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Northern Rockies/Alberta 2021-2022 Big Sky Resorts/Conditions/Meetups

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Tiki

The Pirate’s Daughter
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Super day. Love when the big sky blue peeks out of the clouds. Never got that great wind mentioned by NOAA so skied all day. Yes to Africa and Lobo, gave us happy bumps the whole way. SC6 had 2 queue lines! Woot! Thank you queue management dudes for alleviating that congestion at base.

We leave you graciously, just for a few weeks, and wish you guys more POW into the holidays and 2022.
 

Talisman

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The holiday crowds seem light at Big Sky this week. Perhaps the boney conditions leading up to the holidays or the cool temperatures or the $228 day tickets are keeping people away? The lighter crods are keeping the snow fresh in the less obvious places.
 

milkman

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We’re starting our ski season about a month later than usual but looking forward to arriving next week.

Still losing friends to Covid where I am now.
Are folks in MT following the basic distancing and indoor masking like they did last season?
We’re about where we were in Spring of 2021 here.
 

BS Slarver

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@milkman - folks here in MT, the don’t tread on me state and in Galliton aren’t following any guidelines if there even are any ? Looking at the Covid maps for the state shows us in the deepest of red and our vax rate is still low.

Town Preschool / daycare along with some restaurants and ski area personnel are getting hit. Wife helps at the food bank and they have asked volunteers to pack and deliver food for those in quarantine, some 75 or so.
Rumor is It’s starting to run through patrol and fingers crossed it doesn’t get to area / region closures on parts of the mountain due to staffing shortage

I see servers and some staff with PPE but very few guests as signage at most doors with masks strongly suggested but not mandatory. Mountain is really starting to ski well as Tman stared above, just keep your guard / mask up when you get indoors.
 

Tiki

The Pirate’s Daughter
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Good advice from the Slarver. There was an email that went out saying BSR was imposing mask wearing indoors across the resort starting 12/24. I recommend masking up and social distancing the very best you can, maybe even being more cautious this trip.

We were not ignorant to this variant before our trip on 12/17. We masked up, didn't socialize, and made most of our own meals in BS. This was such a short trip there was no time to visit and clink glasses with others anyway. We flew home on 12/23 and by Christmas morning it was clear I got the unwanted gift of omicron. DH (still) has no symptoms. but I've been quarantined since Christmas Eve. No matter what CDC says, I'm staying put until 1/3/2022.

Bozeman was a cough-fest. We came from another "free" state and it was obvious the variant was already on the ground in MT.
 

Tiki

The Pirate’s Daughter
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Wow! Tiki must have been naughty to get a "gift" like that from ol' santa, the traditional gift for bad boys and girls used to be coal. I hope you are feeling better soon.
Awe, thanks. In my personal experience, the worst symptoms came on fast and strong, but subsided quickly. Very different experience to those 1-2 week flu symptoms we used to get back in the days of old. Santa also had a sense of humor, giving me quality holiday chocolates (still wrapped), free laundry service, and unlimited HBOMax as I sequester.

In all seriousness, I lost 3 friends and a family member in the span of 6 weeks to COVID-19. Keeping healthy and safe has been paramount in our daily life. My getting infected was a shock and is a testament to the unbelievable power of this variant. Stay vigilant and safe friends. We've got lots of vertical to chase yet.
 

Black Dog

Its all downhill from here..
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Heading to BS shortly. How rocky are the Rocky mountains these days? Trying to decide which skis to bring.
 

Talisman

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Heading to BS shortly. How rocky are the Rocky mountains these days? Trying to decide which skis to bring.
It depends what terrain you plan to ski, most of the steeper terrain has adequate coverage, but clacking rocks is a given. Most of the groomers have decent coverage with natural snow trails featuring vegetation to avoid.
 

sparty

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They did that on Ramcharger when I was there and it had a long stoppage. Nice service for stuck folks... I wonder if other places do that too?
If feasible, yes. It helps cut down on antsy guests, helps patrol get a feel for potential problems if they need to evacuate (eg chair full of eight year olds or an underdressed guest who is already shivering uncontrollably), and now that most places have cell service, cuts down on the calls to guest services to find out what's going on.
 

BS Slarver

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@Black Dog - if you know your way around the shark tank bring your fave’s. If you don’t have the slightest idea what I’m talking about bring your rock boards. Most of the hill has filled in nicely this week with 12”+
Usual wind blown spots are skiing nicely
 

mogulman

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Colorado
Excited to check out Big Sky. Hoping for more snow!. Coming out the week of Feb 12, driving and stopping at Jackson hole for a couple of days. Coming from western Colorado. Anyone made the treck at this time of year up 191? I'm assuming bad snowy Wyoming type blowing snow.
 

Talisman

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You will need to drive over Teton Pass and go through Victor, ID to pick up US 191 in West Yellowstone. US 191 through YNP isn't plowed in the winter between West Yellowstone and Jackson. Expect blowing snow in a few places and driving during the day makes it much easier to negotiate the mountain passes.
 
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skidrew

skidrew

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You will need to drive over Teton Pass and go through Victor, ID to pick up US 191 in West Yellowstone. US 191 through YNP isn't plowed in the winter between West Yellowstone and Jackson. Expect blowing snow in a few places and driving during the day makes it much easier to negotiate the mountain passes.

Yeah, did this drive a couple years ago. Couldn't use Teton Pass because of a storm, so had to go around to the south. The stretch in the Park north of W. Yellowstone was a bit sketchy because of blowing snow - as Talisman said do during the day if you can (parts of it are a beautiful drive) and check the weather reports along the route. (And don't expect mobile service everywhere.)
 

Talisman

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Good point about cell service as there is none north of West Yellowstone on US 191 (except for one spot near the jct of 287) until you get to Big Sky and no service on stretches west/south of West Yellowstone on US 20. You also want to avoid buying fuel in Island Park, ID area or West Yellowstone if you can avoid it. Island Park stations are ~$0.75 more a gallon than around Ashton, ID. It is a beautiful drive during the day.
(And don't expect mobile service everywhere.)
 

Black Dog

Its all downhill from here..
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@Black Dog - if you know your way around the shark tank bring your fave’s. If you don’t have the slightest idea what I’m talking about bring your rock boards. Most of the hill has filled in nicely this week with 12”+
Usual wind blown spots are skiing nicely
Can you educate me on the Shark Tank? I am guessing that is the tram? I have only been there once before and the tide was pretty low
so really did not get a feel for the whole mountain. Looks like from the webcams is snowing pretty good there now.
 
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Talisman

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Can you educate me on the Shark Tank? I am guessing that is the tram? I have only been there once before and the tide was pretty low
so really did not get a feel for the whole mountain. Looks like from the webcams is snowing pretty good there now.
The web cams are situated in spots that realiably collect snow which obviously helps with marketing. The snow pack at BS is improving, but depending on what you want to ski there will likely be rocks: Head Waters, Challenger, Tram, Dakota and certain areas off of Shedhorn reliably have spots where you can whack rocks depending on snow pack, skier traffic and the wind.

If you treat all skis as rock skis life gets easier at Big Sky.
 
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