TR; this last weekend at Bridger

**tone capone** · 11-23-2010, 12:01 PM

Looks like easily the best Big Sky opening I've ever seen. The resort's web page says best opening in ten years, 35 to 45" base. I'd still bring rock skis for the tram no doubt.

**Lexi-Bell** · 11-23-2010, 05:31 PM

^^Seems like we were skiing off the tram freak-week I'd say 7 or 8 years ago; don't remember this much snow however...

Anyone heading up tonight for the ASSociation meeting?? PM if you want to carpool, not motivated to drive these roads in the dark both ways.

STOKED on the early opener, see ya'lls Sunday save some pow for me ha!

**single** · 11-23-2010, 11:57 PM

The ellis trip turned out to be somewhat of an epic today, for me anyway. Pulled some gaper moves, skinned up the wrong drainage and got sorta lost. We never really went off course, but we thought we did. Got frostbite on my left foot. Didn't get back to the truck til dark, exhausted and hungry, but FKNA if it wasn't the best pow I have skied all season!

Seriously, great bonding up there, and 30mph slaloms through the trees off the ridgeline burn. Knee deep blower and face shots! Woohoo!

**Skipig25** · 11-24-2010, 02:19 PM

I assume no one has posted because everyone is out getting some, because it is GOOD.

no skiing for me tomorrow, but bridger on friday. and I don't have to hike for it!

have a good thanksgiving everyone, and be thankful for la nina and her plentiful powder

**tone capone** · 11-24-2010, 02:22 PM

Pulled some gaper moves, skinned up the wrong drainage and got sorta lost. We never really went off course, but we thought we did. Got frostbite on my left foot. Didn't get back to the truck til dark, exhausted and hungry, but FKNA if it wasn't the best pow I have skied all season!

That reads like a page out of my life story. No more -15 degree days for me though, I know what just the begginging of frost bite feels like and that's enough! Hope you didn't get it too bad Single. Careful out there during this weather, a blown knee or broken bone can mean a fight for survival, stay safe buddy, and don't forget the fire starter.

**mnskier** · 11-24-2010, 06:29 PM

Base depth at big sky 45"-70"

!!!!!!!!
How long you guys think until the tram opens?

**Norseman** · 11-24-2010, 06:46 PM

About 13 hours

**mnskier** · 11-24-2010, 06:58 PM

Originally Posted by Norseman

About 13 hours

13 hours and how many minutes?

**single** · 11-25-2010, 07:44 AM

^ I will pass it on to some friends. Looks like a good deal.

Happy turkey day! Have fun up at the pig sty!

**igBand** · 11-25-2010, 07:48 AM

Happy Thanksgiving BB folks.

Stuff your faces with turkey and the fixin's - build up that calorie count so you got some energy stores to burn off this weekend!

**Norseman** · 11-26-2010, 06:44 PM

Anybody else have a fan-fuckin-tastic first day at Bridger? Good.

**fez** · 11-26-2010, 06:47 PM

Fan-fucking-tastic for sure. I've seen worse coverage in january.

**andrewjesaitis** · 11-26-2010, 06:55 PM

Seriously one of the best opening days I can remember. Great snow, bluebird, not -20 below, and amazingly not overrun with people. I was finding relatively untracked stashes the whole day. I didn't even see any rocks until I ventured over to Colter's.

What'd you think about the new lift? I think it really changes the feel of the mountain. On the plus side the HT and sluice box are 1000x improved. But, I can't help feeling that it sort of signals an end of an era. Guess I'm just nostalgic for old red chairs...

**tone capone** · 11-26-2010, 11:01 PM

I think it was the lift that part of the mountain was always meant to have. That whole section around Bridger skis like a proper ski hill now, I love it. Especially with the left turn only off the midway, so one can rip top to bottom on Bronco and carry speed through there if they want on one side...Roads are already practically buried too, yeah, Ptarmigan, Bronco, Sluice Box area 1000x improved. The midway station is such a better way to manage the needs of intermediates skiers than Deer Park and it's road. Everybody wins.

**mtcham** · 11-28-2010, 01:10 AM

Sounds like the new lift is a hit! I remember back in the 80's Bridger and Alpine both had a midway unloading station and I was amazed how many people would only take half the ride. I wonder how it will fare on a powder day when slushman's is closed?

**BobbyBill** · 11-28-2010, 10:00 AM

A few pics from one of the better openers we've had on Friday...love those first few runs with no bumps in sight and a smoove carpet of untracked white. Will be headed down the highway to the really Big Sky with the rest of the freak weekers on Monday...maybe they're saving the Tram for us?

**Lexi-Bell** · 11-28-2010, 06:26 PM

Originally Posted by tone capone

I think it was the lift that part of the mountain was always meant to have. That whole section around Bridger skis like a proper ski hill now, I love it. Especially with the left turn only off the midway, so one can rip top to bottom on Bronco and carry speed through there if they want on one side...Roads are already practically buried too, yeah, Ptarmigan, Bronco, Sluice Box area 1000x improved. The midway station is such a better way to manage the needs of intermediates skiers than Deer Park and it's road. Everybody wins.

Couldn't agree more. Actually used the midway unload today with my pops; it was socked in up high with shit visibility so we just lapped the groomed down low. Yesterday I almost went over the waterfall in sluice box because there was no road to let me know I was getting close!!

Super stoked on the way the hill skis with the new chair. Seems like there are some traffic management issues in the loading zone which need to be addressed but I'm sure that will happen in time.

Heard there's a busted seal in the motor, gonna crane that fucker out, ship it to Billings this week, fix it and hope to have it back by Friday??

Way to go on the earliest, and maybe one of the best, openers ever Bridger Bowl!!

**sliced** · 11-28-2010, 10:32 PM

I don't think that was the earliest on record. I remember Bridger opening 2-3 weeks before Thanksgiving sometime in the nineties. I'm completely guessing when, my memory sucks, but it could have been 1996?

**bushman** · 11-29-2010, 05:44 PM

Friday morn rode Powder Park up as per norm to check out the new lift, fuck look at the people, looked down at PK and just two lifties, I'm on it. Flippers was as good as ever until the new lift crapped and everybody moved to the PK. Moved to the trees north of the Alpine and nobody there, very very nice opener.

**sanjuanworm** · 11-29-2010, 08:14 PM

Originally Posted by sliced

I don't think that was the earliest on record. I remember Bridger opening 2-3 weeks before Thanksgiving sometime in the nineties. I'm completely guessing when, my memory sucks, but it could have been 1996?

98-99 seems likeitwas early

**Skin2Win** · 11-29-2010, 11:52 PM

Anyone else been up to Big Sky this week? Is it me or is their claim of up to 70" of base a complete fabrication? The Big Lie seems to be in full effect right now, although I will say there are plenty of great spots to be found. The skiing is pretty good for November, but I think Bridger has more consistent coverage right now.

Also, I saw Dave Letterman, in the flesh, chilling at the picnic tables today. Looks old as hell without the makeup on.

**tone capone** · 11-30-2010, 08:43 AM

^^^^Hilarious, I heard them saying for 2 days about an 80 something inch upper mountain base. What a joke, they must be really desperate this year. "80 something inch base 5 inches overnight, with heavy snow forecast all day" Maybe the "Heavy Snow" forecast was why there's no one there?

Well I guess when you're double the actual average opener of a 20 inch base at Big Sky you might as well double it down again and really run with it. That 5 inches yesterday was the biggest joke of all though. Good thing I know it's Big Lie before heading up.

**bushman** · 11-30-2010, 09:06 AM

I was up at BS on turkey day. They did'nt have much open and sooo cold, six runs and outa there. Saturday was much better. Rode Challenger most of the day. Rocks were felt on every run, but that can happen any day of he season. I would say snow depth ave. about 18" to 24" up there, great day and its good to get started on the season.

**Eleventy** · 11-30-2010, 09:19 AM

Big Sky's snow report is ALWAYS wrong. Either they are bragging about the 5 inches in the last hour while you cling to life on the Otter, or reporting 2 inches in the last two days when you're choking on snow in Marx. They are so consistently fucked up that it's impossible to know. The NWS is more accurate, and they are literally guessing.

BTW, I wouldn't count on anything besides Liberty until we get more snow. Lenin and all the Dictators have slid and have nice big chunder piles down them. Marx appears intact, but I couldn't quite tell.

**Skin2Win** · 11-30-2010, 11:22 AM

Big Sky has updated their snow report to show 32-53" of base. Apparently 30 inches of snowpack has melted away in two days, and in 10 degree temperatures.

Truthfully, it's a total mixed bag up there due to crazy wind effects, but if you look around you'll find great skiing. The trees are well supplied right now, which is a good indicator that they really have had a lot of snow; it's just been blown around in the weirdest way ever. Part of the "Big Lie" reputation stems from it being such a huge, exposed mountain where the entire gamut of conditions can exist in different areas on the same day. It's understandably hard to give an accurate report on that hill, but their recent claims of base depth have been comical.