2012 Montana Conditions, Stoke and Whatev Thread

[WMD]

Sweet! It was dumping when we left today and forecast is for more snow. Hope it's great for you!

[anotherVTskibum]

Nice! I'm headed out there saturday to ski to Red Lodge.

Don't forget your retro gear. 90s event at the mountain Saturday.

And while we didn't get much more snow since Monday, the skiing has been pretty damn good the past two days. The below was taken after 3:30 p.m. yesterday:

[Gaffney10]

Big Sky worth the drive from bzn tomorrow? Last weekend was the worst I have ever skiied bs. Hoping it may be better this week. Depressing snow year!

[yeahman]

Big Sky worth the drive from bzn tomorrow? Last weekend was the worst I have ever skiied bs. Hoping it may be better this week. Depressing snow year!

Was good Monday-Tuesday but changes daily if not hourly. I'm heading down with my daughters and hoping for the best. I always seem to find something good to ski by searching around. If south face stuff is scratchy we'll head to Headwaters and Lone Tree. Supposed to be sunny so some of the south stuff off the tram could be nice in the afternoon. Late afternoon after tram closes the South Wall in the bowl often seems to come into shape if it's windy, so I often end the day there.

You probably know all this and I'm not even answering your question anyway. Bottom line is you gotta go to know because it changes so much and there are so many different aspects on the mtn. And the wind is such a factor, usually positive but not always. I just go lift to lift until I find the goods.

[Catfish]

Changes quick is right. No insight on BS conditions, but yesterday was far and away the best day of the season at Bridger. Give me that over the cold joke double digit bullshit any day. Can't complain one bit, buuuuut I wish it would have held on a little longer.

[tone capone]

but yesterday was far and away the best day of the season at Bridger. Give me that over the cold joke double digit bullshit any day. Can't complain one bit, buuuuut I wish it would have held on a little longer.

Wait, What? Holy shit, you just completely hijacked my brain, bro!

Amazing how much perfection was contained in that 7 inches of 11% Oh what a glorious 7 inches they were, for those few precious hours until I woke up and was smacked back into the reality of our perpetual season of groundhog day purgatory. No other day of the year even comes close for me. Silent, surfy turns all over the mountain. Pretty funny how worked up people get over the cold joke. I would sell whats left of my tainted soul to Vail Resorts for 1 day a week like Thursday 3/9. That and I would sacrifice my pass and a parking spot for every double digit cold joke day for the rest of this life and the next! Enjoy!

[Norseman]

One of these times, tone, I'll convince you to come out to WA.

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

Anyone ski the Y couloir on Black recently? Or been near that stretch of the Absarokas? We're supposed to go tomorrow, curious to hear any intel on the snowpack.

[yeahman]

Tram line today was 30 minutes but conditions were smooth and soft. Kid stoke--my two girls on Lenin, first time for the one in back blowin smoke. So many kids in the tram line today, it was cool to see.

[Ted26]

Anyone ski the Y couloir on Black recently? Or been near that stretch of the Absarokas? We're supposed to go tomorrow, curious to hear any intel on the snowpack.

Drove through paradise valley today, did not look like there was much snow up that drainage. Y couloirs probably have enough snow to ski but that might be it

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

Thanks. I'll pack some approach shoes for sure then. I'll post some photos and report back

[Notchtop]

Red Lodge Mountain will extend the season until April 16. We have a 42 inch base. Discuss.

[yeahman]

Figured everything on Lone Peak would firm up overnight but no, it surprised again with soft conditions and perfect visibility today. My 10-year-old did her first laps down the Gullies, shredded it actually because the snow was so sweet. The teenager was shredding too. So fun.

Strange how it happens, but between the awesome weekend on the tram, two 10-inch dumps at Great Divide Wednesday-Thursday, and the 10 inches at Big Sky on Monday, this ended up being the best week of my season so far. Totally unexpected too. Memories of this week will help sustain me through the long hot summer.

[tone capone]

Great news all around! The ups and downs of this season have been...interesting, for me at least, but I had a little moment of surprise and reward today that really helped push me along!

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

Black was a sufferfest. Coverage is good, skins were on most of the way, but mid elevation snow is severely rotten. We made a small navigational error and skied the wrong drainage. Oh well. Evidence of wind loading and recent natural activity would have probably kept us out of the Y.

[wordbird]

Finally did a trip to Lost Trail, so appropriate to this thread(I've only been doing lookout & Bitterroot/lolo tours this winter). I have to say that it's a great spring skiing area, $7 gets you to fun terrain. It's a shame they close on april second. Got a late start because the chairlift to the ridge didn't spin until 11 yesterday because of the wind. After 1pm it got nice, sunny and not windy so overall I had a good day. Did one lap on that ridge(can see a pair of new tracks) in creamy 1-2" new, softened up by the sun. I think the entire mountain except for true north might be corn today.

I'm definitely going to return on closing weekend if the conditions there remain spring like.

[yeahman]

^^Nice pics everybody.

I've only been doing lookout & Bitterroot/lolo tours this winter).

No Wisherd Ridge...? That's some fun stuff up there.

[Harry]

No Wisherd Ridge...? That's some fun stuff up there.

Agree. I remember a year back in the 80's or early 90's that some hippys had a teepee set up back there. Anyway, the access has changed since back in the day. Here is the new beta: http://mt-adventures.blogspot.com/20...ccess.html?m=1

[yeahman]

^^Ha ha...those hippies were me and my friends, we had a teepee up there for almost a decade and skied the crap out of that place. Really fun.

Yeah I don't know what access is like now...back then some years we had to skin 8 miles from the highway up Twin Creek Road, other years they were logging up there and the first 3 or 4 miles would be plowed. But having a teepee with a woodstove waiting for us made it seem easy, we used to go up in the dark after work/school on Fridays all the time.

Edit to add: Some of those OGs I hung out live in Whitefish now and they still set up the teepee every winter, somewhere near Big Mountain I think. It's usually a clandestine affair due to access issues, etc.

[wordbird]

Unfortunately wisherd ridge access is not good enough right now. They were plowing the road to the lake near east st. mary this winter but I missed that. I heard the low elevation snowpack was decent enough for some 4k' skiing there in January-February.

[yeahman]

Unfortunately wisherd ridge access is not good enough right now. They were plowing the road to the lake near east st. mary this winter but I missed that. I heard the low elevation snowpack was decent enough for some 4k' skiing there in January-February.

East St. Mary Peak in the Missions is not near Wisherd Ridge, which is just east of the Rattlesnake Wilderness. Most of the skiing on Wisherd is above 5,000 feet. Sheep Mountain, which is kind of considered the apex of the touring up there, is 6,500 feet.

The supposed guidebook to backcountry skiing in Western Montana is pretty sparse on details and photos, and has no maps. If you want more info and pics of the terrain I can provide.

Just texted a couple friends in Missoula and they've been lapping it up there all winter...actually one of them said conditions hadn't been this good in years. You see the bowls southeast of Sheep Mountain on this map...that's where the skiing is. Check it out sometime, you'll love it.

[wordbird]

East St. Mary Peak in the Missions is not near Wisherd Ridge, which is just east of the Rattlesnake Wilderness. Most of the skiing on Wisherd is above 5,000 feet. Sheep Mountain, which is kind of considered the apex of the touring up there, is 6,500 feet.

The supposed guidebook to backcountry skiing in Western Montana is pretty sparse on details and photos, and has no maps. If you want more info and pics of the terrain I can provide.

Just texted a couple friends in Missoula and they've been lapping it up there all winter...actually one of them said conditions hadn't been this good in years. You see the bowls southeast of Sheep Mountain on this map...that's where the skiing is. Check it out sometime, you'll love it.

http://mt-adventures.blogspot.com/20...ccess.html?m=1

It's 8 miles of skinning in atm, you said so yourself earlier in this thread unless I can't read.

[yeahman]

It would be nice to have a sled, but it's mostly easy skinning on old logging roads. I bet you could make the ridge by 11 a.m. unless you have a heart attack.

[Aenigma]

Is anybody headed south of Big Sky tomorrow afternoon/evening or Friday morning? I'm trying to figure out a ride so I can ski the Gallatin Crest. I have deer and elk meat as a bribe, or beer $ if that's preferable.

[yeahman]

Is anybody headed south of Big Sky tomorrow afternoon/evening or Friday morning? I'm trying to figure out a ride so I can ski the Gallatin Crest. I have deer and elk meat as a bribe, or beer $ if that's preferable.

Sorry I can't help you with a ride but I am curious how the Cooke City to Red Lodge tour worked out. Favorable conditions?