No new overnight. I got on snow at 10AM and up Ramcharger, headed for Elk Park Ridge. This modestly steep blue has good carving potential but today it is a bit skitchy. On the upside, it is mostly rock-free. I skidded down it and went up the Thunder Wolf chair. From the top of Andesite again I went to try Pacifier, one of the greens that heads back down to the base. The first section is directly into the wind and very slow going. After it hairpins back down the gulley I was able to make some nice short carves until I hit a section that seemed like barely covered rocky scree. I was able to navigate through it and back down to the base were the crowds of Sky Pass people were rapidly building. Up Swift Current into the wind where the upper part of Lone Peak is in blowing snow. Near the top terminus there is a fair amount of chair swing and viz is impaired. Some other blue runs are now open here but they aren't groomed so I head for Mr. K. where the rocky section is as bad as ever. I get some decent turns in the good sections, then head back to my car. People are still streaming in at 11:15 and the main parking lot is almost full. I'm not complaining, but since Big Sky has snowmaking, why the heck can't they open just one rock-free green run? Yes, I'm complaining. More snow is in the forecast over the next week. Thank goodness. Edit: I submitted my concerns to the powers that be and received a reply. I am told that currently the only runs that truly have top-to-bottom snowmaking are Tippy's and Elk Park Ridge on Andesite. This makes sense, since both of those runs have been mostly rock-free and might also explain why Tippy's seems to be a good carving run even on closing day. Management is well aware of the limitations of the current system and are considering extending snowmaking on Mr. K. above just the lower part to include the upper section where the bad rock problem is. At least they are listening and responding. Also, I should report that Big Sky has slices of pizza for $3, and the standard burger is $7.50. I think that soup is $7, chili is $8, and a bread bowl is $1.5. Thus the Fathead "Soup in a Breadbowl" index for Big Sky is $8.50, which while slightly expensive isn't all that bad. Edited December 7, 2015 by ExcelsiorTheFathead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumpyride Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 I am not missing all that much. Still a mid Jan start date. I don't like groomers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordmetroland Posted December 8, 2015 Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 The lack of snow/patchy condition timing seems to have corresponded with when you started tinkering with your avatar. Perhaps Charlie Brown is, as usual, to blame for everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted December 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 (edited) RATS! ...but it is truly the other way around. Since I haven't been bothering to go riding, I have plenty of free time to change my avatar daily. Edit: There has been some new snow recently, and Calamity Jane was reportedly groomed yesterday. The Madison Base is supposed to open Friday the 11th, so those former Moonlight Basin runs should open with it. A new health clinic with emergency room opened yesterday, a big leap forward in Big Sky health care. I think this will allow for the treatment of some injuries to be handled locally without the need for air or ambulance transport to Bozeman Deaconess. Edit: Madison Base opened on 12/11, but none of the Moonlight runs were groomed. I understand that there is a separate pass for just the former Moonlight runs since many ski-in/out residents of the area prefer it. I drove up to Bozeman to make a run for supplies Friday afternoon and the US 191 highway up the Gallatin Canyon was pretty icy in places. On one curve my car fully broke loose and started to fishtail, but I got it under control. On the way back near the Big Sky turnoff a semi truck/trailer had slid across the oncoming lane, bounced off a guardrail then nosed itself into an embankment. If not for the guardrail, the whole thing would have rolled into the river. If you ever visit Big Sky and drive down 191, going slow is crucial if there can be any ice on the road. The road is far more windy than you think. Also, after you turn off the highway and up to Big Sky, the MHP writes a lot of speeding tickets on the first few miles of the road there. On Saturday morning 12/12, there is one green trail that is groomed down the Moonlight side. Swift Current area blues are still not being groomed much. I thought that Southern Comfort would open today because its runs are on the grooming map, but I guess I was wrong. The lift is not operating yet. Edited December 12, 2015 by ExcelsiorTheFathead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted December 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2015 Sunday Dec 13, Day 7: I haven't been up for a week? Guess so. Today I drove up to the Madison Base to check out the Moonlight Basin area that opened on Friday. Now that we are in a lull between the end of free Sky Pass days the beginning of Christmas vacations, things are pretty quiet this morning. I get on the Six Shooter around 1100 and head up on a grey day with a storm on the way. Six Shooter is a long chair, and the ride up was cold and windy. From the top I started on Lazy Jack and somehow ended up on Powder River and down to the Iron Horse fixed quad. Powder River has a couple of nice pitches that were perfect for opening up with a short radius board. Although there were some thin areas, this route was nearly rock free. To make it even better, the Iron Horse chair was out of the wind. I looped this a half-dozen times until it started to snow. It was good fun, and I finally got to make some serious fully-completed deep turns. Going back down to the base on Cinnabar I still managed to take some rock hits, but at least it was worth it today. I'm hoping for a foot of snow in the next 24 hours. Things are looking up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted December 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2015 (edited) Tuesday 12/15, Day 8: There's around 11" of new since Sunday, and this has made great improvements in coverage. I went up to Moonlight again in the afternoon and rode Powder River but it was a little on the soft side. Cinnabar is now a rock-free decent easy cruise. Kinda cool today, kinda grey, a little snowy. More snow in the forecast! Edit: Wednesday 12/16. There's 5-6" of new in the last 24 and snow continues. The Southern Comfort, Pony Express, Sacajawea, and Lewis & Clark lifts have opened, bringing with them lots of new easy-to-moderate terrain although much of it has yet to be groomed. Hopefully the groomers will get more of this covered by this weekend. Edited December 16, 2015 by ExcelsiorTheFathead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted December 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2015 Thursday 12/17, Day 9: 3-4" of new fell just after the lifts closed yesterday, then a lull between storms. It was 0F in the morning so I didn't get on snow until 1 PM and headed for the Southern Comfort chair where there is some decent easy terrain. Eldorado is the showcase run next to the lift. It is a green but has a couple of nice pitches. Coverage is adequate, with no rocks and just a few bush tops poking through. Nice and wide, but it needs some more snow to fill in the terrain undulations. After my first run a photographer showed up, but he totally missed my initial Camera Whore pass. I went around again and maybe he got a good shot or two but I haven't seen them on their web site yet. I also made runs down Sacajawea and Deep South, both greens with lame easy parts and more challenging steep sections. On the way out I went down Tippy's Tumble which had good grippy snow on it. The really steep part is kinda intimidating but I was determined to give it a go. I was able to link up 5 or six decent turns right under Ramcharger. It seems like all of the snowmaking focus is on Ambush which has huge piles waiting to be pushed out. It looks like there is enough snow there for 2 trails. More snow is in the forecast for the next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumpyride Posted December 18, 2015 Report Share Posted December 18, 2015 Finally made it to Big Sky. First day out of the new season. Took a couple or runs over on andesite. Good condition on the groomers, but great off the sides in the powder and bumps. Went over to swifty and found some really fun stuff off of Lobo and Lobo meadows. My wife got new boots (skis), so we took a couple of runs down Mr K to check them out. Conditions good. Good first day, was just like going out the next day after the end of the season. Training wheels were not required. We'll be out tomorrow, temp dependent on time. 9am or so if it's +10 little later if not. Did run across a young guy from California with a college group on a Donek (Joe). Nice guy, did see him in his boxer shorts going down the hill in the underwear brigade of college students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted December 18, 2015 Report Share Posted December 18, 2015 going down the hill in the underwear brigade of college students. Please tell me you got photos :) Good to see you got your first day under your belt Bumpy!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted December 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2015 Camera Whoring is Back! Friday, 12/18, Day 10: On snow at 1 PM again. Today is cloudy and kinda snowy, but the temperatures are mild and pleasant. There's 2-3" of new overnight and more is coming down. Too soft for serious carving, so I'm just farting around. Fart, fart, fart. Up Ramcharger, down Eldorado, then I took the Sacajawea lift to visit the Spirit Mountain area. This part of the resort used to be a separate ski area for the Spanish Peaks development, which is one of the places you buy a nice house when you aren't rich enough to live in the Yellowstone Club. The Double D run has a very steep initial headwall then turns into a very gradual runout down to the Lewis & Clark lift. Puffy's path is so flat in places that I had to skate. Spry Guy is too narrow to carve. The Lewis & Clark chairs are still adorned with the original Spanish Peaks insignia, and also have bubble shells. I haven't been on a bubble lift since the last time I was at Sun Peaks. Offhand, there isn't any good carving terrain here, so I don't know if I will ever have an excuse to visit this part of the resort again. It might be good for finding pow stashes that are ignored by other people who congregate on Lone Mountain. Back on Andesite, a cat was starting to push out the piles on Ambush. Tippy's was soft with some pushed piles and hard to carve without getting jostled around. I think that Silver Knife was open, but ungroomed. Up Swifty and down Calamity Jane for the first time. A good blue cruise with varying terrain. Just for the heck of it I went down Mr. K on my last run to see if it stopped sucking. Sure enough, the first rocky headwall is pretty well covered and I didn't feel any rock hits. More snow on the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumpyride Posted December 19, 2015 Report Share Posted December 19, 2015 Yes it was outstanding today. Pillows on the perimeters, bumps were hero, and even a few carves when it seemed to be in the cards. Started out later, had stuff to do. Back out there tomorrow, and might be solo. Deb's kind of wasted. Feels like I never got off the board from last year. If you're looking for pure carving action Mr. k is about it. This is the stuff all mountain flexy alpine boards are made for. When it stops snowing (whimper) there's much more carving to be had, but no for the time being. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted December 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) Sunday 12/20, Day 11: Saturday morning had 4-6" of new, and Sunday morning had 6-9" of new. All this snow is getting to be a nuisance as far as my driveway is concerned. Every morning is a heart attack pushing the shovel around. I could use a break. Today I got on snow around 1PM at Moonlight, looking for a place that wouldn't have piles on it. On the drive up I could see that the blue Elk Park Meadows was covered in piles, so staying on greens was an imperative. From looking at the PDF grooming maps that Big Sky publishes daily, one can see which runs were groomed on the first and second shifts. A green run groomed on the second shift would be best, so I went to Powder River again. The run was pretty soft but still carveable without too many bumps. Lots of families and kids on the hill on a somewhat sunny day. When I first arrived at Moonlight the Headwaters Grille was packed with people having lunch, so wallets are open and money is being made. Ski school also seems to be doing well. I'm still riding the Coda, but pretty soon it will be time to bring something else out. Oh yeah, the Ambush run isn't open yet and I can't figure out why. It looks like the piles of manmade have been somewhat pushed out, but they are sure taking their time about it. I wonder what the story is. Edited December 20, 2015 by ExcelsiorTheFathead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcelsiorTheFathead Posted December 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 Monday 12/21, Day 12: Trace amounts overnight and the morning weather is decent. Bad weather is coming in soon, so for the first time this season I showed up early for the 9 AM open. Up Ramcharger, then down Bighorn for the first time. I'm not 100% sure, but I think that this is the first day it has been groomed. The first headwall is a beautiful steepish, wide, flat expanse that morphs into a big sweeping curve to the left. This part of the "horn" has a weird double fall line that makes it less appealing to carve. The lower section straightens out into a wide, flat runout to the Thunder Wolf chair. I was the only person on the run and didn't see anybody else until I was going up. From the top again I headed for Southern Comfort to find better light. I tried blue Ponderosa but it wasn't groomed. ElDorado had only one or two narrow passes of grooming down the middle. Big Sky doesn't post much on-mountain information on the grooming status except at certain big readerboards. It really pays to study the PDF grooming map before going up. Deep South was fully groomed and an excellent ride. I looped this several times. There are some Yellowstone Club mansions near the top that come right up next to the trail. Very few people were around. I think the crowds won't build until Wednesday or so, even though the Bozeman schools are off today for the next 2 weeks. The nice lodge at the top of Andesite is Everett's 8800 restaurant. I found out that it doesn't open until 11 and I think that it is really more of a place that you might need reservations to even walk into. On the way down I tried Tippy's but the grooming was uneven and I didn't feel confident about opening up on it. The last run was down Calamity Jane into Huntley Hollow (named after famed broadcaster Chet Huntley who was the visionary behind Big Sky) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumpyride Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 Monodude, were you one of the two that I was behind at about 3:30 pm today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumpyride Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 Another good day. A bit nippier but snowing. Molded a brand new pair of Raichle 122s with Thermoflex liners last night. Threw my game off a bit. Never had a pair that fit so well. Don't like the fact that my foot isn't moving in my boot. Couldn't run the bumps today all loosey goosey. Maybe tomorrow will be the dial in day? Did I mention snow? We have it and it's going to be dumping. We've had 33" in the last 3 days and more coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monodude Posted December 24, 2015 Report Share Posted December 24, 2015 Monodude, were you one of the two that I was behind at about 3:30 pm today? wasn't me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumpyride Posted December 24, 2015 Report Share Posted December 24, 2015 8th straight day of powder. Great boarding, glades are in great shape and turns were well buffered. Went out in the morning with a friend and his 10 year old son, both skiers. I'd rather ski with kids than anybody else. It's great getting down with a 10 year old that thinks warp speed is possible. Kid can pretty close to mainline any run on the hill. Went way past my comfort zone, and if it was less than 60mph I'd be shocked. We're stuck for Christmas. Passes going West to Tacoma are getting 8 to 12" tomorrow. Not going to chance it, so I'll have to settle for another 3 days of boarding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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