Excellent for skiing
Written: Mar 09 '04 (Updated Mar 09 '04)
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Pros: This is a place one comes to ski and it is great at that
Cons: Relatively expensive, kind of hard to get to, could be cold at times.
The Bottom Line: In the Winter this is a place one comes to ski. And for that purpose it is first-class. Accommodations are
relatively expensive, but slopes are crowd-free.
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| icio's Full Review: Big Sky |
Reaching Big Sky . Gallatin Field Airport in Bozeman is the closest airport(about 50 miles North of Big Sky). From there it is possible to ride a shuttle bus (round trip ticket is $55.00/person for the 2003/4 season). A second, and usually airfare-wise cheaper, alternative is to fly into Billings (Logan International Airport) and then rent a car there and drive to Big Sky using Hwy 90 West and then Hwy 191 South from Bozeman. This requires about 2hour 45min to 3 hours. All major car rental companies are available at the airport in Billings. The cost of renting an SUV is approximately $430/week. However, if you want to buy CDW insurance or other forms of insurance the price will logically end up being higher.
One should be warned that Hwy 191 is a two-lane road and that it can be treacherous during a snowstorm. In such conditions, an AWD vehicle is much to be recommended and still it could require close to 1.5 hours to complete the drive from Big Sky to Bozeman.
Lodging . Big Sky is not Vail or Whistler. Accommodations are available, but there is not a huge amount of selection. The following are all located near the slopes, although they are not all near the main lifts.
HOTELS: The Huntley Lodge, Summit at Big Sky, Soshone ;
CONDOMINIUMS: Arrowhead, Beaverhead, Big Horn, Cedar Creek, Powder Ridge, Saddleridge, Skycrest, Snowcrest, Stillwater .
To check some of the rates you can use the following link:
http://www.bigskyresort.com/lodging/bs_ch_lod_win.asp#condo
but sometimes better deals can be found if you use independent travel and lodging operators. Also make sure to inquire about possible packages that sometimes are available.
Away from the slopes (about 10 miles) it is possible to stay at the Best Western Buck's T4 Lodge which serves a breakfast buffet and provides a skier shuttle bus and has two on-site restaurants. Another nice feature if you choose to sleep here is that there are several moose in the area. When we ate at the restaurant, there was one standing in the parking lot! Some guest ranches are also available in the area.
The Slopes . Big Sky is very suitable for advanced and expert skiers since over 50% of the terrain is rated either black or double black diamond. Intermediates and advanced intermediates will do fine. Beginners and never-ever will have more limited terrain available to choose from. Bump lovers will also not find big bumps as there is not enough people skiing here to create large moguls.
More specifically:
EXPERTS: The runs off the tram on Lone Peak Mountain are definitely all challenging and are rated either double- black or black. Big Couloir is the signature run. The pitch is a sustained 42 degrees and it is approximately half a mile long. Technically, this run is considered out-of-bound and before you drop in you have to sign in with the ski patrol, have an avalanche receiver, a shovel, and a partner. Its difficulty is more in the length than in the pitch, really. As couloirs go, this is really wide. The steepest route down Lone Peak is Castro's Shoulders at about 50 degrees. The Dictator Chutes are nevertheless all very steep and you need to deal with the problem of exposed rocks or rocks deceivably covered by thin layers of snow. The easiest way down has to be Liberty Bowl, which you can view as a solid black diamond or an easy double black diamond, whatever makes you feel more comfortable, but the fact is that it is approximately 35 degrees steep (a little more at the top a little less at the bottom), very long, and most of the time covered with bumps. The way out of Liberty Bowl is through Screaming Left, steeper than Liberty Bowl itself, but less than 100 yards long. Other terrain for expert skiers is available on the North Side off Challenger Lift. Long and steep pitches are available on Little Rock Tongue and Big Rock Tongue. Little Tree and Zucchini Patch are mid-narrow chutes with
trees, but a little bit less steep than the previous two
runs. Worth mentioning are also the A-Z chutes: some are rated as double black, some just as single black diamond. The difficulty level is determined by the entry and the width of the single chutes. However, there is often marginal snow and they are seldomly used. And, in addition, you will have to hike to get to them. Some are perhaps easier to reach from the top of Lone Peak, some likely from the Challenger Lift. None of them is very long. The one closest to the Big Couloir are the most difficult and also the most likely to present a large number of exposed rocks. Good black diamond terrain can also be found on the smaller Andesite Mountain off Lone Moose Triple. A few runs (Bobcat, Lone Moose, and Grizzly Bear) are definitely steep and somewhat bumpy. Not many skiers found there to build large bumps. Buffalo Jump is also worth a try. It is a short run off Sweet Lift Line. Wall, off Lone Peak Triple could be a nice experience on the single black diamond level. It is not too difficult and the most demanding section is the Turkey Traverse immediately to the right of Lone Peak Triple Chair which is rated a black diamond itself. In my opinion, the best option is to ski
Wall at the end of the Turkey Traverse dropping in between two large rocks, but watch out for possible exposed small rocks. Bavarian Forest is definitely a plus for those
who love to ski in trees.
INTERMEDIATES. The lower parts of Lone Peak Mountain has long nice blue cruisers. One worth mentioning is Calamity Jane. But the best ones are found on Andesite Mountain. Big Horn, Madison Avenue, Elk Park Ridge off the Thunder Wolf High Speed Quad, or Ambush and Silver Knife off the Ramcharger High Speed Quad are all excellent to work on one's technique. The snow tends to get softer in the afternoon. Most of these runs have bumps on one side, but nothing major. Big Horn is the one that encounters the most favor among intermediate runs. Its steepest section are in the 20-25 degree range and even experts
can enjoy some fast carving on it. A few tree runs accessible to advanced intermediates do exist: look for Blue Room, Low Dog, Colter's Hell to the right of Silver
Knife, or Ambush Glades to the right of Ambush. They are not easy to spot and therefore they see very few skiers. Be sure you can ski in bumps and ungroomed condition a little bit before venturing among the trees. True enough they are not the tightest you can find, but they are hard
and demand your respect nevertheless.
BEGINNERS. The choices for beginners are somewhat limited but a few good runs can still be found. For example, Mr. K Lower Mr. K Chet's Knob or Lower Morning Star White Wing on Lone Mountain are all excellent.
Pacifier and Safari on Andesite Mountain are also adequate. Some blue cruisers on Lone Mountain have a fairly moderate pitch and represent an excellent introduction to intermediates runs for advanced beginners ready to take that step. A magic carpet is available at the base of
Lone Mountain in a fenced areas for the safety of kids and never-ever skiers.
Places to eat on the Mountain . A detailed list of restaurants, bars, and eateries is provided below:
http://www.bigskychamber.com/BusinessListings/home.asp?Tourism_Services=Restaurants%2C+Bars+%26+Eateries&PageTitle=Restaurants%2C+Bars+%26+Eateries&PageDescription=Restaurants%2C+Bars+%26+Eateries
Recommended:
Yes
Level of Experience Needed: All
Best Time to Visit: February
Best Suited For: Couples
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Epinions.com ID:
icio
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 - Top 1000 |
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Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
Reviews written: 58
Trusted by: 6 members
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