Just got to Big Sky...here's the view from our house.

2/15/2014 2:44:37 PM

sweet!

2/15/2014 4:21:23 PM

Looks awesome. Wanna go skiing again so badly

2/16/2014 10:28:39 AM

Awesome view! Jealous. Maybe next season I'll make it to Big Sky. The furthest I'm making it is a weekend at Steamboat in 2 weeks.

2/16/2014 1:12:09 PM

my friend and his family just went to Big Sky for the weekend as well. I'm jealous

2/16/2014 8:59:53 PM

awesome pics!

I leave for Jackson hole 7am tomorrow and the forecast has me crying tears of joy:


Friday Night- Cloudy with scattered snow showers in the evening and steady light snow likely after midnight. Low 12F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 50%. About one inch of snow expected.

Saturday - Light snow during the morning will taper off as a few snow showers during the afternoon. High 27F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 50%. About one inch of snow expected.

Saturday Night - Periods of light snow. Low around 15F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches.

Sunday - Light snow during the morning will diminish to a few flurries during the afternoon. High 34F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 40%.

Sunday Night - Cloudy. Light snow likely after midnight. Low 23F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 60%.

Monday - Periods of light snow. High 36F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 70%. 1 to 3 inches of snow expected.

Monday Night - Periods of light snow and some patchy dense fog. Low 28F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 60%.

Tuesday - Scattered snow flurries and snow showers before noon. Becoming partly cloudy later. High 38F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 30%.

Tuesday Night - A mostly clear sky. Low 7F. Winds light and variable.

Wednesday - A mix of clouds and sun in the morning will give way to cloudy skies and light snow during the afternoon. High 38F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 40%.

2/20/2014 3:42:19 PM

Nice! I leave for Jackson on Sunday...

...however, at my job, one of the two other people in my team has been having arguments with an operations manager and things are about to come to a head. My head trader mentioned to me this morning, "Keep in the back of your mind that if you have cancel your trip the company will pay for it"

No fucking shit they'll pay for it, and I'll be interviewing the week after that

2/20/2014 3:46:38 PM

I'd do the same damn thing man, that would be horseshit.

We're staying in Teton Village. Teewinot C4

2/20/2014 3:50:06 PM

We're at Elkhorn Lodge in Teton Village...apparently we can walk to and from the lifts...looks like maybe you can walk to the Moose Creek Chair?

I haven't been there, so I'm pumped

[Edited on February 20, 2014 at 3:55 PM. Reason : asdf]

2/20/2014 3:52:48 PM

Taking tele lessons on Sunday. Lets hope I don't like it too much otherwise I'll be buying another set of skis and boots.

2/20/2014 6:37:54 PM

Quote :

"Friday Night- Cloudy with scattered snow showers in the evening and steady light snow likely after midnight. Low 12F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 50%. About one inch of snow expected. 99% chance of alcohol consumption "

2/20/2014 7:23:05 PM

Here's a video my buddy did from our 2nd day at Snowbird this year: http://youtu.be/nNuOa19BWsE
I'm the striped jacket

[Edited on February 25, 2014 at 7:56 PM. Reason : ]

2/25/2014 7:55:51 PM

Big Sky was pretty awesome. Huge as hell, and the place was nearly empty...didn't have to wait a single time [at all] at a lift all week...not used to that. Mostly stayed on the Moonlight Basin side as that's where our house was. True ski in/out was pretty baller. Got a little cold (highs ~18) towards the end of the week, but the first half was perfect. Did a day trip to Yellowstone which was the highlight of the trip for me. Had a shuttle pick us up and it was about an hour ride to West Yellowstone where we entered the park. Rode in a huge tracked Ford (they put tires on it in the summer) for a ~60 total mile trip in and out of Yellowstone, with the end point being Old Faithful. Had a buffalo block the road for a while and tried to buck our vehicle...that was pretty cool. Saw all kinds of other wildlife and learned a lot about the park etc. Long story short, you have to do Yellowstone if you go to Big Sky.

Big Sky is a pain in the ass to get to with a one-stop $750 ride on Delta + the 1.5 hour drive in from Bozeman (which results in not many going), but I'm sure there are way harder places to get to. Everyone was really really laid back, way more than any other mountain I've been to. Not too much of a town for the non-skiers, which can be a problem for some. No real grocery stores except back in Bozeman...kinda annoying, but understandable.

More pics:









[Edited on February 25, 2014 at 8:42 PM. Reason : pics]

2/25/2014 8:23:37 PM

^Maybe its changed, but when I went to Big Sky 2 winters ago my airline ticket was around $580 (1 stop). Could depend on when you book it maybe. Sounds like an awesome time for you, with better weather than I had there (Tram was closed the whole time). Did you ski Bridger Bowl in Bozeman while there?

Got back yesterday from Jackson Hole. Holy hell what a trip! Was snowing when we landed on Friday, and other than a few breaks, snowed every day through Tuesday early afternoon. Couldn't get a view of any mountain peaks till then!

We did a Yellowstone snowmobile tour, but not the Old Faithful one - rather the Yellowstone River Canyon tour which is a 120 mile ride. Some amazing views: saw the Yellowstone river waterfall. 308 ft drop and at it's base was a pile of ice over 100 feet tall. Also checked out Lewis Canyon, Mud Volcano, Dragon's Mouth and the Snake River. Saw several coyotes (way bigger than the Raleigh variety!) 1-2 herds of bison, and a separate group of 3 bison walking on our riding trail. We had to pull over and stand behind our sleds while they slowly walked past. Definitely intimidating when a bison looks you in the eye from less than 15 feet away

19" of fresh powder at Jackson Hole on Sunday which was both awesome and bad at the same time. Awesome to ski on, but b/c of the massive amounts of snow the Tram, Gondola and Sublette lifts were all closed while they set off charges to prevent avalanches. As a result of that the lift lines were huuuuuuuuuuuuuge and I didn't get my first real run in till 1015 The powder was awesome but it wore out my legs a bit and the group didn't want to take the Tram up that day (plus the wait was ridiculous - 2-3 hrs at one point). After lunch (we skipped lunch) noon the Gondola had no wait time so we took that up rest of the time. Ended up skiing around 10 runs (14 miles) that day, with a total vertical of 22k feet.

Monday was spent at Grand Targhee. Fresh snow there as well, but just a few inches so nothing to overwork your legs. The top of the mountain was shrouded in fog and being able to read the snow surface while skiing was nigh impossible. Plus all the trees were snow/ice blasted and were white, so you didn't see them till you were right about to hit them, haha. Lot of fun slopes there, but nothing super challenging. Non-existent lift lines allowed for a lot of runs, but we got a late start on this mountain too. The car carrying all our ski gear over from Jackson wasn't able to make it though Jackson Pass and had to turn back to get chains. So while we were at the mtn ready to rock at 9, we had to wait till 1030 for our gear to show up Still got 19 runs in for 27k ft vertical.

Tuesday at JH was a bit messy. Temps at the base were above freezing and it was raining (along with a little bit of snow). Mid-mountain and up was all snow and deep into the 20s but all our gear got pretty soaked, esp our asses (snow pants aren't designed for sitting on rain soaked lift seats). Visibility was horrible and despite wiping my googles off multiple times per run it was very difficult to see the snow surface. Not as many people there that day, so thankfully lines were short. We took a break around 1030 to dry off our gear. Then we hit some awesome runs on an upper bowl that was mostly fresh powder. Had another delay when my brother's ski broke (front half of the binding departed the ski after a failed jump landing, lol). We all stopped for lunch while my bro got another set of skis from the base and then we headed to the Tram lift. Was about a 40 min wait and when we got to the top it was already 330 Thought about Corbert's Couloir but after all the skiing i had done I didn't really trust my legs for that one. Instead snapped a lot of photos at the top (sky had finally cleared) and skied down the (skier's) left side of mountain. Awesome slopes up top, but down low was icy and crunchy, since it had refrozen. Took about 25 min to get down and ski to the condo.

Amazing trip - I definitely want to go back. Downtown Jackson Hole is pretty sweet in it's own right too.

El Gimpy, you hit up the Mangy Moose? Or anything in town?

[Edited on February 27, 2014 at 10:41 AM. Reason : pics to follow]

2/27/2014 10:41:19 AM

Quote :

"More pics:"

Conditions look pretty bad / blown off. Get any snow?

^Sucks about the rain/wet.

Steamboat this weekend!!! First time.

2/27/2014 10:46:10 AM

Conditions were great...tons of powder. Which pics look like bad conditions? And yeah it snowed the whole time we were there...in fact it looks like there was only 1 day in February where it didn't snow . Including our arrival day, Big Sky says we got a total of 2.5 feet while we were there.

It was pretty damn windy at times (like 3 out of 6 days), but that appears to be pretty common. All the shit I wanted to ski had plenty of snow.

This dude that came with us brought mini-skies he uses here/VA/WV. There was so much power on the run adjacent to our house he took two tumbles and walked back up to the house, drove to the shop, and rented real skis.

[Edited on February 27, 2014 at 11:59 AM. Reason : ]

2/27/2014 11:53:26 AM

First two pics just look like there's not much snow. Guess I'm mistaken. Usually after a good powder day the snow is pretty evident in pics:

e.g.

2/27/2014 11:58:29 AM

Yeah I wasn't on the bowls or anything at that point...just some blue run I think, late in the day.

2/27/2014 12:00:28 PM

What do you guys usually bring to drink on the lifts? Can't go out without my whiskey flask with some single malt.

2/27/2014 1:43:56 PM

I had a flask filled with Jim Beam black but forgot it every damn day

[Edited on February 27, 2014 at 1:47 PM. Reason : oh and no I didn't ski Bozeman TKE...did I miss anything?]

2/27/2014 1:45:50 PM

I don't drink on the slopes. Not gonna go 50+ mph on skis with a buzz

Bridger Bowl is a small ski mountain just outside of Bozeman. It's a non for profit facility that is dirt cheap but offers great skiing. When I was in Montana 2 years ago we did 2 half days there. Our decision to ski there was last minute, since we had time to kill both days while in Bozeman.



Half day lift ticket for $42 Not bad for skiing that's still better than 90% of what you'll find on the East coast.

http://www.bridgerbowl.com

2/27/2014 2:38:06 PM

Very cool...wish I would have known about that! next time I spose.

2/27/2014 3:03:56 PM

Quote :

"I don't drink on the slopes. Not gonna go 50+ mph on skis with a buzz"

Hitting 60+mph with a buzz >> hitting 60+mph without a buzz.

2/27/2014 4:21:35 PM

I've topped 60 before. But not on this trip, too much varying snow surface conditions. Also, you nuts

Pics!











Hope ya enjoy.

2/27/2014 4:56:33 PM

Now there's some powder!

2/27/2014 5:04:32 PM

I'm envious of those pics

2/27/2014 5:47:53 PM

^^you should go to the hot springs in steamboat. strawberry something or other....go there and get naked!

2/27/2014 6:27:29 PM

Strawberry fields! We were already planning on it!

2/27/2014 7:41:12 PM

i went earlier this winter and it was awesome. i recommend getting there before it gets dark if you've never been...there is absolutely no lighting except for the moon and stars.

2/27/2014 7:58:14 PM

I'd love to check out some hot springs, but I'm not sure when I'll be going anywhere that has them in the near future.

bison on the move!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10101747368551329&l=52382281697304298

2/28/2014 9:32:51 AM

I drink a mix of southern comfort and cheap whiskey. I think the sugar really gets me pumped. I usually drink about a pint a day. Half before lunch and half after.

3/2/2014 11:43:37 PM

Ohhhh no, I absolutely do not drink and ski. I'll have a few at the end of the day sometimes, but even then, I never get ripshit drunk. I live in FL; I'm there to ski, not drink. Skiing all day takes a hell of a lot out of you, especially if you do it a few days in a row, and I think I'd run out of gas on the slopes in pretty short order if I was really tying one on during the nights.

3/2/2014 11:55:03 PM

Getting waste-faced is stupid as shit while you're skiing, but getting a nip out of a flask on the lifts is ok. Out west, your liver will process that by the time you get back down the mountain.

3/3/2014 2:59:41 PM

Haha well put. Yeah I never get drunk or even tipsy while skiing. That doesn't mean I won't take a few swigs out of a flask every few lift rides. With how much you're eating and how much energy you're expending I almost never feel tipsy.

3/3/2014 4:39:39 PM

What's the point then? lol.

3/3/2014 4:55:42 PM

What's the point of drinking if you don't get drunk? Are you 15? I enjoy a nice single malt in certain circumstances just like a good beer is a treat even if you don't feel the effects of the alcohol. On a lift in 15 degree weather it warms me up (I know it physically doesn't but it's a nice feeling) and it gives me that little buzz for a little bit plus it tastes damn delicious.

3/3/2014 5:48:51 PM

I agree. If you have never tried drinking on the slopes you are missing out. I'm not condoning getting plastered but it really makes skiing/snowboarding much better. There is definitely a balance. You don't want to overdue it.

Here are a few things I have noticed since drinking on the slopes
* I am a more aggressive and am willing to take a bit more risk than sober
* I have more energy. There is a lot of calories in whiskey, especially a sugary one like southern comfort. Its kinda like a red bull energy burst but more subtle and longer lasting.
* I feel like a handle falls better, probably because I am more relaxed and don't tense up as much.
* Muscle soreness and bruises on day 2 don't bother me as much. The alcohol numbs the pain a bit.

Its a win win win for me. The only issue I had was overdrinking a couple times and probably being too risky in the park. Luckily I didn't do any damage but looking back I should have reigned it in a bit.

I weigh about 195lbs and 6oz flask will last me 3-4hrs. I sip it slowly on the lift. I just get a nice mild buzz. Makes me happy.

One last tip. Make sure to drink plenty of water before, at lunch and after. Sipping whiskey will dry you out especially combined with the exercise of skiing.

3/3/2014 10:35:13 PM

Yeah I've got my 70oz insulated Camelbak. Peeing on a tree with skis on is always a fun activity.

3/3/2014 10:40:49 PM

Trip to Jackson was one of the best ski trips I've done. As mentioned earlier, they had like 19 inches a week ago the day before I got there, plus a bunch more the week leading up, so the recent base was great. Then we consistently got a couple inches on and off through the week, ending with two powder days Friday and Saturday. 6-7 in after lifts closed both nights, something like 25 inches over the two days I think.

Mountain definitely lives up to it's high difficulty level reputation. Some of the hardest stuff right out in the open on the trails, as well as some of the toughest trails to go find. The tram line was generally hours long, so we went up just one morning when it hadn't snowed. Corbett's was closed that day, but that doesn't matter as there was no way I'd attempt that after looking at it.

Also did the bus to Targhee one day, which was not only a great "rest" mountain from the likes of Jackson, as it's much, much easier, but also one of the most scenic I've been to. Possibly better than Big Sky and Heavenly. Drive over there is also pretty nice.

Hung out at the Mangy Moose a couple nights, went to the Million Dollar Cowboy bar, etc. Mangy Moose had a great guitar player there on Thursday who played all night, took all kinds of requests, let people come up and sing or play the cowbell. Overall, pretty awesome trip...pics here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/ahill34/Jackson2014Picasa

3/4/2014 10:18:09 AM

Quote :

"but also one of the most scenic I've been to. Possibly better than Big Sky and Heavenly"

Those are my current top two for scenery...we were actually debating this while out at Big Sky.

3/4/2014 10:31:42 AM

Big Sky had a couple spots where I kept lining people up to take pictures as they went down. At Targhee, there weren't as many single spots that were completely impressive, but I felt like just about everywhere I looked was worth taking a picture. Though the view of the Tetons is pretty awesome

Heavenly obviously has that shot overlooking the lake, which may be the best single view of any ski resort...I don't remember a ton of great stuff outside of that, though it's been a few years now since I was there

[Edited on March 4, 2014 at 10:38 AM. Reason : t]

3/4/2014 10:37:37 AM

Quote :

"Heavenly obviously has that shot overlooking the lake"

As well as being able to ski down to the lake...taking in the beauty the whole way down.

3/4/2014 11:06:31 AM

Got the $300 Unlimited pass for Snowshoe. I should have bought it a month ago when it was $200, but I wasn't sure I'd be going back this season.

It's good for the rest of this season and all of next season. I was about to pull the trigger on two more tickets for my next trip at ~$130 online and it just made sense to go ahead and get the pass. I'm pretty sure that next season it will both save me >$170 that I would have spent on tickets and get me some extra half days on the mountain that I might not have otherwise taken if I had to buy a pass.

3/4/2014 1:16:00 PM

Quote :

"What's the point of drinking if you don't get drunk? Are you 15? "

haha, nah. Just none of the liquor being mentioned would i use for anything except getting drunk Hoff, that's interesting stuff. I usually find that alcohol slows me down a lot. Maybe I just drink too much.

El Gimpy, very glad to hear your trip was just as badass as mine.

BTW fun fact: a season pass to Jackson Hole is $1600

3/4/2014 1:31:18 PM

Yeah the Steamboat season pass is like $1399.

Quote :

"haha, nah. Just none of the liquor being mentioned would i use for anything except getting drunk "

So you're not a scotch man? It's alright not every ones perfect.

3/4/2014 2:00:16 PM

Yeah, those passes out west can get pretty expensive. IIRC Snowshoe and Steamboat are owned by the same company so a Snowshoe season pass nets you discounts on Steamboat lift tickets plus the normal ~10% on-mountain discounts for food, retail shops, and lodging. I wasn't a season pass holder last year when I went to Steamboat, but two of the guys I was with had them and that's what they told me.

[Edited on March 4, 2014 at 3:42 PM. Reason : s]

3/4/2014 3:39:52 PM

Crazy compared to the value of the Epic Pass if you can manage to hit a few of their mountains

3/4/2014 4:05:40 PM

^^^if a distaste of scotch is all that prevents me from being perfect I'll take it!

3/4/2014 4:18:21 PM

Yeah I got the epic for $530 and I've probably been to 25 days of epic mountains already. So I'm at a little over $20/day for skiing now. I've started skiing Winter Park because we got two free season passes and I'm loving it. I may even consider the Rocky Mountain Super Pass next year. You get unlimited skiing at Copper and Winter Park and 6 days at Steamboat. Plus 3 days at Monarch.

3/4/2014 4:23:46 PM

the Targhee season pass is quite reasonable. passed on it this year, but hope to pull the trigger next season

3/4/2014 5:57:13 PM