2012 Montana Conditions, Stoke and Whatev Thread

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Looks like a good old angry inch kinda day.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Working today but Wind Sky looks like it might be kinda good tomorrow.

[Bunion 2020]

Obituary: John E. Kircher

John E. Kircher 2/18/1958 — 1/28/2023

John Everett Kircher, 64, of Big Sky, Montana, died peacefully on January 28, 2023, after a courageous battle with cancer. John remained brave, strong, and positive in his final days. He was surrounded by devoted friends and loving family members.

John married Kim Huleen Kircher, the love of his life, in 2005. They divided their time between mountains and surf, residing in two of John’s favorite places, Maui, Hawaii and Big Sky, Montana.

John was born to Everett Frank Kircher and Mary “Carol” Carolyn Reeves on February 18, 1958, in Petoskey, Michigan. John graduated from Boyne City High School, attended the University of Michigan, and later received a Business degree from Western Michigan University.

John was born to be a ski area operator. When John’s mother went into labor during a Northern Michigan snowstorm, Everett drove her to the hospital in a 1956 Tucker Sno Cat. John lived his first few years in the Main Lodge at the base of Boyne Mountain. He was selling lift tickets by age 12, and driving snow cats, making snow, and loading chairlifts all by 16.

John arrived in Big Sky Resort in 1981 beginning his long-time role as the General Manager. John would eventually manage four ski areas and become Boyne Resorts President of Western Operations. By 2007 he oversaw 1.75 million skier visits. In 2010 Cypress Mountain would host six events in the Winter Olympics under his management. John built numerous chair lifts, including the one-of-a-kind tram to Big Sky’s Lone Peak in 1995, and the first 8-passenger gondola in Washington state at Crystal Mountain.

While his career was peppered with big projects, it was his love of the sport and consideration of others that will be most remembered. Some would say he was the “kindest person they ever met.” He would think nothing of pulling a stranger’s car from a snowy ditch or listening intently to a customer’s complaints. John was a proud father, a devoted husband, a loving brother, and a loyal friend to many. He was a fantastic storyteller with the funniest one-liners imaginable.

John was a beautiful skier and a gifted athlete. His love for aviation took him all over the world, and also inspired his son, Andrew, to follow in his footsteps as a pilot. John craved adventure, and he loved nature whether surfing in Indonesia, ski touring in the Alps or fishing for tarpon from a houseboat in the Costa Rican jungle. John sucked the marrow out of life. He was spontaneous and could sweep others into his escapades with ease. John’s shenanigans might include turning the ski lifts on after hours for powder turns under the night lights, last minute trips to Alaska or Japan because, “it’s always snowing somewhere,” or launching a snowball battle royale forming teams and fortresses in the base area of the ski hill. He was loved by many and will be missed by all.

John was preceded in death by his father Everett, his mother Carol, and his stepmother Lois. John is survived by his wife Kim, son Andrew Kircher (Stephanie), daughter Evelyn Kircher, sister Amy Kircher Wright (Greg), sister Kathryn Kircher, brother Stephen Kircher (Molly) and several adoring nieces and nephews.

The memorial service will be held at Big Sky Chapel at noon on February 11, 2023. Seating is limited. A Celebration of Life will follow immediately at the Yellowstone Conference Center Ballroom.

RIP

[toastybroski]

pros/cons of moving up to Kalispell from Helena now that my wife and I work remotely? Kalispell prices seem to have come down quite a bit while Helena is still high (but screw mortgage rates).

I think it is impossible to beat the trail access here. There's a bunch of hippies in Helena. GD, while snowless, has some of the best vibes of any mountain and is almost never crowded.

Restaurants suck. Flights suck.

[yeahman]

Looks like a good old angry inch kinda day.

It was good, they updated it to three or four inches that fell between 6 and 9 a.m. Very windy so there was some scouring happening. Tram charge was back up to $70 so I did not go up there. Good powder turns to be had all over the mountain.

[toast2266]

pros/cons of moving up to Kalispell from Helena now that my wife and I work remotely? Kalispell prices seem to have come down quite a bit while Helena is still high (but screw mortgage rates).

I think it is impossible to beat the trail access here. There's a bunch of hippies in Helena. GD, while snowless, has some of the best vibes of any mountain and is almost never crowded.

Restaurants suck. Flights suck.

Kalispell pros:
Decent restaurants these days, and a few decent breweries.
As easy to fly in/out as anywhere in Montana.
Relatively affordable.
Whitefish is an OK ski hill. Not a *great* one, but there's decent skiing most days of the season.
There's a pretty good variety of bike trails around the valley, and it's ~2 hours to fernie, which has considerably better bike trails than anywhere in Montana.

Kalispell cons:
No good biking right in town. Most of the good valley riding is around Whitefish. There's good riding in the mountains around the valley in pretty much all directions, but none of that is particularly close to kalispell.
It ends up being a ~40 minute drive to the ski hill, so it's not super close to lift served skiing. Most touring options are farther.
It's gray pretty much all winter.
Thick with conservitards.

[Talisman]

What Yeahman said about great powder turns it true and not many people got to places not visible from the lifts. This lonely spot had one (1) track in it at ~ noon. There were "free refills" and very short lifts lines.

It was good, they updated it to three or four inches that fell between 6 and 9 a.m. Very windy so there was some scouring happening. Tram charge was back up to $70 so I did not go up there. Good powder turns to be had all over the mountain.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

BB was surprisingly fun and soft and I didn't even hike. Just noodle turns with people from my office. Shit, any day on skis is a good day, right?

[byates1]

pros/cons of moving up to Kalispell from Helena now that my wife and I work remotely? Kalispell prices seem to have come down quite a bit while Helena is still high (but screw mortgage rates).

I think it is impossible to beat the trail access here. There's a bunch of hippies in Helena. GD, while snowless, has some of the best vibes of any mountain and is almost never crowded.

Restaurants suck. Flights suck.

I wouldn't move to cloudy and.damp from sunny and dry.

[ski counselor]

pros/cons of moving up to Kalispell from Helena now that my wife and I work remotely? Kalispell prices seem to have come down quite a bit while Helena is still high (but screw mortgage rates).

I think it is impossible to beat the trail access here. There's a bunch of hippies in Helena. GD, while snowless, has some of the best vibes of any mountain and is almost never crowded.
Restaurants suck. Flights suck.

Don't think Kalispell would be an improvement in quality of life issues over Helena. All I can tell you is I was at Great Divide today with about 2 inches of fresh and it skied wonderfully. After the school kids left, it felt like I was one of about 20 folks on the mountain. Doubt you can get that same vibe at Whitefish.

[anotherVTskibum]

I wouldn't move to cloudy and.damp from sunny and dry.

I'd second this on general principle, and I did move from sunny and dry to cloudy and damp (although not as cloudy as whitefish, we also don't get nearly as much snow). There are times where other factors (family, work, etc) might call for a move, but it doesn't sound like that's your situation.

[Iowagriz]

On the other hand, Flathead valley in the summer can be amazing. Just need to learn how to navigate the tourists.

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[montpow]

Showdown got a little refresh and I’ll be up riding lifts today. Purple Arcteryx jacket and blue Hojis if anyone is around and wants to say hi

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Who in the valley has Intuitions in stock? Mine are finally Ugg Boot mode and I need to mold up some new tonight if possible.

[Bunion 2020]

And so as not to Thrunt that locals thread:

Quote Originally Posted by yeahman View Post
Any idea about the origin of the running joke "Nobody cares about the Gum Wall"? I saw it written in the penalty box on the whiteboard one day. Then when I asked about the Gum Wall some random guy yells "Nobody cares about the Gum Wall!" Then I actually saw it hashtagged on a BS Ski Patrol Instagram post about a month ago, #nobodycaresaboutthegumwall, along with a pic of two patrollers climbing up Orbit. Naturally I'm curious.

When we were separate operations and working on opening the N. Summit I moved the Avalauncher that caused such a stink from Headwaters to the west side of Horseshoe Ridge so we could use it to soften up the N. Summit prior to sending a control team into the maw.

As we got comfortable with the N. Summit terrain and began working to open Orbit and Trident we began shooting the Avalauncher at them as well, you can't really access them from the top without some serious billy goating above a big cliff. The N. Summit shots are not in line with where the BSSP would ever be but Orbit and Trident don't have that luxury. Even with the added costs and PITA factor they were still important to us to get open when possible. BSSP is like that with most of their terrain too.

So in the spirit of cooperation, prior to shooting at them we would call BSSP on their radio and tell them we were planning to shoot the N. Summit or the Gum Wall. Being the pussy ass bitches they were they started that shit. I suppose by now a few of them have maybe been to the gum wall when its in but not many of them really are in that kind of shape or have that level of route finding ability. All in good fun, eh?

The 2 forecasters for the North Side are old days MLB patrollers so they know.

And not to offend their delicate sensibilities but I still have tinnitus from the many large shots they detonated at the base of the A-Zs without warning us they had a shot burning 500 feet below us as we were hiking the Headwaters ridge.

Ask them how Stranglehold in the A-Zs got its name.

[Talisman]

Try the Roundhouse

If they don't have Intuitions I can loan you these bad boys until the order comes in.

Who in the valley has Intuitions in stock? Mine are finally Ugg Boot mode and I need to mold up some new tonight if possible.

[yeahman]

And so as not to Thrunt that locals thread:



When we were separate operations and working on opening the N. Summit I moved the Avalauncher that caused such a stink from Headwaters to the west side of Horseshoe Ridge so we could use it to soften up the N. Summit prior to sending a control team into the maw.

As we got comfortable with the N. Summit terrain and began working to open Orbit and Trident we began shooting the Avalauncher at them as well, you can't really access them from the top without some serious billy goating above a big cliff. The N. Summit shots are not in line with where the BSSP would ever be but Orbit and Trident don't have that luxury. Even with the added costs and PITA factor they were still important to us to get open when possible. BSSP is like that with most of their terrain too.

So in the spirit of cooperation, prior to shooting at them we would call BSSP on their radio and tell them we were planning to shoot the N. Summit or the Gum Wall. Being the pussy ass bitches they were they started that shit. I suppose by now a few of them have maybe been to the gum wall when its in but not many of them really are in that kind of shape or have that level of route finding ability. All in good fun, eh?

The 2 forecasters for the North Side are old days MLB patrollers so they know.

And not to offend their delicate sensibilities but I still have tinnitus from the many large shots they detonated at the base of the A-Zs without warning us they had a shot burning 500 feet below us as we were hiking the Headwaters ridge.

Ask them how Stranglehold in the A-Zs got its name.

Thanks for the history lesson bunion. Sounds like interesting times.

I've been trying to ski those lines for years, but it just never seems to line up with openings/conditions, etc. Looks to me like a fun way to spend a day, ski the North Summit early and then hang out back there and boot up Orbit and Trident.

[Trackhead]

Weird scene to ski up to while exiting the Big Belts today. Sled on it's side (bad belt?), helmet, pack, jacket...nobody around. Later found out likely some folks going to the hut who just abandoned all their shit like a two year old on the side of the road

[swimmy]

Track, you still got that open invite into the Big Belts?

We got out today for a sled/ski in the Northern Bridgers. Lot of wind fuckery but beautiful day to be out.

[upallnight]

Nice capture!

Those Corvus tips are riding high! Also, this gentleman has the squarest knees I've ever seen!

PS He's got the poles that generate a ton of hate in the other thread!!

[Trackhead]

Track, you still got that open invite into the Big Belts?

Yeah if you don’t mind walking 8 miles Sold my UTV/tracks last summer to pay medical bills. Got hosed pretty hard. Might buy another one or something else…..

[swimmy]

Nice capture!

Those Corvus tips are riding high! Also, this gentleman has the squarest knees I've ever seen!

PS He's got the poles that generate a ton of hate in the other thread!!

Hey that's me! My buddy offered to take one since I'm rarely on that end of the camera. The square knees are from my skins. I always stuff 'em in my side zips.

And funny you mention the poles. I've seen the discussion in the Jackson thread and a few weeks ago I toured with some dudes visiting from Italy that also had 'em. They recommend over my adjustable trekking poles. I picked 'em up and immediately was sold. Way lighter and more functional. I know I'm late to the game but I love 'em.

Yeah if you don’t mind walking 8 miles Sold my UTV/tracks last summer to pay medical bills. Got hosed pretty hard. Might buy another one or something else…..

I feel like I missed something here...but that's a bummer.

Looks like potential snow Monday night/Tuesday.

[cat in january]

Yo Montana traveling through looking to cash out my east coast house near the beach and become a dental floss tycoon.

Wall tonight, badlands tomorrow morning and red lodge tomorrow night. Skiing red lodge Tuesday. Tuesday Wednesday night Bozeman. Ski bridger Wednesday Montana Snowbowl likely Thursday with Thursday night in Fernie. It’s a blow by

Crossing the Missouri River about five today. Always thought of it as an east west divide





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[upallnight]

Hey that's me! My buddy offered to take one since I'm rarely on that end of the camera. The square knees are from my skins. I always stuff 'em in my side zips.

And funny you mention the poles. I've seen the discussion in the Jackson thread and a few weeks ago I toured with some dudes visiting from Italy that also had 'em. They recommend over my adjustable trekking poles. I picked 'em up and immediately was sold. Way lighter and more functional. I know I'm late to the game but I love 'em.



.

Dude! I love the photo. The form is pretty killer IMO—the anticipation of your next lefthand pole plant rocks!

And thanks for answering the square knee question. I wondered why it looked like it was only on your right knee. Both skins fit in one pants pocket? Wow!!

As for the poles, hop into the other thread and offer a point of view! I don’t even use them (I own some though) but somehow have become their champion. Most days I have someone make a comment about them in photos (online or even in a parking lot)…. The joke, if it ever was, is no longer funny.

They are a great tool for certain scenarios!!

And yes, lighter than adjustables with no moving parts/fewer chances of breaking.

Solid work!

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Forecast is looking good, I think I'll hit BB on Tuesday and BS Wednesday.

Then another refill for the president's day circus next week.