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  1. #3876
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Bozeman
    Posts
    720
    Visibility was tough a couple of days, and we had to dig snow caves for shelter up on the plateau due to wind (our highest camp was around 10,800'), but overall snow conditions were fantastic. Perfect snow for cruising all day, and we finished a couple miles below the Lake Fork trailhead five days after leaving Cooke City. There is a very healthy snowpack up high right now, which should make for great touring conditions later in the spring!

    I'll probably get some photos up once I rest a bit, but I just found a ride tomorrow morning, so I'm in the process of un/re-packing for multi-day trips.

  2. #3877
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Kootenays
    Posts
    401
    So conditions are not so good for Big Sky now eh? I was thinking of coming down from BC and getting an april pass, maybe doing some touring around bridger too. Did it rain to the peak, is there alot of debris everywhere? Also looking for some cool people to tour with, doing a big USA roadtrip!

  3. #3878
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Last Best City in the Last Best Place
    Posts
    7,272
    Quote Originally Posted by Aenigma View Post
    Visibility was tough a couple of days, and we had to dig snow caves for shelter up on the plateau due to wind (our highest camp was around 10,800'), but overall snow conditions were fantastic. Perfect snow for cruising all day, and we finished a couple miles below the Lake Fork trailhead five days after leaving Cooke City. There is a very healthy snowpack up high right now, which should make for great touring conditions later in the spring!

    I'll probably get some photos up once I rest a bit, but I just found a ride tomorrow morning, so I'm in the process of un/re-packing for multi-day trips.
    That's awesome. Nice work.
    Quote Originally Posted by Skiwurrel View Post
    So conditions are not so good for Big Sky now eh? I was thinking of coming down from BC and getting an april pass, maybe doing some touring around bridger too. Did it rain to the peak, is there alot of debris everywhere? Also looking for some cool people to tour with, doing a big USA roadtrip!
    Spring conditions today. Good skiing on the peak, but who knows what the future holds. Forecast looks warm. But the bottom half of the mountain can be sloppy while the top is great, like today. So it's hard to predict.

  4. #3879
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Almost Mountains
    Posts
    1,883
    Quote Originally Posted by Aenigma View Post
    Visibility was tough a couple of days, and we had to dig snow caves for shelter up on the plateau due to wind (our highest camp was around 10,800'), but overall snow conditions were fantastic. Perfect snow for cruising all day, and we finished a couple miles below the Lake Fork trailhead five days after leaving Cooke City. There is a very healthy snowpack up high right now, which should make for great touring conditions later in the spring!

    I'll probably get some photos up once I rest a bit, but I just found a ride tomorrow morning, so I'm in the process of un/re-packing for multi-day trips.
    That's a very cool tour. I'm headed to Cooke this weekend (which is looking less than ideal temperature-wise now); do you think I'd be better off targeting spring skiing at lower elevations or looking for winter conditions at higher elevations and less-sunny aspects?

  5. #3880
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Big Sky/Moonlight Basin
    Posts
    14,417
    Quote Originally Posted by Aenigma View Post
    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.
    I have Thursday off with no plans, I can probably help you out. Send me a PM.
    "Zee damn fat skis are ruining zee piste !" -Oscar Schevlin

    "Hike up your skirt and grow a dick you fucking crybaby" -what Bunion said to Harry at the top of The Headwaters

  6. #3881
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    MT
    Posts
    174
    How was bridger today? Thinking about a couple Saddle laps tomorrow before watching basketball and getting shitfaced.

  7. #3882
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    3,173
    Man, it wasn't too bad really. Still softish enough underneath to have some fun on the high T. I bet Saddle will be worth it tomorrow. Should freeze good tonight, the ice chunks will be harder, but at least you should be able to see where they're at, mostly. Should be good where it's smooth, mostly.
    "The skis just popped me up out of the snow and I went screaming down the hill on a high better than any heroin junkie." She Ra

  8. #3883
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    MT
    Posts
    174
    Oh man, harder mostly or mostly harder? That sounds like my kind of skiing.

  9. #3884
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    3,173
    Well, you know, all relative to this year. I suppose it will be good enough to give the mountain another chance to pick me off!
    "The skis just popped me up out of the snow and I went screaming down the hill on a high better than any heroin junkie." She Ra

  10. #3885
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Bozeman
    Posts
    720
    Here are a few photos of our ski trip across the Beartooths this past week. We started in Cooke City (unfortunately, the bakery was not open that day) and skied up to the Aero Lakes, then across the high part of the plateau over to the Lake Fork. The amount of snow up high right now is staggering. Also, even though we did this on totally un-rad 3-pin nordic gear, this was easily the coolest skiing trip I have ever been on.

    Our first day in the alpine, in perfect snow and glorious sunshine:
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    Skiing across one of many wee little cornices:
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    After being in this area in August and seeing huge drifts lingering into late summer, I wanted to see what these things looked like at peak snowpack. The sense of scale is difficult to comprehend even when you're standing next to stuff like this, but suffice to say everything is huge.
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    Scoping out a spot to dig a snow cave for the night, at around 10,800'.
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    Continental breakfast included.
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    Exit day.
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  11. #3886
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    cordova,AK
    Posts
    3,688
    nice tour. a few years ago we skied Sleeping Giant to East Rosebud surprisingly once you left the non motorized areas we saw no one. Did you carry a GPS for the plateau? Good to see trips like this being posted.
    off your knees Louie

  12. #3887
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Bozeman
    Posts
    720
    No GPS for the plateau, just paper topo maps. I'm pretty familiar with the area, and we had enough extra food and books to wait out a couple days of storms, which never materialized.

  13. #3888
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    3,173
    So awesome! Glad that worked out so well for you Aenigma. Inspires me to get up in them Bearthooths.
    "The skis just popped me up out of the snow and I went screaming down the hill on a high better than any heroin junkie." She Ra

  14. #3889
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Bozeman
    Posts
    720
    Here's a few from the Gallatin Crest, while I'm at it. I did this trip in 3 days, but would have preferred 5 (unfortunately, my ideas for trips far surpass the amount of time I have for them). I skied this one solo, saw nobody until the last couple miles, and it was glorious.

    Fortress Mountain, which has a couple nice-looking lines I had to pass on.
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    Warm temps made it possible to go really light, and pick some ideal camping spots. From here, I watched the sun drop directly behind the Sphinx.
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    The cornices are just starting to come loose for the season. I spent quite a bit of time hugging the dirt side of the ridgelines, and it was pretty common to see huge cracks forming right where the snow attached. The little blocks in this photo are at least the size of minivans, for scale.
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    ~45 miles of this was pretty neat.
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    I took my tea out to admire the sunrise, and realized I had camped right at the top of a side entrance to this couloir. I caved in to fate and skied it.
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  15. #3890
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    670
    As always Aenigma, super cool trip reports. Makes me wish I had the stamina these days to do a multi-day trek.

  16. #3891
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Where the center is on the right
    Posts
    876
    Sweet shots Aenigma. Where did you start the crest traverse? Dailey Creek?
    "If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough."

  17. #3892
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Bozeman
    Posts
    720
    I did start at Dailey Creek. I skipped summiting Ramshorn and Fortress due to snow and time constraints, but was right on the crest the rest of the time. It should be great skiing for at least a few more weeks (weather pending), and it would be super cool to exit via South Cottonwood or Mystic Lake once Hyalite closes.

  18. #3893
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Last Best City in the Last Best Place
    Posts
    7,272
    Looks like a couple of really cool tours Aenigma. Thanks for the stoke.

  19. #3894
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Big Sky, Mt
    Posts
    110
    Big Sky offering some new options on season passes
    http://bigskyresort.com/the-mountain...2hunprqifc517q

  20. #3895
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    BZN
    Posts
    511
    Quote Originally Posted by BigSkyfan View Post
    Big Sky offering some new options on season passes
    http://bigskyresort.com/the-mountain...2hunprqifc517q
    Silver Tram looks like a winner

  21. #3896
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Posts
    25
    That's interesting the non-tram options. Way to cut down on tram lines?

  22. #3897
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Last Best City in the Last Best Place
    Posts
    7,272
    I think there are just certain people who never ride the tram. Probably the people who spend the most money on hotels and restaurants. Frankly I've hardly waited in any tram lines this year, seems like lots of walk-on days or wait one or two cars. Occasionally it builds up to 45 minutes but that's been rare.

    Wonder if they've done away with the Sky Card. Doesn't usually go on sale until later. There is that Montana pass but that's kind of lame, no daily discount, just the two crappiest weeks of the season (usually).

    Edit: I was wrong, the Montana Pass gives a $10 a day discount (down from $30/day on the old Sky Card) and also includes one free day any time during the season, except holidays, in addition to the first and last week free. So it's still an okay deal.
    Last edited by yeahman; 03-20-2017 at 04:01 PM.

  23. #3898
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    On your tic list
    Posts
    351
    Quote Originally Posted by yeahman View Post
    I think there are just certain people who never ride the tram. Probably the people who spend the most money on hotels and restaurants. Frankly I've hardly waited in any tram lines this year, seems like lots of walk-on days or wait one or two cars. Occasionally it builds up to 45 minutes but that's been rare.

    Wonder if they've done away with the Sky Card. Doesn't usually go on sale until later. There is that Montana pass but that's kind of lame, no daily discount, just the two crappiest weeks of the season (usually).

    Edit: I was wrong, the Montana Pass gives a $10 a day discount (down from $30/day on the old Sky Card) and also includes one free day any time during the season, except holidays, in addition to the first and last week free. So it's still an okay deal.
    Montana pass looks like rebirth of sky card with fewer discounts at double the price. This years sky card ditched free ski weeks, they probably won't have near the beer swilling crowd as normal.
    I'll wait to see if it goes $79 in fall.

  24. #3899
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Where the sheets have no stains
    Posts
    22,070
    Season Passes
    Buy now, limited quantities available.
    O Really?

  25. #3900
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Last Best City in the Last Best Place
    Posts
    7,272
    Quote Originally Posted by bunion View Post
    O Really?
    Yeah I thought that was weird. Plus I couldn't find any cut-off date for the early season discount.

    The one free lift ticket that comes with the Montana Pass almost pays for the whole thing, so that's probably worth it, especially if it somehow ends up being good conditions first or last week. Two weeks plus a day during the season isn't bad for $149.

    But...the best thing I see in all these new options is the "bring a buddy" deal with a Gold Pass. You can get up to three $79 lift tickets for somebody else if you have a Gold Pass. Since me and my two kids get Gold Passes, we can use those 9 discounted days to buy my wife's tickets (she usually gets the Sky Card, now the Montana Pass).

    For us, that actually works out really well.

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