2012 Montana Conditions, Stoke and Whatev Thread

[idahospud]

Some MASSIVE lots of land for sale out there if you happen to have like 4000 head of cattle and don't like people at all.

Are the 4000 head of cattle mandatory?

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

LOL, I worked a project about 45 miles W of Choteau, lived out there for awhile. If your car breaks down out there you might well die. I learned a lot about wind, too.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Are the 4000 head of cattle mandatory?

I don't think so. Dave Letterman's place is out there. 2700 acres. Pretty sure he has retired from people entirely.

[yeahman]

Yeah, I spent the night in Choteau once lol. Town isn't terrible, but it just feels like you are in Saskatchewan or something.

Nah, it's not bad. We stayed at the Stage Stop Inn and it's actually a pretty decent hotel for a ski trip. Nice pool. And in the summer we've camped free at the city park, it's nice.

Go north of Choteau and it's all Ivan Doig country. Love his English Creek trilogy about that part of the Front. Not for wimps, that's for sure. Climbed in Blackleaf Canyon a couple times, that place is awesome. Near 1,000 foot limestone walls.

[Harry]

If you guys liked the vibe at Teton, you should make a road trip to Turner Mountain north of Libby. Terrain is nothing special, but they get great powder, awesome local vibe, and almost no one there.

Bonus points for going over to the Yaak and getting a drink at the Dirty Shame Saloon.


https://www.skiturner.com



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[SUPERIOR]

I thought quite hard about pulling the trigger on a Big Sky Flex 5 + pass today... just under $500 with loyalty pricing on the Black Friday deal... but, fuck it. I want to explore other resorts in the area. Last year’s less than amazing vibe at Big Sky put a damper on it for me as well.

I’ll spend my extra shillings on Lookout Pass, Targhee, Jackson, Whitefish, Idaho spots and SLC... Maybe even Teton Pass!

[montpow]

I was born in Sho Tow. Pretty neat little town, quintessential rural Montana IMO.

Teton Pass was really coming around into kind of a touring gem. They have plenty of cool sidecountry and hike/skin to stuff. Not sure if they are still doing the touring groups to show people around a bit like a few years ago. They would do it every other Sunday or something.

And speaking of wind... shhhhh, we don’t say that out loud. A lot of times the whole Front would look blown clean of all snow. But seriously these past few winters have been much better for holding snow. Then it’s been business troubles. Hope they can stay open.

A bonus has been, when they are open, the road is kept plowed, which opens up some sweet touring in the drainages nearby. I know it’s a pretty long drive from Bozo, but come on up, you might only see one other person on any given day.

Pic from a couple years ago. Friday @1:30 pm

[montpow]

Why does it always do that with image upload? Maybe yeahman can fix it for me again. Pretty please

[yeahman]

Open them for editing, rotate them around even if they look upright, then crop a hair off one edge and save. Usually works to get rid of whatever embedded info is making the pic post sideways or upside down. Nice ones btw. (Tapatalk did lower the resolution on them when I downloaded...sorry.)

[S_jenks]

Decided to check around that ski area on Google Earth. Some fine-looking terrain in there, especially with the lift assist. How much were they even charging for lift tickets?

Hmm not too far of a drive from missoula...


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[Bunion 2020]

Do it, Charles needs the ticket sales.

[RockinB]

Teton is my favorite hill in Montana. I grew up in Great Falls and my family always skied Showdown, along with the majority of other families in Great Falls. Left the state after college for a while and returned to Great Falls for a couple years. I decided to check it out on a whim and decided that was where I was going to be spending my time. The funny part is that it only took me an extra 10 minutes to get to Teton versus Showdown. I have no idea why more people from Great Falls aren’t skiing there. Unbelievable terrain and views, especially if you are willing to work a tiny bit for it. The vibe up there can’t be beat, everyone is friendly and there is a pretty low key mentality amongst everyone.

I’ve become good friends with most the folks there and great friends with a few. It’s just a short drive from Whitefish and absolutely worth it. Chuck is cool with folks parking campers there if they want to overnight so if you have one bring it!

Also, bring your touring gear when you go. Here are a photo from a neighboring drainage.

[Jumper Bones]

And do it before the front range winds come in and fuck it all

[toastybroski]

Tickets were 40 bucks. Charles was selling them himself (at least the guy who is the new owner?) It was such a good vibe. No ropes, no rules, just inbounds backcountry skiing. I think that will probably be my major mountain this year after great divide. Views reminded me of glacier.

Listening to the radio they were like winds are only 35 mph today picking up to a mild 50mph tonight.

Oh cool fact, there was a dude on snow blades going down with hedge clippers clipping off trees sticking out of the snow. That was a first.

[Bunion 2020]

And do it before the front range winds come in and fuck it all

When I was living in UT I read Incident at Big Sky. A part of the story involved Johnny France talking about how in Montana most snow storms end with high winds. My time here has proven him to be right.

https://openroadmedia.com/ebook/inci.../9781504043991

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-...939-story.html

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

The wind was weird living out there, it could just blasting 80 mph in one spot and a couple or few miles up or down the line, it was just a fresh breeze. It just all depended on what slot in the front it was picking at that particular time. They tried to run a wind generator for a while, 10 meter so it was pretty good size. They gave up after it tore itself apart for the third time. It just couldn't handle the gusts out there.

First place I ever saw an honest to god ground blizzard, too. Ground level to ten feet up it was just wind ripping white out, above that, blue bird sky. I stared out the window for a long time at the snow cover moving across the ground, it was like looking at white caps moving across the ocean. They had a picture of when the doors blew open in the main house during one such storm, by the time someone noticed, there was a 6 foot drift in the living room.

Incredibly gorgeous out there, though. And it takes a tough fucker to live out there, too.

[yeahman]

^ did u hike the peak?

I assume you're talking about the peak directly above the ski area--not sure it has a name but it does look inviting. Talk was that they were going to run a lift to the top, but I think the financials probably never justified it. Pretty cool terrain though. Just looking through my old pics, can't believe it was almost ten years ago.

[montpow]

That’s an awesome shot RockinB! Been trying to get to that spot and the little slot next to it. Going solo tho so I’ve been too pooped once I get to the base. And not good avi conditions either.

The winds have been pretty bad here lately. But the past 3-4 years, two of which they weren’t open, it seemed much better. Ample snow, and it stuck around. Definitely make your way up there and support them if you can.

[montpow]

I believe the peak is False Lockhart, w the true Lockhart peak being just behind it on the ridge.

Thx for including a little stuff from our neck of the woods. No way we could have our own thread. I’ve always kept up with this SW MT thread as it’s the closest, and way more fun than Missoula thread. More stoke, less crust.

[Bunion 2020]

Sounds like a worthy mini-summit later this season.

[Norseman]

[lifelinksplit]

I def approve of this tangent. Have only skinned teton pass when lifts weren't spinning and was blown away at the options looking around from the top.

[toastybroski]

I assume you're talking about the peak directly above the ski area--not sure it has a name but it does look inviting. Talk was that they were going to run a lift to the top, but I think the financials probably never justified it. Pretty cool terrain though. Just looking through my old pics, can't believe it was almost ten years ago.

The difference in coverage is insane! It totally has a silverton backcountry resort sort of vibe.

[Talisman]

Sounds like a worthy mini-summit later this season.

I will drive and have room for two more.

[Bunion 2020]

Day trip? Blast off early get home late?