Tuesday was predicted the best weather day of our time at Big Sky. It might have warmed to the predicted 21F at the base, but it was still fairly cold up high with wind on Lone Peak. Morning was partly sunny and afternoon was mostly overcast.
We started at Big Sky this time, and with car shuttle and a 10+ minute lift stoppage on Swift Current, it was nearly 11AM by the time we got to the Lone Peak tram. With clear visibility and nice conditions from Sunday's storm it was no surprise that the line for the 15-person tram was about half an hour. We watched people skiing the Big Couloir.
We walked up to Moonlight's patrol shack on Lone Peak to discuss the North Snowfields. Groups of 4 sign in and are permitted to depart from the peak every 10-15 minutes. Liz had a business call at noon, so she skied down Liberty Bowl while I skied North Snowfields with a Yellowstone Club patroller. It was his first time also but he still did a good navigation job. In 2006 Patrick and I traversed out of the North Snowfields about 3/4 of the way down to Great Falls, a long and steep but straightforward chute. The alternative, Rips, gives you more of the North Snowfields but requires more complex navigation. Its upper section is not that steep but has thin cover and needs to be skied deliberately. Lower Rips widens but has scattered cliff bands not easy to spot from above. So the recommended route is to traverse right to Lower Direct, which is steep but with a wide open runout into Deepwater Bowl.
With very little skier traffic the snow on the North Snowfields and Lower Direct was lightly cut powder from Sunday's storm. Upper Rips was firm chalk as everyone has to ski the same line to avoid rocks. I did not take pics while skiing as I didn't want to hold up the patroller until we were done. Also, that's a tough run for basically the first of the day including standing in line outside the tram for half an hour. From below a view up Lower Direct.
We needed to get farther away to get a good overview of North Snowfields and the skiable lines through the cliff band below them.
Coming out of Deepwater Bowl you eventually hit the Horseshoe trail for a long cruise to the bottom of Six Shooter. From there I went up Headwaters and skied Cold Springs, one of the traverse accessible chutes.
Anything beyond Fire Hole requires hiking up that ridge separating Headwaters from the A-Z Chutes.
Next I skied Highway (now a bit scraped off) into Big Sky and met Liz at the base. With Lone Peak skiing so well and thus long tram lines, I blew off lunch and we headed back up. During lunch hour the line had dipped to about 20 minutes, and while we were in it our new FTO poster Steve (AKA Falcon) recognized Liz' outfit and my Blizzard Bonafide skis. So we chatted in the line and skied some together with him and his friend Paul.
The wind was now stronger on Lone Peak and Liz' hands started to chill. I made a questionable call to start down the steep and exposed Otter Slide vs. the more frequently used Yeti traverse. Otter Slide feeds into Lenin which is a sustained 40 degrees for its upper half. Liz skied that deliberately but when it eased off into the 30-35 degree range skied the rest continuously to get down to a shelter (the burrito shack near the top of Swift Current) and warm her hands. Steve, Paul and I followed. Liz couldn't go back up top with the gloves she had, so she skied a few runs on the Lone Peak triple while we took one more run off Lone Peak.
Steve on Lone Peak with Yellowstone Club ski terrain in background.
After consulting with patrol we decided to ski the second Dictator Chute. View down.
Steve and Paul have been flying regularly to Salt Lake for 15+ years, renting a car and spending time at the Cottonwoods, Jackson and Big Sky. There was a convex rollover with soft snow I wanted to ski, but Steve warned me of possible rocks. I approached carefully, saw none and skied through Dictator 2. Steve skiing below me.
A similar situation existed lower down with an opening through the Wave.
Big Sky's snowfall is likely about average this season, but coverage varies by wind deposition. The Wave and the Dictator Chutes were more filled in than usual, while on the opposite side of Lone Peak the Headwaters looked much bonier than when Patrick and I were here in 2006.
We skied to the Big Sky base and called it a day. 4,800 vertical at Moonlight, 10,700 at Big Sky, about 1K of powder on the North Snowfields run. This was a typical good day for Lone Peak in Steve's experience. You have to wait for it some, but you get a few very high quality, low density long and steep runs up there.
We started at Big Sky this time, and with car shuttle and a 10+ minute lift stoppage on Swift Current, it was nearly 11AM by the time we got to the Lone Peak tram. With clear visibility and nice conditions from Sunday's storm it was no surprise that the line for the 15-person tram was about half an hour. We watched people skiing the Big Couloir.
We walked up to Moonlight's patrol shack on Lone Peak to discuss the North Snowfields. Groups of 4 sign in and are permitted to depart from the peak every 10-15 minutes. Liz had a business call at noon, so she skied down Liberty Bowl while I skied North Snowfields with a Yellowstone Club patroller. It was his first time also but he still did a good navigation job. In 2006 Patrick and I traversed out of the North Snowfields about 3/4 of the way down to Great Falls, a long and steep but straightforward chute. The alternative, Rips, gives you more of the North Snowfields but requires more complex navigation. Its upper section is not that steep but has thin cover and needs to be skied deliberately. Lower Rips widens but has scattered cliff bands not easy to spot from above. So the recommended route is to traverse right to Lower Direct, which is steep but with a wide open runout into Deepwater Bowl.
With very little skier traffic the snow on the North Snowfields and Lower Direct was lightly cut powder from Sunday's storm. Upper Rips was firm chalk as everyone has to ski the same line to avoid rocks. I did not take pics while skiing as I didn't want to hold up the patroller until we were done. Also, that's a tough run for basically the first of the day including standing in line outside the tram for half an hour. From below a view up Lower Direct.
We needed to get farther away to get a good overview of North Snowfields and the skiable lines through the cliff band below them.
Coming out of Deepwater Bowl you eventually hit the Horseshoe trail for a long cruise to the bottom of Six Shooter. From there I went up Headwaters and skied Cold Springs, one of the traverse accessible chutes.
Anything beyond Fire Hole requires hiking up that ridge separating Headwaters from the A-Z Chutes.
Next I skied Highway (now a bit scraped off) into Big Sky and met Liz at the base. With Lone Peak skiing so well and thus long tram lines, I blew off lunch and we headed back up. During lunch hour the line had dipped to about 20 minutes, and while we were in it our new FTO poster Steve (AKA Falcon) recognized Liz' outfit and my Blizzard Bonafide skis. So we chatted in the line and skied some together with him and his friend Paul.
The wind was now stronger on Lone Peak and Liz' hands started to chill. I made a questionable call to start down the steep and exposed Otter Slide vs. the more frequently used Yeti traverse. Otter Slide feeds into Lenin which is a sustained 40 degrees for its upper half. Liz skied that deliberately but when it eased off into the 30-35 degree range skied the rest continuously to get down to a shelter (the burrito shack near the top of Swift Current) and warm her hands. Steve, Paul and I followed. Liz couldn't go back up top with the gloves she had, so she skied a few runs on the Lone Peak triple while we took one more run off Lone Peak.
Steve on Lone Peak with Yellowstone Club ski terrain in background.
After consulting with patrol we decided to ski the second Dictator Chute. View down.
Steve and Paul have been flying regularly to Salt Lake for 15+ years, renting a car and spending time at the Cottonwoods, Jackson and Big Sky. There was a convex rollover with soft snow I wanted to ski, but Steve warned me of possible rocks. I approached carefully, saw none and skied through Dictator 2. Steve skiing below me.
A similar situation existed lower down with an opening through the Wave.
Big Sky's snowfall is likely about average this season, but coverage varies by wind deposition. The Wave and the Dictator Chutes were more filled in than usual, while on the opposite side of Lone Peak the Headwaters looked much bonier than when Patrick and I were here in 2006.
We skied to the Big Sky base and called it a day. 4,800 vertical at Moonlight, 10,700 at Big Sky, about 1K of powder on the North Snowfields run. This was a typical good day for Lone Peak in Steve's experience. You have to wait for it some, but you get a few very high quality, low density long and steep runs up there.
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