We starting out driving from the Idaho panhandle headed for Bozeman, MT. Do you like slot machines? One of the first things we noticed about Montana was virtually every bar/restaurant/gas station is also a casino. Montana doesn’t allow table games, but it seems that the state could give Vegas a run for their money on number of slot machines. We made a stop in Butte to visit with yet another relative of Will’s.
His Great Uncle John just turned 90 last month and we got to meet him along with many other members of his family. Had an enjoyable visit and went to eat at a restaurant (casino).
Made it to Bozeman and prepared for our next day skiing at Bridger Bowl.
Bridger Bowl is about 15 miles outside of Bozeman and was a fairly easy drive up to the mountain. Bridger is more low key and much less expensive than it’s Big Sky neighbor. They have a number of lifts that cover the mountain well, but no express lifts. So, you do spend quite a bit of time on the lift. If you don’t feel like driving, they also run a shuttle on weekends from Bozeman. Parking is free, but you have to hoof it. Not sure whether they run a parking shuttle on really busy days.
Bridger has a little something for everyone. We started the morning with a little tree skiing in the powder. That was a lot of fun, they had gotten about 3 inches the day before and there was still plenty of powder. We moved our way across the mountain, which seems to get progressively steeper. Getting our skis down and were greeted with a large boom of the ski patrol doing it’s avalanche control. So, you know they’ve got some steep stuff. The quote of the day from Powderhound Gallegos was “ski the powder”.
Since we were close, we also decided to spend a day at Big Sky Ski Resort. “The Largest Skiing in America”, well they seem to still be claiming that title. I know, what you’re thinking, isn’t Park City bigger? Yes, unless you count the 2,000 acres that belong to a private club, not open to the general public. Big Sky counts it. Anyway you slice it, Big Sky is still a big resort.
It’s about an hour and 15 minute drive from Bozeman. So, if you are doing multiple days there, I would say stay closer. But for the one day, it worked great for us to drive up from Bozeman. Big Sky is not part of our ski pass so, we did have to buy tickets. The window rate for a lift ticket is $139. If you know you’re skiing there, buy in advance. Got ours for $115, still pricey, but a good savings. They have a $30 parking lot, but just down from that is the free parking. They run a shuttle for the parking lot that comes by about every 10 minutes and drops you right at the front entrance. It was a no brainer for us, we parked in the free lot.
Big Sky offers a Mountain Tour. We like to take advantage of these tours for bigger ski areas that we haven’t been to before. Most of tours will last an hour and a half to two hours and are free. The Hosts are normally only allowed to take you on groomed easy or intermediate runs and will try to group you with others that ski at your same level. We feel these tours are a great way to get a feel for the mountain especially how to transverse from one area to another. Speeds up the process when someone is showing you around. You also gain some insight into the Host’s favorite runs or they will point out other runs you might be interested in doing after the tour. And they will usually be able to provide you with interesting facts about the mountain or answer questions that you might have. Joel was our host and he took us to the north side (or the old Moonlight Basin resort). Joel was great at stopping at various times to point out things and explaining how to get back to where we started and what amenities are available on the north side. Joel also pointed out the Powder Seeker lift and mentioned that it had heated seats. Wait! What! Heated Seats! I really hoped that Will and I would have a chance to try out that lift later in the day.
I am so glad we took the tour as we felt only having one day, we probably wouldn’t have made it to that side or the resort. The north side is what I would call the no-frills, old-school side. They have everything you need ski school, ski rental, food, etc, but it’s all very rustic. It’s good to see that some of that charm still remains even in the bigger resorts. The main lift was a six pack called the Six Shooter. That lift was super cold, but the runs were nice and the snow was good.
Our tour was over in just in time for lunch, after which we then decided to try out some additional runs on the south side. We came up to a new lodge called Everett to warm up. This lodge is pretty fancy and is even open for dinner. They recommend reservations, even for lunch. We just went for a drink at the bar.
After a few runs on the south side, the sun was starting to come out again. Will suggested, it would be a good time to try the Powder Seeker lift. Let me just say, it was awesome! Heated seats and a plastic bubble to pull down to block the wind and/or snow. Nice way to end our day at Big Sky. Hope to come back one of these days.
Spent the next morning driving around Bozeman trying to find someone to fix my ski boot. I had somehow had a bolt come loose and didn’t realize until the piece was nowhere to be found. Ugh! As with most anything all parts are specific to each boot, manufacturer and need to be special ordered. We visited virtually every ski shop in Bozeman until we found a repair guy that was able temporarily fix my boot with a metal washer. Hopefully, that’ll hold out until we make it back home. Thanks Round House Sports, great customer service. Finally, managed to salvage a half day of skiing at Bridger. A storm is on the way we’re hoping for another powder day.
By the time we got back to the hotel the wind had picked up and the snow started coming down like crazy. Yes, we were getting snow.
The next day was much more crowded as Bridger received about 5 inches of powder. But still we never really waited in a lift line, just got stuck parking a little further out.
Powderhound Gallegos was back at it, looking for the powder. Found some great runs off the Powder Park lift, yes that area does seem to hold the powder well. We only skied a half day as we had to get back on the road to Grand Targhee. Since, another storm was predicted to come through, we didn’t want to be driving in the dark.