Big Sky 15-16

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

Thursday 1/21, Day 26: 6" of new since the last report; most of it fell yesterday.  I'm on El Dorado sometime before 11 with really flat light.  Riding the Oxess again.  Good turns, but it is a little soft.  A photographer shows up on the trail but fiddles with her camera endlessly as I make two fruitless passes.  I could have developed a roll of Tri-X pushed to 800 in the time it took her to get set up, and I'll bet that she is so young that she has never shot actual film.  On my 5th run she finally raised her lens and might have taken a photo, so we'll see.  After that the light got a little better and I went to see if I could carve Tippy's like those true Montuckians I've seen on the internet....   It turns out that I can't.  There were some good turns and some bad, but I claim that the snow was soft and inconsistent (whiny voice).  Tippy's is a little weird in places.  At the top of the steepest part it seems like someone stuck a huge breast implant right in the middle of the run.  It's as if Tippy's has a big single boob right in the middle of its chest.  Fun fact: Old Tippy's has yet to be groomed even once this season.  I made a last run down Ambush and made good carves there.

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

Friday 1/22, Day 27:  No new today.  There are thick clouds just above Lone Peak.  Temps on the mountain are supposed to be inverty warm but the winds kicked up at sunrise and it still feels chilly.  I'm on top of Andesite before 10 and take a ride down Ambush on its 3rd day of groom.  Light is flat but the snow is smooth, firm and tight.  Next I head for Bighorn to give it a try as I haven't been here in a while.  Getting to Bighorn from the top of Ramcharger is best done by taking a cutoff cat track from the top of the Ponderosa run.  The first headwall of Bighorn is pretty darn magnificent and faces South into the sun (if there was any today).

 

 

At the fork in the trail Bighorn goes left and down to the Thunder Wolf chair.  You can also take the right fork and find nice green carves on the Little Ewe trail to the Southern Comfort lift.  Down in the area of the big left-hand curve Bighorn develops a double-fall line to the left.  I found it a little difficult as a goofy rider because I have to take some heavily-loaded turns while heelside.  Regular-footed riders might like this area a lot because you can really plumb the depths of some hard turns while toeside.  After the trail straightens out it gets more flat and good turns can be made.  Finally there is a long wide runout down to the lift.  Not bad.  I loop back up and ultimately head for El Dorado where I wipe out carving off the trail into the rough because I couldn't see the edge of the groom in the flat light.

 

After a couple of runs there I head down to get a slice of pizza and wait to see if the light gets better.  I think I'm back out around 11:30 and hit El Dorado again with a little break in the clouds.  I managed to get 2 camera whore passes.  The first had a weird toeside blowout, but the next was smooth and I was able to nicely modulate a turn that tucked in so close behind the photographer that I could have touched her (giggedy).

 

On the way out I did my last of 3 runs down Ambush today and all were excellent.  Nothing makes you turn faster than seeing a view full of a pump shed ahead of you.  Fun times.  There were no good pictures from yesterday, just one shot that was only half in frame.

 

Edited January 22, 2016 by ExcelsiorTheFathead

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

Saturday 1/23, Day 28:  I could easily not ride on a Saturday but bad weather is supposed to roll in soon and I guess it couldn't hurt to find out how crowded Big Sky gets on a non-holiday, non-pow weekend.  I'm on snow at 9:05 and just go cruising around: Calamity Jane, Huntley Hollow, Mr. K, and I also try Crazy Horse for the first time.  Crazy Horse is extremely varied with rolls, dips and fall lines in every direction.  The snow everywhere is very groomy.  It gets cloudier as I head up to El Dorado for a few runs and eventually the light is so flat that I can't read the snow at all.  I head back down, making one hard-carving run down Ambush.  Temps were in the low 20s with a fair bit of wind that was keeping the higher lifts on hold.  I drove out after 11 just as a nice sun break illuminated the whole place.  That figures.  It wasn't annoyingly crowded although more people continued to arrive.

 

Edit: A Yellowstone Club patroller was killed in an avalanche a few days ago.

Edited January 24, 2016 by ExcelsiorTheFathead

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

Monday 1/25, Day 29:  It was pretty cloudy in the morning so I went to the gym to pre-destroy my body for the day.  By noontime it had turned into a nice sunny day and it seemed like a waste to not go out.  I drove up, over and around to the Moonlight Madison Base just to cruise around and explore.  On snow around 1 PM.  I fear rocks, so I'm riding the Coda which has already been dinged up pretty good.  The resort is reporting 4-8" of new overnight and 6-10" in the last 24 hours.  I say that on average there might have been 4".

 

Despite the sun the temps are in the teens and it feels kinda cold.  The winds are blowing gently uphill, so the ride up the Six-Shooter chair isn't freezing like it usually is.  The sun crosses just above the ridge so while the lower part of the bowl is in light, the close-in area is in shadow and is really cold.  Here is the view up Six-Shooter where it crosses over Meriwether:

When the sun gets higher in a month or so, this will be a really nice place.  I suppose there is a good chance of the snow staying in better condition here because it faces NE.

 

From the top of Six-Shooter I head across the Stillwater Traverse where I see some skiers coming down one of the double blacks.  I think this is Firehole:

The Headwaters chair is just above where I was standing when I took those pictures.  I don't understand it, but you have to make a short uphill hike to access this chair.  It doesn't matter to me since I will probably never go up there.

 

Looking across the Stillwater Bowl:

Once around the bowl, you soon reach the Lone Tree Triple chair which you must take to reach the blue cruise runs of Horseshoe, Trembler, and Lookout Ridge.

Horseshoe had the gentlest pitch.  Not too exciting but there are many nice views.  Trembler has a slightly bowl-y section that might have been good if the trail was groomed today.  One steep area was heavily skidded off and had exposed rocks.  Lookout Ridge has a few carveworthy pitches but also as a steep section with rocks.  Meriwether is accessed more easily without having to go up the Lone Tree chair and is a fun ride as are Elkhorn and Cinnabar on the other side of Six-Shooter.

 

So while none of the trails in the Moonlight Basin area are super carve runs, there are many interesting trails.  I prefer this area with a short or medium radius board.

Edited January 25, 2016 by ExcelsiorTheFathead

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

Tuesday 1/26, Day 30:  No new today and it is beautiful and sunny.  On snow at 1 PM because the morning was too cold.  I'm fatigued from Crossfit and riding, so I don't want to do any hard carving today.  I decide to head straight for the Tram to see if I can get to the top.

 

Lone Peak Triple

View of the Tram from the top of the Triple

Tram base from the top of the Triple

Tram Base

 

When I got to the Tram I found that the line was short and I was able to board the next ride up.  We were packed in like sardines.  I just walked around the peak and took a few pictures.  I wasn't planning on riding down from the top since I don't feel particularly qualified to do so.  I probably could have skidded down the Liberty Bowl, but I doubt that it would have been fun for me.  SO GET OFF MY BACK!!!  DON'T YOU JUDGE ME!!!  Besides, the guy at the top of the Tram was warning everyone about rocks.

 

Looking down from the upper terminal

People gawking

This might be some of the runs in the Yellowstone Club.

Entrance to Liberty Bowl and Otter Slide

Looking down on Swift Current trails, the main base, the front of Andesite, and Planet Earth

Just below the upper terminal

Big Couloir from the tram

East side of the Bowl

Upper Morningstar from the Tram base

Tippy's and Ambush from the Explorer chair

Looking up the Explorer chair

 

When I got down from the Tram I just did a few lazy cruise runs on Mr. K and Lower Morningstar.

 

As I write this the resort has closed but ski patrol is out looking for 2 skiers lost in the Jack Creek drainage in the Northern Snowfields.  As the signs below show, you are required to sign out at the peak if you head off into certain places.  There has been intermittent text messages with the lost skiers, but they haven't been found yet. 

Edit: Ski Patrol found them at 1705, so they won't have to spend the night out there.

Edited January 27, 2016 by ExcelsiorTheFathead

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

Wednesday 1/27, Day 31:  Ow.  My back hurts from kettlebell swings and other stuff.  On snow around 1 PM on a cloudy and warm day.  I only do a few easy runs down Mr. K and Lower Morningstar on the Oxess.  Not only does my back hurt, but I've developed some kind of weird pressure point in my front boot on the inside side above the ankle.  It has something to do with tromping around the top of Lone Mt. in my boots yesterday and now it seriously hurts.  I have no idea what is causing it.  Grrrrr.

[icebiker]

Hi Art. Great pics, and great style!  Your posts are getting me psyched for my trip to Big Sky March 6-12 with my 18 year old skier son.  Would love a chance to meet at fellow BOL'er, do a few runs together and and maybe pick up some riding tips.   I'll PM you my details if you'll be around. Thanks

-Greg

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

Hi Greg,  I'll definitely be here through the end of the season.  Please go ahead and PM me your contact info and schedule.  Bumpyride might be here then as well.

 

Wednesday 2/3, Day 32:  Geez, I haven't ridden for a week.  My back was really hurting for a few days, then it got too snowy, then too cold.  I'd guess there has been maybe 8" of new in the last week.  Today I went up on a nice sunny afternoon just to get a little green trail carving in.  Even though I waited for warmth, it was still only 12F or so at the top of Swifty.  The snow is nicely groomy with no skitchiness.  Just 4 runs down Mr. K. and Lower Morningstar.  I still have that weird pressure point in my boot even though I tried to bash it down.  I'm going to have to take the liner out and bash it with a hammer.

 

Guide to Peeing in Big Sky

 

Unlike places like Sun Valley, Big Sky is not a resort of magnificent places to pee.  The Mountain Mall in the main base area has an upstairs restroom near the restaurant and a downstairs restroom off in the far end of the building.  The is the most convenient place to use right after you arrive and get off the parking lot shuttle.  Because there is an uphill walk to get to the lifts, it is a hassle to come back down here to use a bathroom unless you are stopping in to eat.  When I arrive in the mornings I walk around to the back of the Mountain Mall and use an entrance that is closer to the lifts.  There is no water fountain in the lower floor of the Mountain Mall; you have to go upstairs to the restaurant.

 

If I want to find a bathroom at the base without walking downhill to the Mountain Mall, there is a small bathroom in the snow level of the Snowcrest Lodge where the ski school offices are.

 

Once you go up Ramcharger to the top of Andesite there is a nice posh lodge building but it is really just an expensive restaraunt.  Public bathrooms are located in a warming hut just across from the lodge.  It is slightly inconvenient in that the direct path to the Southern Comfort trails requires a brief uphill skate but it isn't a big deal.  As far as I know, this is the only public restroom in the entire Andesite area.

 

Up in the Swift Current area there is a bathroom in an outbuilding near the Lone Peak Triple.  You ski down the Jay Walk cat track from the top of Swifty then stay to the far side of the fence when you see the open area of the bowl. There is also a small restaurant in a cabin nearby. 

 

Over at the Moonlight Madison Base the bathrooms are in the Headwaters Grille.  Note that there is no lift terminal at the Madison base and you have to ski downhill a bit to reach the loading area.  To reach the Madison base you have to be skiing down Cinnabar by one route or another.  Many of the the other Moonlight trails take other paths down to the area where the Six-Shooter and Derringer chairs load and there is no restroom in the loading area.  From the lift loading area you need to ride the slow Derringer lift to reach the Madison Base or find your way to Cinnabar from the top of Six-Shooter.

 

The other alternative is to use actual sani-cans that are placed at the top of Six-Shooter where there is also a small warming hut.  These sani-cans are mounted on sleds that place them more than a foot above the ground.  Trying to get into one while wearing slippery Fintecs can be a challenge.  Also, they are often placed on unlevel snow.

 

Near the base of the Iron Horse lift you will see the posh Moonlight Lodge, but I think you have to be a club member to go in there.

 

As for higher-elevation places to pee, I don't know.  There may or may not be a bathroom in the tram base.  There are no signs for one, but there might be one anyhow.  There's no obvious bathroom on the peak, but I don't know...

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

Weird morning for Big Sky.  The resort's web site has been down all day for some reason and now the Challenger lift has broke down.  As of noon a rope evac has just begun.  There are sure to be cellphone pics and vids of this on the internet pretty soon.  I'm heading up soon to ride.

 

Friday 2/5, Day 33:  On snow at 1:30 as the morning was too cold.  There are a couple inches of new since yesterday but it is hard to be certain since the resort's web site is still down.  Scuttlebutt says that the Challenger evacuation took 75 minutes.  Not bad.  El Dorado was not groomed today so I just did 5 runs down Mr. K.  I'm still trying to take it easy, and my boot issues continue despite a bunch of fiddling. 

 

Saturday 2/6:  I was thinking about going up this afternoon but it is so windy that 8 lifts are on hold, including Ramcharger.  Challenger is marked as Closed, so whatever caused yesterday's problems hasn't been fixed yet.

Edited February 6, 2016 by ExcelsiorTheFathead

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

Sunday 2/7, Day 34:  I rode from 1 to 2:30 on a nice sunny day around 30F with just a little wind.  7 runs down very groomy El Dorado and 1 down Ambush.  Good turns everywhere and very pleasant.  No snow in the forecast for the next 5 days, just clear skies and mild temps.

Edited February 9, 2016 by ExcelsiorTheFathead

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

Monday 2/8, Day 35:  Sunny and too warm.  Probably above freezing on the hill.  In the morning I went to the gym and 1/2-assed my workout to keep from overdoing things.  I was on snow at 1 and headed off on the Coda to try yet another area of the resort that I hadn't visited yet.  Up Swifty then cut right from the top of Lobo to head for Cow Flats and the Shedhorn chair.  Cow Flats does indeed have a flat spot that I had to skate.  Up Shedhorn and over to Sunlight, the only easy way down.  Upper Sunlight is wide and carveable.  Lower Sunlight isn't wide, but is still ok.  Hippy Highway is basically a cat track that returns to the lift.

 

Looking up Shedhorn, Liberty bowl above.

Looking down Upper Sunlight.  The next hill over is part of the Yellowstone Club.

 

Up Shedhorn again then I cut off of Sunlight to Mule Skinner and head to the Dakota Lift.  Badlands is the only blue way down and it wasn't groomed this morning.  It isn't very wide, but I could skid my skwal down it well enough.  Back up again and now I skid down the Dakota Lift Line which seems to get groomed on occasion, but it was too narrow and fast for me to carve.  I made it out Dakota Road but parts of this cat track were steep enough to make me skid stop several times to keep my speed in check.  This connected up with the Hippy Highway again and I had to take Shedhorn up then ride Duck Walk around to the top of Swifty.  Down Mr. K where I can finally cruise/carve and drive out at 3:30.

 

Looking up Dakota

 

Both Shedhorn and Dakota are old fixed grip doubles, neither of which has a safety bar.  Grooming in this area is not an everyday occurrence.  The only reason I went today was because Sunlight had been groomed this morning. 

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

Tuesday 2/9, Day 36:  Sunny and warm.  On snow at 9:35 because I want to make the most of the groom before it goes soft.  (that's what she said) (are we still doing phrasing?).  Going up Ramcharger the grooming on Ambush looks stellar.  I head over to El Dorado to get in the sun and make 6-7 runs on tight, smooth hardpack.  On the way out I met a visiting Swiss guy wearing an as-yet-to-be-destroyed Pure Boarding jacket.  Instead of being at Aspen this year, he is on a tour of Big Sky and Jackson Hole.  He was much pleased to see someone on an Oxess.  We put some nice turns on Ambush, probably the only people who actually made carved turns on it all morning.  Out at 11:30.  Temps were in the low 30s during the morning, but might reach 50F before the day is out.

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

Wednesday 2/10, Day 37:  Warm again, mountain temps above freezing with clouds rolling in and out.  Runs off the top of the tram are closed because it is too icy.  The Challenger lift is still closed.  I don't know what is wrong with it, but it done broke good.  I'm on snow just after 11 and do some runs down El Dorado.  The bottom part of the run has a tinge of icy crustification, a sign of thaw-freeze.  After a while i head to Ambush and make good turns.  On my first run while carving hard I crossed a rut that wasn't mine.  It took somewhere between 5 and 10 milliseconds to process this and realize that Swiss Guy must be here.  Sure enough on my way back up Ramcharger I saw him carving down Ambush in his Pure Boarding style.  Out at 1.

Edit: I found something about the Challenger evac.  The article says that the gearbox is broken, and that the lift is an old Riblet.

Edited February 11, 2016 by ExcelsiorTheFathead

[boardguru]

Very nice camera whore pictures you're posting Art.

[bumpyride]

Have bunged up my knee so I haven't been out since I got back.  Son is coming in tonight around midnight and may test the knee out tomorrow if it feels right.  Will text you the schedule, but it won't be early as it's probably pretty hard.

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

Bunged up?  Doing what?  I'll be heading up by noon.  Watch for Swiss Guy.

 

Hi Mick,  Yes the Camera Whoring thing is almost a skill in and of itself.  I have lots of practice in getting into a good position relative to the photographer. 

 

Runs off the top of the peak are still closed and they have shut down the tram for evac training.  It would be more interesting if they trained with the tram cars out at mid-span.  These are stills from the tram cam.

 

Thursday 2/11, Day 38:  Up at 12 with temps in the high 30s during a very cloudy part of the day.  Several runs down El Dorado that were decent up high and unenjoyable down low because of crustiness.  My legs started to wear out after only a few runs so I didn't stay long.  My exit run down Ambush was good except for gusty winds blowing up slope.  Out at 1.  Finally some snow is in the forecast over the weekend.

Edited February 11, 2016 by ExcelsiorTheFathead

[bumpyride]

Bunged up from overuse on a replaced partial knee.  Don't want to screw up the total season by getting back on it too soon.  No trauma, just overworking it and the knee didn't appreciate it.  Didn't manifest itself until 12 hours later.

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

Friday 2/12, Day 39: I was going to skip today because I figured it would be crowded, but the nice weather brought me out anyway.  2" of new overnight has saved the day.  From checking the webcams it didn't seem like Ramcharger was running full, so what the heck.  On snow just after 2 in 40F temps with sun and thin clouds.  For some reason the Swift Current lift was running at 1/2 speed on backup power.  It took forrreeverrrrrrrrr......  Mr. K was mashed potatoes.  Next over to Ramcharger because I wasn't going up Swifty again.  The Ramcharger load terminal was making crazy squeaking noises but at least was running at normal speed.  When i got over to ungroomed El Dorado, the SoCo chair was stopped... What the heck is going on?  Instead of a mechanical issue, they had stopped it to load a toboggan with an injured skier.

 

I do a couple of runs down lumpy El Dorado and one down Deep South which was a little smoother as it had been groomed.  I happened to meet a hardbooter from Billings riding an old Burton FP 180 with TD3SWs.  In general it isn't good carving at this moment because it is too soft.  Ambush was better since it gets less sun.  Out at 3:45.

[bumpyride]

Got out today at 11am.  A little soft, but a lot of hold.  First day out with the knee and it went well.  Bumps were really fun.  The groomer were in pretty good shape.  Walking the neighbor's dog at 6pm and street was a little icy.  Will probably head out at 10am tomorrow/

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

Tuesday 2/16, Day 40:  On snow around 1.  Temps in the low 30s, cloudy and windy.  Warm weather has continued.  Over the weekend there was occasional rain down where I live but it seemed to have been at least partially frozen up at the resort, adding up to a few inches of new.  The best snow today was on Ambush.  El Dorado was a little soft.  At the top of SoCo I ran into Bumpy & Co for the first time.  Later I went up Swift Current which seems to be running at full speed.  For a few days it was running painfully slow on backup power.  I heard that there was some issue with not getting enough power from the mains, but I really don't know.  By the time i got to the top of Swifty there were wind gusts that must have been 40+.  I made one run down Mr. K which was too soft.

 

It was announced that the Challenger lift will be closed for the rest of the season.  That terrain will only be accessible via the Headwaters lift.  Next summer both Challenger and the Lone Peak Triple will be replaced.  Management is trying to put this in the best possible light, but it is yet another lift failure for Boyne.  At least nobody was hurt.

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

Wednesday 2/17, Day 41:  Rode from 10-11ish.  30F, cloudy with light as flat as a pancake.  A few down El Dorado with nice grooming but the bottom of the run is a little crusty.  Lower Ambush has a fenced pile of snow on it for some reason so I went over to Tippy's.  After skidding over Tippy's big icy boob, I got some good, scary high-G turns in. 

[bumpyride]

Light was flat, and conditions so-so.  Bumps were well delineated even in the flat light, so those were fast and fun.  1pm  and going down Mr. K.  to put our boards in the barn was really quite good for carving even with the flat light.  Saving the legs for snow, so short days maybe 10 runs in total.  May be on the Fatbike shortly, perfect conditions for it.

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

Friday 2/19, Day 42:  A nice day with a few clouds here and there.  Low 30s temps on the mountain.  Yesterday had a bad storm blow through that shut down all the lifts for a while because of lightning hazards.  There were high winds and heavy snowfall for a brief time.  Ultimately only 2" of new came of it, but it really helped make today a super groomer day.  I'm taking it easy today (again) because I strained my back in the gym (again) and my legs are worn out (all the time).  I'm on snow just after noon and was pleased to greet a visiting rwmaron in the base area.  5 runs down El Dorado with a grippy groom that was just a little bit chalky soft.  The crustiness at the bottom of the run is gone for now.  Back to the base on Ambush where a big jump has been built for tomorrow's Dummy Jump.  Not too crowded for Friday.  Out after only an hour or so.  I read somewhere that the motor in the Swifty lift was replaced a few days ago.  I don't know for sure, but anything to keep that lift running at full speed.

These pictures are all starting to look the same now.  I think I'll try to set up for closer heelside shots next time.

Edited February 19, 2016 by ExcelsiorTheFathead

[rwmaron]

Art;

I've been an avid reader of your posts for several years so meeting you in person was indeed a pleasure. I was back on El Dorado after lunch could clearly see where you had been! Today was our last day of riding here in Montana.

 

I'll look forward to your posts for the remainder of the season and next year wherever you end up.

Russ

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

Sunday 2/21, Day 43:  A nice sunny day that started out pretty darn cold.  Around 1" of new in the last couple of days.  -2F here at the house and low teens up on the hill.  I went up at 2 and had to vulture around a bit to find a parking spot in the main lot.  By this time it is around 30F and pleasant.  First a run down Mr. K.  Good, but there are a few rocks appearing on parts of Jay Walk.  Next up to SoCo where I take a run down each of the 4 trails.  Then a run down Ambush which has a couple scrapy spots from the high weekend traffic.  The jump on lower Ambush has been groomed out but that area is nowhere near being flat again.  Just for the heck of it I go up Ramcharger again to try Tippy's.  Tippy's was perfect, with good sun.  I managed to link continuous turns from Tippy's boob through Tippy's crotch, all the way to Tippy's feet.  It was worthy of a Montucky carving video and the best run I've had at Big Sky so far.  There were definite elements of badassery.  Out at 3:30.