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BS Slarver

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Hearing of two new lifts for the summer and SC6 is one of them, not hearing any intel on Dakota being the other. Should be back up and running soon, they are awaiting a transmission part

From the BS website
March 1, 2021: The Dakota lift is currently undergoing maintenance and is expected to be down for a few days. Updates will be posted as we work to get the lift running again as soon as possible.
 

milkman

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I don’t have anything to contradict the website. My info was from a casual conversation with a knowledgeable long time friend. The Dakota area does not need additional capacity and it’s only a six minute ride. I hope they’re able to repair it and keep running.
 

BS Slarver

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Believe me, I’m with you on wanting Dakota replaced or at least upgraded !
IMO it’s The Madison area and increasing capacity on that side of the hill is weakest link on the mountain at present.

Going forward, the slated luxury resort at ML that will rival the Montage at SP along with all of the other construction going on there, that side needs more capacity and quick.
Anyone else hearing that the present swifty moves over there ?
I’m hearing swifty stays put till the new SC6 is operational and then goes in near Madison / 6 shooter and tops out at the top of lone tree.
That would be a game changer for that side of the hill and the resort.
 

milkman

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The original plan was to start removing old Swifty starting the day after the resort closed in 2020 to make room for Swifty 6. Don’t recall what they proposed for the summer mountain bikers on Lone Peak.
When Swifty 6 was announced management said in a Q&A session that Old Swifty would NOT be repurposed in Big Sky. Times certainly changed so plans for old Swifty may have too.
It might require a complete overhaul.
Sure would look nice as a replacement for Pony Express and Iron Horse running all the way to The top of Lazy Jack.
 
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skidrew

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The original plan was to start removing old Swifty starting the day after the resort closed in 2020 to make room for Swifty 6. Don’t recall what they proposed for the summer mountain bikers on Lone Peak.
When Swifty 6 was announced management said in a Q&A session that Old Swifty would NOT be repurposed in Big Sky. Times certainly changed so plans for old Swifty may have too.
It might require a complete overhaul.
Sure would look nice as a replacement for Pony Express and Iron Horse running all the way to The top of Lazy Jack.

unless something changed, SC6 just became a two year project rather than one because of COVID uncertainties. With some of the work already done it should be a smaller effort to complete this summer. Not sure how feasible it is to leave Swifty running while SC6 is built. Isn’t it almost the same alignment? (I suppose they could put in a number of the towers first but I suspect the most efficient is to put in new ones all at once while removing the old ones shortly thereafter (if not even on the copter’s return trip).
 

Talisman

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Based on the signboard at the top of the Powder Seeker today, Dakota is out of commission for the rest of the season. Bummer as that area can really hold the goods after storms.
 

ejj

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Based on the signboard at the top of the Powder Seeker today, Dakota is out of commission for the rest of the season. Bummer as that area can really hold the goods after storms.

Yep--bit of a bummer, as mentioned, as long as the temp stays low after a storm, you can find some great stuff.
 

BS Slarver

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@milkman was right and called it first, Dakota is done. Not sure how I missed that notice at PS yesterday, rode that fresh south bowl into the ground.
Tram is skiing really well and bluebird skies this morning made the line almost bearable.
Gullies and Crons were like buddaahh
 

gilligan

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Based on the signboard at the top of the Powder Seeker today, Dakota is out of commission for the rest of the season. Bummer as that area can really hold the goods after storms.

Too bad. I'm going to BS in a couple of weeks for the first time and looks like from the trail map that some decent trees and gladed terrain will be out of the picture. After reading the earlier posts re: Dakota I checked the BS website yesterday and said it's expected to be down for a "few days". On the bright side they'll still have more open terrain than almost any other ski area in the US.

Resort Notices

March 1, 2021: The Dakota lift is currently undergoing maintenance and is expected to be down for a few days. Updates will be posted as we work to get the lift running again as soon as possible.
 
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skidrew

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A lift out of commission is never a good thing, but doesn't Dakota get a bit baked out in the Spring, absent a dump? There's plenty of other fine terrain . ..
 

Talisman

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but doesn't Dakota get a bit baked out in the Spring, absent a dump?
Spring in the Northern Rockies can be cruel with baking sun and/or snow storms. Terrain off of Dakota doesn't get tracked out as quickly as Powder Seeker or Challenger. Sure BS has other fine terrain and different facing aspects and elevations can provide options depending on the weather.
 

noobski

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curious about the line situation at BS? We were out there two years ago and locals complained about the lines. We never stood in line longer than 10 minutes and that was Spring Break. So we assumed normally there are not lines and that 10 minutes was abnormal to locals (totally fine with us).

From some of these posts, are lines even longer now (Similar with most resorts dealing with Covid)? I personally don't care much, especially at Big Sky given its vertical, but just wondering what the rough line estimates are weekends v weekdays.

Also, do they run singles? Some resorts do and some don't. For example, Alta did and it helped a lot because singles would be grouped in 2's, whereas Jackson Hole, Snowbird, Brighton did not. On weekends it was noticable, but again, fine relative to dealing with covid issues in my opinion.
 

Talisman

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Big Sky has added singles lines to some of the main lifts: Ram Charger, Swifty and Sixshooter. Line waits are tougher to predict besides the tram which has been over an hour on any clear day. Swifty and Sixshooter have had long lines at various times, but the singles lines have moved along. Expect a reprimand if you aren't wearing a mask in lift line that covers your nose.
 

noobski

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Big Sky has added singles lines to some of the main lifts: Ram Charger, Swifty and Sixshooter. Line waits are tougher to predict besides the tram which has been over an hour on any clear day. Swifty and Sixshooter have had long lines at various times, but the singles lines have moved along. Expect a reprimand if you aren't wearing a mask in lift line that covers your nose.
Thank you. I've covered 8 resorts/hills/mountains this year and have grown accustomed to flipping the buff up in line automatically.
 

eggraid101

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Sorry to muck up a great thread with a logistics question, but if we are staying in a house in the moonlight basin area, would it be idiotic to not have 4wd to get there at the very end of March/beginning of April? I’m comfortable driving in snowy conditions, but never been to Big Sky and don’t know what to expect on the little roads in that area. We are very excited to get to ski Big Sky for the first time after our trip was canceled last year!
 

Talisman

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would it be idiotic to not have 4wd to get there at the very end of March/beginning of April?

You should be fine with snow/ice tires, good driving skills and two wheel drive. The houses around Moonlight tend to get more snow in a given storm and April snow storms can be productive. With the current weather you would be fine in an old pickup truck with bald tires towing a heavy boat.
 
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skidrew

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Based on the signboard at the top of the Powder Seeker today, Dakota is out of commission for the rest of the season. Bummer as that area can really hold the goods after storms.

Saw this on website snow report:

March 16, 2021 – After evaluation by the Big Sky Resort Lift Maintenance team, Dakota Lift will remain closed for the remainder of the 20-21 season due to mechanical challenges. Our teams have determined that the remote location of the lift, and the level of repair required, are better suited for summer work. We apologize for the inconvenience, and look forward to reopening Dakota for the 21-22 ski season.”
 

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