Big Sky / Moonlight Basin - Most weekends

[chadx]

Thought I'd post up. I'm in Big Sky / Moonlight Basin most weekends. Well, maybe every other this year. Post up if you are going to be around. Better yet, send me an email through Bomber. I often don't receive auto-emails when subscribed to a thread and sometimes don't log in for days and weeks at a time to check.

[bjvircks]

Hi chadx! Good to hear from you! No, I won't be getting to Big Sky this season, but wish I was. I'm going to be at Whitefish for BMES/WTF. After watching the webcams at Whitefish for a bit I'm thinking to myself 'Why doesn't this happen at Big Sky instead?' Is Bob Jenni and wife still at Big Sky?

[chadx]

Hiya. Sorry you're not going to make it out to Big Sky this year. You could always schedule an extra trip this season! Ha. Glad we hooked up for some runs and Robert could demo you that board. It seemed like it worked well for you. Did it trigger any new gear purchases since then?

They moved up north so don't see them. Too bad. I could usually count on them being on the hill when I showed up.

I have to catch up on the bomber threads and see where all the 'fests are this year and when. Unlikely I'll get to attend any, but you never know. Would be fun and I'm sure it would be a learning event.

[kinpa]

Chad, come up to Big Mountain, er Whitefish at the end of the month. Seems like it's going to be a good size group this year. Two years ago when I went last, nothing but POW!!!!

[chadx]

Wish my schedule would have allowed heading up to Whitefish, but not this year.

I'll be up in Big Sky over president's weekend (Feb. 13,14 and 15).

[yyzcanuck]

chadx... sent you an email through BOL.

[chadx]

Email reply sent. Would be good to ride with you and anyone else heading to Big Sky for the '10/'11 season. I'll be up there, for a 3 day weekend about every two weeks.

[yyzcanuck]

Looks like a BIG SKY family vacation during the week of January 2 -9, 2011 is in the works.
More details to follow as we get closer to the actual dates.
Anybody have interest in getting a few people together for a small session?

[chadx]

Great. Hopefully we'll make it up over that time line and be able to ride together.

If anyone is interested, we rent our 2BR/2BA condo up there, but there are lots of other rentals up there, too. We usually end up staying with some friends up there that we only get to see during the ski season, so end up doing seasonal rentals on our unit. http://www.vrbo.com/109035

[kinpa]

Chad, any chance at all you might make it up to Whitefish at the end of January???? It would be great to ride with you and I always have a ton of fun with those guys.... I've made contact with Robert and Lynn and I hope they will come up too.... but they only live half an hour away from me now and I still haven't been able to hook up to ride with them! But..... wouldn't it be fun to all get together at Whitefish???? It's not that far from Helena! I'd love to go to Big Sky sometime but at a 5 hour drive it's a bit much for one day.

[Flashby]

Good news - I'm planning an early- or mid-Jan 2011 trip to my friend in Bozeman, MT and would like to hit Big Sky and Moonlight Basin as well as Bridger Bowl which is in his back yard and I found out a friend's parents work at Red Lodge in Billings so I guess I'm heading out that way for a day during the trip. Also, a friend of mine works at Big Sky as a Ski/Board instructor so I hope to meet up with her if she has a moment.

I'm hoping I can just survive out there having just picked up the sport in mid-Feb this year but I'm all over it and trying to fit in a trip to VT next month to sort of prep for that Western stuff. I'll email you here as well.

[chadx]

Kinpa,
I'll have to check my schedule. Is there a session up there then? I haven't been on here much so am out of touch with the upcoming events.

yyz and flash,
I emailed both of you further contact info for myself.

It is dumping like crazy in Montana. Mrs. Chadx and I are heading up to Big Sky this weekend. Not sure if we'll ski and board, but have a few errands and home owners association meetings to attend and will be nice to get away for a long Thanksgiving weekend.

[Flashby]

Thanks, Chadx. My friend at Big Sky is on Ski Patrol there and loving it though the deep snow makes for interesting progress at times. She says they are thinking they'll be open Turkey Day which will be the earliest ever (I find that hard to believe). My friend in Bozeman says the storms are hit and miss and dump then are clear. Quite a scene up there at -20 F his way. I can't wait to get out there.

[kinpa]

Kinpa,
I'll have to check my schedule. Is there a session up there then? I haven't been on here much so am out of touch with the upcoming events.

YES! Look on the main board under WTF (Whitefish Trench Festival)!!!! There are quite a few prominent people on here from the midwest that make the anual trip to Big Mountain. I've gone 3 or 4 times since '05 and always enjoy myself!

I got my first day on snow last Sunday.... for some reason my boots are pinching me at the top and I've got some bruises, and other than being cooooolllllllddddd, it was a fun day!

Kathy

[slopetool]

I'll be over exploring Big Sky for my first time on Mon. 11/28 and Tues. I don't know if I'll have on my hard boots or not. But if I see any carvers I'll come over and talk to you. I'm staying at the village in the Stillwater condos. It should be fun!

[chadx]

slopetool,
I'm up here right now. Getting ready to head out this morning. Will be out there both today and tomorrow. I'll keep an eye out for you. I have brown pants, burnt orange jacket, and black fullface helmet.
Chad

[Flashby]

chadx - Good news, my plans for the Montana trip might make me hit Big Sky/Moonlight Basin on Sun-Tue (01/23-25) and then head up to Bridger Bowl during the week rather than the reverse. Also, my friend is an Instructor/Guide there and I'm hoping to get an hour or two of her time that Sun or Mon as that would be sweet. I'll have to let you know what the final plans are but I'm trying to get in Sat night and then have 2 solid days and then another half day to full day as an option (depending on how much the place beats me up).

Do you have a smartphone btw?

[chadx]

Heya Flashby,
Sounds good on the trip. We'll play it buy ear and hopefully be able to meet up.

No smartphone, but you can call or text my cell. And just so you know, there is pretty good reception in Big Sky for voice and even better for text. (I think I sent you my number, right?)

[Flashby]

You did send your number, yes. With the smartphone you can load an app like Phresheez and track all sorts of fun stuff (and see what other users/friends are close by). Here are some tracks of what I did at Stowe a few weeks back. Fun stuff but really just getting used to it before the Montana trip.

[chadx]

Hey, that's pretty cool. I especially like the part where I clicked the run button and watched it send the skier icon along your route with the times and everything.

[Flashby]

Thanks, I'm really having some fun playing with that app. They only just digitized my local slopes so I was tracking for 3 weeks getting no real results (% Intermediate trails, % Beginner trails, etc.) but now it works.

Here is another track at Seven Springs and the app displays photos you take along the way. I didn't know it did that while replaying the run so didn't do it very much.

The track from Hidden Valley has more photos but I was still testing battery settings on my phone for the app. I need to remember to take a photo of the sign at the start of the day instead of the end of the day - then it makes more sense when watching the replay. This location is not yet digitized so it doesn't know as many fun stats about my runs.

[Flashby]

I was actually trying to find some tracks from Big Sky so you would be able to relate to the runs, lifts, speeds, slope steepness, etc. but didn't find one at quick glance. I also don't know if I can share someone else's tracks if they haven't listed it as public. Give me a month and I'll have two days of tracks to view.

[Flashby]

chadx - I'm leaving here in 30 min to head to the airport and arrive at Big Sky tonight around 8 PM local slope time. I'll be on the slopes tomorrow (Sun) as well as Mon. I'll send you a txt or call and see if you are around and have a chance to meet. I am ready for my first taste of some real time stuff.

--Darren

[chadx]

Meeester Darren,
As (un)luck would have it, I won't make it to Big Sky this weekend. We were up last weekend and will be up next week starting Friday...which of course does nothing to get us on the slopes at the same time (unless you'll be there until Friday). I'm bummed the timing didn't work out after all that communication. Sometimes that's just the way it goes. Hopefully we'll get to do some runs together sometime. Chad

[Jeffrey Day]

So, work may be shipping me out to Helena, MT for the 2nd week of March! What are going to be some good carving mountains near Helena?
I probably won't be able to ride during the week, so I'd have to be a week-end warrior. How would the crowds be on any given week-end?
Thanks for any advice!

[kinpa]

Are you looking for a big resort type place? If so, Big Sky is probably the closest.... but there are some decent day areas closer...

Great Divide
www.skigd.com

Showdown - I was here a few weeks ago..... not a bad mountain
http://www.showdownmontana.com/

or even Bridger Bowl - never been there, but it's bigger and a little closer than Big Sky
http://www.bridgerbowl.com/

Enjoy!

[Jeffrey Day]

Kinpa,

Nope, not really looking for a big resort type place. Close to Helena and cost effective. Have you ever been to Great Divide? And would I be better off with an alpine board or a freeride board?

Thanks again!

[chadx]

Big Sky is a 2.5 hour drive from Helena and is the only place we ski and board. That's not only because of the terrain and lack of crowds, but because we have a place to stay in Big Sky and we get season passes there so any days spent at other ski areas cuts into our 'daily average cost' by not using our paid-for season passes.

Unfortunately I've not been to any of the other ski areas that Kinpa noted (which is bad, since we lived in Bozeman for a while and now live in Helena), but I can comment on the one aspect of Great Divide here in Helena since I hear lots of people talking about it. The best advice for there is "bring your rock board".

The base is still advertised as 40" deep, but most people tell me you have to watch for rocks, etc. year round, much less that late in the spring. We do get some snow storms through, but we also have a lot of 50 - 60 degree days by then (just had 4 days of 50+ temps and high winds that melted all the snow piles in town, but the mountains still have quite a bit of snow in them). That time of year, it will really be a timing issue. If a storm just came through, you'll be pretty good. If it's been in the 50s for a week, maybe not so much.

I wish I could comment on if Great Divide has fun carving terrain, but since I've not been there (and couldn't explain what type of terrain we want to most softbooters or skiers), I can't help there.

So, I guess my response if full of no useful information at all, really. Sorry.

[dredman]

Johnasmo and I are headed from Whitefish to Big Sky for the weekend. BigDogDave and 2 Ravens may be joining us for Sat and Sunday. Looks like a fun weekend to be there.

Anyone else joining us?

[two_ravens]

Still trying to retrieve my boot from the shop (Teton Pass was closed last night) and working on dog sitting arrangements - but still hoping to make it up for the weekend!