Bozeman to Red Lodge / Bozeman to Jackson Hole?
- Thread starter 007
- Start date
I've done it, although it's been a few years so I don't remember the exact time. It's a fairly brainless drive, although once you angle southeast from I-90 toward Red Lodge you spend some time atop a treeless high plateau that must be "sporting" if you've got wind driven snow. Otherwise it seems fairly painless.
Patrick
Well-known member
007":1vsrsnjw said:
Can't comment on Bozeman to Red Lodge, but I did the Bozeman-Jackson-SLC.
If you do a search, you might notice a similar topic I started here (unless it was off-line). Trip started at a SLC then I wanted to ski Jackson Hole for the last year of the Tram. Admin mentioned both were possible, that was before Hamdog mentioned that I should add Montana in the plan.
13 days trip, 13 days skiing, 1 picture a day TR:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2283&p=12598
Forget the search, found it for you. The diiscussion started as a Tram retirement story and became a plan preps, choices and questions/answers from some folks here.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1086
Mike Bernstein
New member
IIRC, it was about 3 hours, give or take. Pretty spectacular scenery looking south and then west into the Beartooths, but Admin is correct regarding the dangers in a wind-driven snow event once you're off I-90.Admin":3hyqrlxr said:
Mike Bernstein
New member
Well, I'm living in SoCal now, so I'll probably be diversifying away from SKIVT-L and the like. This forum seems to have some of the best beta on Baldy and Waterman, which (Hwy 2 willing) is where I want to be spending my ski days outside of the occasional jaunt up in Mammoth.Admin":1w171nhf said:
schubwa
New member
Bozeman to JHMR: according to MapQuest is 4hr 53m and 240 miles. This is a very conservative (think Hannity) estimate if there is any weather. Last season on my way north to West Yellowstone we got stopped for HOURS waiting for visibility to improve through the Island Lake section near the Idaho/Montana border. It's a high, open plain that goes to whiteout with some wind and new snow.
Traveling south from Bozeman you climb up a canyon by the Gallatin River until you get to Big Sky. It's pretty well protected until you climb into Wyoming and Yellowstone Park. The road passes through an area that the storms funnel through on their way into the Park. South of West Yellowstone you ascend Targhee Pass and find yourself in Island Park. No wonder it's snowmobile heaven. Then you lose altitude and it gets better through Driggs and Victor, ID until you start up over Teton Pass. Steep on both sides, I hope it's clear for you so you can drool over the great terrain flanking both sides of that road. If it's snowing that day, go to Grand Targhee rather than pounding over to JH. You'll float over any old surfaces at Targhee unless it's been snowing for days at the steeper but more heavily skied Jackson Hole.
Traveling south from Bozeman you climb up a canyon by the Gallatin River until you get to Big Sky. It's pretty well protected until you climb into Wyoming and Yellowstone Park. The road passes through an area that the storms funnel through on their way into the Park. South of West Yellowstone you ascend Targhee Pass and find yourself in Island Park. No wonder it's snowmobile heaven. Then you lose altitude and it gets better through Driggs and Victor, ID until you start up over Teton Pass. Steep on both sides, I hope it's clear for you so you can drool over the great terrain flanking both sides of that road. If it's snowing that day, go to Grand Targhee rather than pounding over to JH. You'll float over any old surfaces at Targhee unless it's been snowing for days at the steeper but more heavily skied Jackson Hole.
You'll soon learn to reverse that priority and plan the bulk of your seasons around Mammoth trips. If Baldy/Waterman are good, that's icing on the cake. In 10 of my 33 seasons Baldy and Waterman were never worth skiing. But with El Nino in place this season the odds of good local skiing are better than usual.
Mike Bernstein
New member
You're right. I said that poorly. Mammoth will be my home hill - I even bought the MVP Pass in lieu of attending a friend's bachelor party in New Orleans during Jazz Fest due to budget constraints.Tony Crocker":35vgwzer said:
I will, however, be hitting Baldy and Waterman when the local mountains go off. Are Mtn High, Snow Summit or Bear even worth my time? I've heard conflicting reports on that.
Summit and Bear have state-of-the-art snowmaking, grooming, a lake water source and are in majority operation by Christmas 80+% of seasons. Lots of spring conditions in warm weather but rain/freezes are rare. Mt. High I view as "in-between." Terrain is better than Big Bear when everything is open but still far short of Baldy. Snowmaking covers most terrain but cannot sustain it very long as at Big Bear due to much lower water capacity. I have not skied Mt. High since 2001, but not due any inherent dislike of the area. SoCal skiing tends to be feast (Baldy/Waterman) or famine (Big Bear) with not a lot of the in-between conditions that might incline me to favor Mt. High.