Wow, how can I describe closing weekend here at Big Sky Resort.  Let me think for a second, ohh I have it…PERFECT.  What can I say, the only real spring days we’ve had all year and the just happened to be timed with perfectly with our last weekend of the winter season. 

I started the day Friday in the office wanting the sun to shine and as the day progressed the sun shone more and more.  At 2pm we kicked off the weekend festivities with “Afternoon Delight” the first best trick competition at Big Sky, and let me tell you people threw down, World Boards gave us some awesome prizes, including a snowboard and Big Sky Sports chipped in with some sick logo wear.  We grilled some hot dogs and kicked out the jams while the riders and skiers went huge to the delight of the crowd.  There were some 7’s 9’s and even a 1080 on skis, and boarders were going inverted and twisting every which way.  We ended the comp just in time to see Adam from guest services try a double back flip on his board, actually over rotate and snap his board in two.  Good thing it was close to the end of the season.  Many props go out to Tyrell and the whole Terrain Park Crew, as well as Jake and the other groomers for all of their hard work put into the jump and the parks all season.

Saturday started with snow and 17 degree temps, not the ideal day for a Pond Skim, so let me tell you I was a bit flustered at 9 a.m.  But lo and behold Mother Nature smiled upon Big Sky and by 10 a.m. it was sunny.  Collin from DJ Joe’s Mobile DJ service was rocking the plaza and the folks from Airtime Inflatables had the bouncer room set-up.  The Park crew had finished cracking the ice on the pond and it was beginning to melt.   By 1 p.m. we had over 70 people signed up for the skim, remember that we limit the entries so keep that in mind for next year.  At 3pm we moved to the hill and Brandon took over the mic.  Jake showed us how not to do the skim, by not really skimming at all, and as people got the hang of the curved pond they started to make it across.   After 70 some odd contestants and a few poachers including a guy in his tighty whities and rainbow suspenders only, our very own Dax Schieffer finished off the event and much like Jake, didn’t really skim at all.   

Politician then took over in the plaza and I, even after hundreds of applications of SPF 50 still managed to get sun burnt, while rocking out.  It was a great crowd and a wonderful celebration of spring and the end of an amazing season.  We had fresh snow the last week and sun the last days.  It doesn’t get any better than that. 

Sunday was another warm day and I said goodbye to my good friends.  With a few hugs and shiny red nose I called it a season.  Much thanks to all of you this season that made it what it was . . . Wonderful.  Talk to you soon.  Maybe a summer update or two or perhaps a "The Way I Golf It" may be in order.  Have a great spring and summer and see you in the fall.

Chad

When God made Big Sky, he must have said “Let it all be Good!” because
it really is remarkable snow riding out there right now, no matter
what your fancy. You say you feel like skiing groomers?  Well then I
hope you like ‘em with perfect corduroy, just lightly dusted by the
dozen tracks before you got there. A  run like Elk Park Ridge or Big
Horn off Andesite Mountain just can’t really get any better in terms
of coverage and consistency.

 Some beginners like it soft and forgiving …  not too steep either.
Work the Southern Comfort Lift to your hearts content, with no leg burn!

Bumps, anyone?   As long as you don’t like ‘em too deep and smaller
than a VW Beetle, you should be blessed out on Mad Wolf or under the
Ramshorn Chairlift.

Need some epic powder turns, but don’t have any desire to go to the
Tram?  Just slide on down to Lone Moose for a few runs where there
hasn’t been enough traffic to have been skied-out in days. (You’ll
find the trees hold the most stash … happy hunting!)

But really if it’s quick tree shots and you don’t want the best on the
planet over on Sheddy or Dakota, my guess is you’ll be fine shooting
into Marlboro Country from War Dance … or some version closeby …
unless you’re on your way over to Challenger and can take in the Magic
Meadows between the cat tracks … Oh, my!

Speed turns? Work out the GS giant in your soul on the course dejour.

Parkin’ it?  Jib till your boots fall off on either of the
fantastically maintained Freestyled and Street obstacle parks.  Not
for the timid or indecisive …  means anybody over 30 better be tight.

It’s a strange spring this year … the sun greets us for a blue-bird
day, but at night the temps and snows fall and refresh a remarkable
mountain might after night.  Feels more like January than two weeks
before closing. Especially up high, where Thursday’s dump left like 3
feet in the Big Couloir. It’s so full, it feels more like a half-pipe
than a couloir.    Other choices for lines off the tram have seldom
been better. The gullies are filling out quite nicely… 1, 2 & 3 are
quite choice, and actually passable.  Hell, BSSP Aaron took easy turns
off the cornice into Tits Up – Left … what a shot!  Then there’s the
South Side … Anything over on Marx, Lenin, Castros to the Wave Wall …
or left to the Dirt Bag (yeah, Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten all had
fresh tracks for a full house!) have absolutely incredible snow
quality right now. There’s only two weeks left till closing and I’m
not ready for it yet.  In short, as I said at the top … IT’S ALL GOOD,
but your gonna have to find your own, because today I’m not telling
where the best of the best is!

Let’s Ride The Sky!

-A. K.

The "Lone Peak Pass" is the combo ticket that allows total mountain access (nearly 6000 acres) to Big Sky riders desiring Moonlight experiences.  Locals and visitors alike can mix up their day on the vast expanses of blues and greens, but the real punch is for the more extreme enthusiast. This pass gets you on the tram on the Big Sky side and allows you to experience the "North Summit Snowfield" on the Moonlight side; sort of the Holy Grail of Lone Mountain runs.  (Excluding the rarified Little Couloir!)

Like the much vaunted Big Couloir, you haven't conquered Lone Peak until you have braved your way down the challenging traverse to drop into the most incredible snow in the Rockies! As a snowboarder, there's nothing quite as challenging as getting led down the Primrose path, by a fellow skier.  In my case, this was Bill Primrose, whose made the trek a dozen times this season, taking at least a half dozen NSS virgins along with him. My thanks to Blaine, Joanne, and knuckle-dragger Casey for their encouragement and guidance as well.  The ski patrol on both sides of this mountain do an excellent job keeping access and control to the most epic of lift-accessed terrain in the country. As always, deep-pow gratitude to you guys and gals as well!

 The nature of the Snowfield is skier-perfect; an easy entry off the cornice into the north-facing chasm yields up deep fluff in turn after turn. With an area that doesn't see direct snow-damaging sunlight, it was like riding in the palm of God's hand.  The "exits" are important to correctly navigate, in my two runs, Bill led us down Great Falls, where the snow was spectacular and then Rips (a bit tougher) to lower Direct, which made the entire day worth it. Wow.  One of my friends once told me he had returned from heli-skiing in Alaska only to find what he was looking for right here on this run  and I now believe it!

 Anyway, the exciting Easter weekend began by hooking up with a couple of first-time visitors  from Brighton, Big Sky's sister resort in Utah. Jay and Seth were well-studied in the lore and the lure of Lone Peak.  They had memorized the names of lifts and runs and familiarized themselves with particular challenges to hit during their visit.  They were still anxious to team up with me for a guided tour. With the tram a bit busier than usual, Jay spied the A to Z chutes and like a little kid, pointed and said, "I wanna do that!"  This led to my first boot-pack off Challenger where we dropped Castle Rock and sailed thru incredible fresh pow back to the tram.  Jay struck up a conversation with local skiing legend Lonnie Ball and his wife Mary who were friends with the late extreme skiing pioneer Doug Coombs. These guys were getting awed from all directions!  We grabbed a couple slots to drop the Big, and then, since we had an hour to kill, ran a great line down the gut of Lenin. The fun of making turns in the  Big Couloir kicks up endorphins that are unmatched and addictive to any rider. The snow  and the quiet solitude of this particular mountain gully are an experience that no one forgets. I'm sure this will be true for these guys as well.

 The next tram-lap took us over to Dakota/Wyoming as a growing storm suddenly limited our visibility, however absolutely incredible snow made the trek worth it and the tree-shots thru Bavaria were a huge bonus.  Jay found the trees "mystical" and would return for more the following day in the fresh powder that had fallen overnight. Taking the left side of Marx from the Otter Slide down to To Hell You Ride traverse into Ace off the Dirt Bag Bowl proved genius. We were like 3rd tracks and when I fell  2/3rd's of the way down I could only laugh as I tumbled like a growing snowball rolling in several feet of softness! Throw in some more boot-packs up Bone Crusher and off the Headwaters all the way out to Three Forks, toss in some Gullies and Dictator Chutes and you have one super-fantastic weekend.  Wow, this stuff is gonna end soon with only 20 days left in our 142 day season and it's still one of the best season's on record for quality snowfall. It's gonna be bell to bell this year:  Big Sky started out of the gate with a bang and it looks to be wrapping up that way.

 Let's ride the Sky!

 -Anonymous Knuckledragger

Well folks I apologize for the delay but the family was in town.  First and foremost let me say that I truly love and enjoy spending time with the family but I am completely worn out.  After numerous flight delays everybody was finally in Big Sky and ready for a week of skiing and riding.  Sunday and Monday were beautiful sunny days with a mix of some snow and cloud cover.  We started off on the perfect “corduroy” that my mom loves so much.

We ventured all over the hill and found some nice stashes in the trees off Andesite.  One of the greatest things about Big Sky Resort is that people of differing ability levels can play together.  Where else can you drop you mom off at Big Horn and rip through the trees with your friends only to meet up with your corduroy skier at the bottom.  Big Horn isn’t the only place you can do this either, there are tons of runs that give you this ability.  After some après action in the Carabiner we moved to our condo to relax and make some dinner. 

Wednesday and Thursday brought some cold weather that kept us to the groomers, mostly, but didn’t deter from the great time of being together. As we headed back to the condo the snow began falling and we took advantage of some sledding in the yard. Our neighbors built a jump and we stepped it up a notch, Bam!  Can anyone say freestyle sledding?  Matt Dodd, Patty Hamblin and my sister (Megan) teamed up for some death-defying stunts. Check out the pic. 

Friday morning brought much snow up high and I talked Megan and her boyfriend, (Jeff) basically my brother-in-law, Jeff’s bro (Matt) and his girlfriend (Hallie) into hitting the Tram.  Let me tell you, the light may have been a little flat but it was epic up there.  It’s a great feeling to ride with your friends and family on any day but on a powder day, its awesome.  Also, to take someone to the top and watch them conquer it for the first time just adds to the excitement.  What a great way to end it.

With the family gone its back to work, but those days and the pictures will continue to bring a smile to face for the rest of the season.  See you out there.
Chad

The phone started ringing around 8am. “Got that ticket?” “Can you film today?” “Meet
me in the Cafeteria.” “Are you here yet?” “How much snow is up there?”
It’s funny how a powder day somehow stimulates the ringer on my phone. 

When we finally got to the top of the Tram this morning, my friends and I discovered that it wasn’t
just another pow day. It was blower. We heard rumors of deep snow in Bavarian
Forest, so we took the chance and ripped down Liberty Bowl first. Eric and Zach took
off, leaving me buckling my boots watching their smoke trails that were face shots a split
second earlier. As the 3 of us converged on gate 4 to the forest, we couldn’t stop
laughing. We all agreed that those were some of the best turns we’d had in Liberty
Bowl all season. Dropping into the trees, we found run after run of untracked,
bottomless cold smoke, the kind that reminded us of skiing some backcountry area on a
good day.

We skied on Dakota lift until after 1, when we saw somebody ripping giant
turns down the still untouched Dakota Bowl above us. It looked like something you
would see in a heli skiing segment of a movie. We had to have it, so we headed back to
the Tram for another lift and made our way out the gate to the goods. It was well over
the knees deep all the way back down to the top of the Dakota chair. We spent the rest
of the afternoon lapping the same chair for our continuous dose of face shots. At the
end of the day, we scored some sweet turns in Erika’s Glade to get back to Shedhorn,
then back to the base area via Rice Bowl.

I can’t wait to go do it again tomorrow! See you on the Tram...

So I hope that you all have been wearing your sunscreen, cause it’s been absolutely beautiful up here lately.  I have had the fortune of being able to get out of the office a little lately and ride around the hill with journalists and photographers.  I spent the last few days following Mike Mannelin and Scott Spiker around. For those of you that don’t know Mike is an amazing skier and Scott is an amazing photographer, I quickly learned my job was to provide comic relief for both of them and make Mike look like a more amazing skier when seen next to me. 

We started out our morning by finding the small powder stashes hiding around the mountain, mostly this required myself and Mike to hike up and down some short steeps and make some turns while attempting to throw some snow towards Scott.  You could not have picked a better day for hiking and I need to get in shape anyway.  Plus you know what the proverbial "they" say . . . "A hard day of riding is better than an easy day of work", or something like that.

We proceeded up the Tram for some more sunshine, powder and spring snow.  Tore it down Liberty and dropped into Screaming Left, which was still soft and powder on the North Side.  Then we decided to take Middle Road to the base for some lunch at the Whiskey Jack.  You know I laways think of the Middle Road as a scenic sleigh ride aroudn the resort and with the sun on your face it really doesn't get any better, plus I had Mike and Scott to pull me through the flat part.  Lunch was delicious and I returned to the office with a full belly while Mike and Scott went back kout to take advantage of the bluebird day.  If it's not snowing then at least give us sunny days and clear skies, eh? 

I finished the work day later with the lunar eclipse viewing, near the Tube Park.  Stephanie had Dr. Daniels to interpret the stars, hot chocolate, cookies, telescope, star charts, chairs and lanterns outside to provide the perfect viewing experience.  If you missed it, the next eclipse is on December 20th, 2010, so put it on your calendars.  Wear your sunscreen and get out there.

Chad

So with storm systems rolling through southwestern Montana on what seems to be a daily basis, why wouldn’t you head out to do some skiing?

I rolled into Big Sky late Friday afternoon to snow continuing to fall out of the sky, the only unfortunate thing is that is was a little windy (some might argue very windy). Drawing from my 20 years experience of skiing the Sky I knew that the wind was only going to do one thing…make skiing better!  You do have to know where to go, usually, but this weekend was different, very different.

I woke up to even more snow Saturday morning, made my early morning calls to rally the troops, and we were off exploring the 3000+ acres Big Sky has to offer.  First to the bowl where the Patrol was still hard at work taking care of the wind loaded slopes combined with the fresh snow.  Matty and I decided we should probably head to Challenger instead of wait for the Bowl to open.  We made the right call, and the wind did a super job of buffing out EVERYTHING! It was incredible, we tried to hit it all, Outer limits, 17 Green, Highway, BRT main and even the normally bumped out Moonlight was smooth….JACKPOT! 

You  all know it’s not a day at Big Sky without hitting up the Tram, so that’s where we headed next, again there was zero disappointment.  The snow made it a little hard to see, but we knew where we were going and just took our time to get there-you know, to be on the safe side and stay with the group.  We spun a quick one and ran into my best ski pal Mike Mannelin, he was skiing with Matt from So Cal and Ryan Turner.  We spun a few more (since it was walk on trams).  Matt was just amazed that the line was almost nonexistent with such good snow!  I told him the visibility had something to do with that, but because Big Sky is so “Big” there is great skiing on other parts of the mountain.  We pretty much skied ourselves into the ground and made our way to the base area to enjoy a super fun après ski!  Oh yeah, how can I forget the dummy jump!?!  We just happened to roll into the base area to watch.  Talk about a fun event that Big Sky puts on, of course Brandon made it even more fun with his great ability as an emcee.

Sunday, I again woke up to snow falling out of the sky!  All I could think of was “wow,incredible”!  It has literally snowed every day I have been in Big Sky this winter (now, just so you all know I am pretty much a weekend warrior, but every now and then I sneak a weekday in every now and again-so pretty much it has snowed, at the least, over 30 days).  The storm broke today and the skies turned blue right around 10 o’clock. This was perfect because we had just decided to leave the trusted wind buff of Challenger to head over to check out the Tram once again.  When I said that the wind can do amazing things in Big Sky, it showed me that it did once again.  Actually, the wind grooming that occurred with this storm was the most incredible I have ever witnessed in all the time I’ve skied Big Sky.  Everywhere we went all the bumps were blown smooth.  The most incredible thing though, was that even though all these runs were smoothed from the wind, it was still super soft. It felt as if I was skiing on whipped cream.  If you ever get that feeling, you will know that you feel like nothing can go wrong and you can ski like a Hero, maybe that’s why they call it “Hero snow”.

I have a pretty good feeling that there is snow in the forecast, so make sure you get your skis all waxed up and ready to go.  See you on the mountain!

Remember, Big Fast Turns and Face Shots! 

Stergy

After a day off the mountain, I was itching to get out and rally with my friends. I got on Swift Current with Logan and headed up toward the top. With the Triple not yet open, we opted to hit up Challenger to catch up with Stergy and friends. We immediately ran into them at the base of the lift.

The plan was to ski Country Club, then cut over to 17th green. Just as I suspected, the snow was fresh and it was smooth underneath, so there wasn’t much to think about other than just going fast. After a couple runs, Amanda, the friendly patroller, popped her head out of the patrol shack to let us know that the Tram had opened. The LRT Traverse was a no-brainer, and we caught a ride on the Triple up to the Tram. We were stoked to find walk-on Tram rides as we had for the entire week. On the way up, conversations drifted somewhere between face shots and Vail’s record setting 30,000 skiers in a day.

Since the Tram line remained non-existent, Dave, Matty, Ben, and I did a couple quick laps down the Gullies. 3rd Gully was deep. 2nd Gully was deep. Cron’s was deep. We wanted more. After 2 laps, we just couldn’t keep ourselves from letting it fly in Marx. Once again, some high speed, untracked cruising had us laughing in amazement at our little find. Off to the Dictators, we couldn’t see a single thing. Vertigo set in as I started down 2b. I fell down trying to find down. Once I regrouped, the turns were really good all the way out the bottom of Lenin. On our way by, I couldn’t help but hear the call of Paradise Trees with not a single track in it. Dave was in front of me and gave me a look, which I returned with a nod, which resulted in a launch into some bottomless pow. The skier’s left tree line was face shot after glorious face shot. After we made our way to the base, we went to the Caf for some fried chicken and mashed potatoes. I can’t wait to go skiing again...

The Way I Ski It. by Mike Mannelin

The phone call rings, “Chad we got an assignment for you.”  “What is it?” I reply. “You’re heading up to the big leagues, you’re gonna write ‘The way I ski it.’”  As I thank Dax and hang up the phone to contemplate my future I realize I don’t ski, but since I am not authorized to change the title of our wonderful forum, I guess I am going to have to put on the long boards today.

Blue bird skies, sunshine and crisp Montana air remind me why I live here. My cell rings and Tyrell and the boys from the park crew want to shoot some pictures.  I head to the locker room to boot up and meet Tyrell and Kevin at the base. 

We wait in the 30-second lift line and head to Swifty Park. 

 The terrain park crew has been doing an amazing job this year, buffed hits a wide variety of features and some really sick stuff. From Ambush to Explorer these guys have it going on.  Tyrell, Kevin and I drop into Calamity Jane, its smooth and groomed to perfection. We make a fast cruiser to the park entrance. The Swifty Park is an excellent place for photos, especially today.  Lone Peak looming in the background “pops” out against a bright blue sky. People on the chairlift are shouting encouragement and the place is teaming with activity. 

Now, let it be known that not only am on skis, I am also in the terrain park, a dangerous combination, thank goodness I am taking pictures.  We meet the rest of the Saturday crew and I slide under the first box, a flat to down one, to grab a few shots.  Isaac drops first and nails a sweet slide, 180s at the kink and sticks it.  Miah nose presses to nose slide and the rest of the guys follow suit.  These guys are good!

We slide down to the flat box and I set up.  Here is where it pays to be shooting the pictures. One of the park crew, he will remain nameless to protect his identity, drops in and proceeds to catch the nose of his board on the box and promptly fall.  I am sad to say that due to uncontrolled laughter I missed most of it on film, but for the right price I could be persuaded to release the images.

We hit the jumps and then head to the Ambush Park.  Once again awesome sunshine and great light make for great conditions all around.  I slide down to the second big hit and snap the guys going huge.  The hits are smooth and safe and they allow the rider to go anywhere in-between freaking huge and nice and easy.

Slide into the freshly cut pipe and the boys once again don’t disappoint.  My fingers are a little chilly but the sun warms my face. I have to say today could not have been beat.  If its not snowing then a sunny day is fine by me.  The parks are riding great and there are still fresh stashes to be found.  No lift lines, sunblock and jibbing, why are you still reading this, get up here and get out.

Chad Jones