2012 Montana Conditions, Stoke and Whatev Thread

[Bunion 2020]

I am curious if the repairs to Six Shooter will be done by tomorrow to open up the northside and those untouched areas off of Lone Tree. Hopefully the reapir issues aren't like Headwaters and Lone Moose.

Six Shooter is currently down for maintenance. Shuttles to the Pony Express lift will be running for guests to access Mountain Village and additional terrain from Madison Base, but we advise parking in Mountain Village if you plan to ski beyond the Derringer lift. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Lone Moose is currently closed for maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Headwaters on hold as well. Big Sky Lift Repair Dept.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Overheard from some local boyne employee tram rat yesterday while in our super long wait: Six-Shooter is like broken broken....like gonna need some parts aka not a couple day fix.

[Bunion 2020]

Guess that isn't a big surprise. Fucking thing has been running slow all season.

[The AD]

Getting my $40 worth on Ramcharger:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5fdv8ih334...%2028.MP4?dl=0

My group ponied up for the early access yesterday, too. Got in five or six laps before the 9:00 starting bell. Then we fucked ourselves. Skied down to Thunder Wolf and they couldn't get the lift running. They sent us down to the bottom of Lone Moose where we then had to hike out to the condos and vans picked us up. There were at least 50 of us down there, so it was not fast. I think we missed out on 1.5 hours of skiing, plus then had to get in line for Swifty. Oh well. Shit happens. They did give us an $80 Boyne gift card for our trouble. Looking at the trail map now I think we would have saved time by just hiking up the cat track and then skied out to the base. Rookie mistakes.

Anyway, that fiasco was somewhat made up for by getting to Shedhorn just after it opened. Got in a couple runs before that became crowded as hell.

[Bunion 2020]

They did give us an $80 Boyne gift card for our trouble.

No shit? You really hit the jackpot with this trip, good snow and guest service from Boyne? You should buy a Powerball ticket for tomorrow night.

[The AD]

No shit? You really hit the jackpot with this trip, good snow and guest service from Boyne? You should buy a Powerball ticket for tomorrow night.

Ha ha! Yeah, I've got no complains to Big Sky guest services for the snow conditions.

[toastybroski]

After seeing how much work it takes to get that mountain running after a big dump like that it blows my mind that places like Alta and snowbird can be 100% open within an hour or two of a 40 inch dump.

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

I think BB should hold off opening slushies until Monday. It's just the responsible thing to do.

Clearly, someone there likes you! Enjoy it tomorrow

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

I'll be first in line tomorrow morning, but I have to punch the clock in the afternoon, so It will be fingers crossed.

[swimmy]

Tram didn't open today.

So it brings up an interesting question. If you had a choice, what do you choose?

Slushman's with 30"+?

Or Marx/Lenin with 24"?

[Bunion 2020]

That is a difficult question.

Before the tram we would open Marx for hiking from the top of the bowl chair. Usually that was later in the season, February at the earliest. And it would usually be 3-5 days after a storm. And by then the skiing was often very unpleasant due to the wind.

It was quite the adventure to do the control route, we would use a good 8-12 shots including doubles and triples. I believe it was early march 2 years before the tram construction began. Guy who is now at BB was doing the route. At that time you would traverse as far out as you dare into Marx starting a bit above gullies traverse level and toss shots as far out and downhill as your elbow and shoulder would let you.

Beautiful sunny day, little wind and we had a good 15-18 people all wanting to hike to the summit and ski Marx as soon has we called it open. Sign out, beacon and shovel access and you knew every one of them cause that was the local population, the dirt-bags. Those were really fun days.

The route was on their 4th or 5th shot, he called it in and about 3 minutes later he called in on the radio. "Bowl Patrol, Marx Route"? "Bowl, go ahead".

"Yeah you can tell all the folks waiting to go skiing, Marx just went full depth, full width".

I believe here is still a poster size photo of that slide in the BSSP locker room.

[swimmy]

Love hearing these stories. Thanks for sharing.

I looked at Marx yesterday on the way out. There was one beautiful set of tracks coming down. The snow looked great although while we were waiting yesterday patrol mentioned wind had gotten to some it. Maybe he was just referring to up high?

Obviously Liberty hadn't been wind affected as that snow was perfect.

[Bunion 2020]

Doesn't matter really, needs to get skied not matter what.

[Gnar_Shralp406]

The wait was for them to open terrain. And it was closer to 4 hours not counting time in line at Swifty.

But it was worth every second. We scored first bucket, conditions were all time, and it will be a day I will always remember.

Here's Whiteroom gettin' some

Wow.

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[total_immortal]

Tram didn't open today.

So it brings up an interesting question. If you had a choice, what do you choose?

Slushman's with 30"+?

Or Marx/Lenin with 24"?

The top couple hundred feet of the ridge got pretty windfucked. Down in the trees was less affected and deeeeep

[S_jenks]

Tram didn't open today.

So it brings up an interesting question. If you had a choice, what do you choose?

Slushman's with 30"+?

Or Marx/Lenin with 24"?

If both have solid mid-season bases and I could time it right off at the drop, I’d never be able to pass up Slushman’s. Too many good memories of deep turns between the snaggletooth trees and bumping off features. Yeah, you never forget the days pre-slush when the hike was longer, and lines on D route were being skied less.

But my god that chairlift is something else. So many possibilities are crammed into those walls between Z and the football field; some with real pucker factors, some just fun. Hell, even the ski from PK —> Slush is hella fun on soft days.

Now- that being said, Marx on a perfect day is such a close second. And honestly, the thought of just linking turn after uninterrupted turn for 1000s of vert is just…. A blessed experience. If I was skiing solo, then I’d have to choose it over slushmans.

There something uniquely solitary about that mountain once you step off that tram. You’re greeted by wind with thirst that is rarely quenched. It can howl like a banshee, with ice crystals often whizzing past and sometimes even peppering you. Dropping off the summit. You quickly fall into another world a place that has little care for your human presence, with only the trust in yourself (and that the BS ski patrol did it’s job awaking any dragons that may lie beneath) to rely on.

But with patience and careful turns, you eventually find the way through the frozen wasteland to the top of the chutes. The wind will often die down enough to think, and if you’re lucky the visibility will open the way for you-like a white curtain being raised on the stage.

Turn after turn, the mountain rewards your faith with euphoria, the mind drifting alongside you as you descend. Bands of granite line either side of you, beautiful but always a warning to pick lines with care. You already are so fortunate to be up there, and greed can be the evil that ends your season.

It is bliss manifest.

[m7c6c3]

I was hoping hick would do it, you know, pull the trigger or poison me when I least expect it, do I still go to hell then?
I might have to rethink that now, that is super nice of you, especially considering our sparring in the polyass arena. All in good fun though, I always appreciate the spirited engagement.
All I ask is a reasonable groomer or two to slide around on. I gotta work at four tommorow but one day early next week would be great. Much appreciated Bunion.

[hick]

I was hoping hick would do it, you know, pull the trigger or poison me when I least expect it, do I still go to hell then?
I might have to rethink that now, that is super nice of you, especially considering our sparring in the polyass arena. All in good fun though, I always appreciate the spirited engagement.
All I ask is a reasonable groomer or two to slide around on. I gotta work at four tommorow but one day early next week would be great. Much appreciated Bunion.

Whoa, creepy. A bot that is quoting Tone from back in the day.


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[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Holy effing shit what an amazing trip.

Huge thanks to Mohshishid/WRG, swimmy, and others for showing me what’s up and having me tag along. Flat out fell in love w Big Sky. So freaking rad. Can see easily why you guys have stayed here (terrain and vibe-wise, beyond just the once-every-five-yrs storm)…

Today was…. Ridiculous. One of the top 5 runs of my life on liberty I reckon, and lots more fun on Dakota, and even a couple powderseeker laps and early Ramcharger were really fun.

Totally worth the 2-hr wait for first tram.

Absolutely cannot wait to come back for some wind blown blue sky (semi blue??) sphincter tightening semi-mountaineering shit on the Gullies, Headwaters, etc.


FYI for tomorrow, for those who brave the cold: my last lap today was whatever patch of glades soon after Screamin Left that connects the Dakota catwalk to the shedhorn catwalk. Still almost totally untouched at 3:10 and I would lap it exuberantly if I had the option… Really good stuff.


Here’s a few DB links to my most fun laps today, liberty included (start at about 1:00, and put the volume at... moderate).

Getting my $40 worth on Ramcharger:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5fdv8ih334...%2028.MP4?dl=0

Erika’s?? Screamin’ Left? Loved this lap:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7m2lvcc5fs...%2028.MP4?dl=0

And again. Stayed fresh all day!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q8xign69z5...20FUN.MP4?dl=0

TOTALLY FREAKING EPIC on Liberty. Should’ve been patient from the top and let swimmy do his thing… 🥴 (again, skip to about 1:00)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dxhj9ycg8w...%2023.MP4?dl=0



Also couple clips for recon sake. Jesus did those AZ chutes look tasty... Gullies too.

From the bottom:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rrlki4jewv...hutes.MP4?dl=0

From the tram, with a little tingle in my balls:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ulbd344bgv...%2028.MP4?dl=0



FWIW, 4 yr of med school in New Orleans was a bit of a mindfuck/big downer for literally a full decade but as audio in liberty clip clearly suggests, the obnoxiously pervasively stoked bell-to-bell loud-mahonkin' young bayou boy named Gosey has been resurrected.
[emoji108]🤟[emoji106]

Thanks again to all who helped in the methodical assassination of the bug up my ass. Goddamn what a rad trip... Can't wait to show my boy and get him up to MT in a few yrs!


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Ok finally watched that Liberty helmet cam. Ha! Powder skiing on a spiritual level. After that long wait to pop out in that sunshine with that snow. FIRST FUCKING BUCKET.

Max will have to ski A LOT of days at Big Sky to get conditions that good again.

[The AD]

I can't believe I was at Big Sky at the same time as Max Gosey and didn't get to meet him! Love the sheer excitement in that Liberty Bowl clip.

When your car looks like this at the end of a ski day, you know it was probably a pretty good day.

[swimmy]

Ok finally watched that Liberty helmet cam. Ha! Powder skiing on a spiritual level. After that long wait to pop out in that sunshine with that snow. FIRST FUCKING BUCKET.

Max will have to ski A LOT of days at Big Sky to get conditions that good again.

All of this. That first peak we got of Liberty will forever be seared into my memory.

Went back down today hoping the tram would open and I might be able to grab fresh tracks down Marx. Driving up I was getting stoked as the mountain is looking so good right now.



Got to Powder Seeker only to learn that tram is not running again today. Talked to patroller...cold temps and wind slabs. He said the bottomless powder is over and the upper mtn is back to normal Big Sky.

Oh well, I tried. And as a consolation, I did get some fresh corduroy down Lower Morning Star on the way out!



Sounds like Slushman's didn't open either.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Nope. Mebbe tomorrow?

[Bunion 2020]

Talked to patroller...cold temps and wind slabs. He said the bottomless powder is over and the upper mtn is back to normal Big Sky.

Such is the way of Lone Mountain. Prior to this storm if you got onto to any of the big slide paths and poked with a ski pole you could tell how hollow the snow pack was. I can appreciate the cautious approach after a major loading event.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Big girl is starting to fatten up!

[Gnar_Shralp406]

Sunday first tracks and Monday leftovers. Good thing we got a freezer.

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