Bridger / Big Sky in Late March

F

frontrange

New member
Hi- I'm planning a visit to Big Sky and Bridger Bowl starting March 21. I see they close early April in general. Any ideas on what kind of snow I can expect at that time? Being from the east some powder for a change would certainly be nice (actually, the way things are going any snow would be nice!).

Thanks for any advice.
 
Anything's possible, but powder probabilities diminish significantly around late March. Tony C will surely pipe in, as will local Hamdog. Both will have more accurate info than I do.
 
you're better off where you are right now with regards to snow. we've
probably recieved just over a foot in the past month around here. is
there still powder to be found? you bet! they are secrets
though. :wink: enough about how it's been, it's going to get better!

march conditions? expect spring like conditions, and an occassional
surprise of fresh. being late march and all. maybe you'll get lucky and
be here on a dump day or two. the way this season has been so far, that
wouldn't surprise me. we're bound to get dumped on at some point, and
it usually sticks around for a few days when it does. last year it was
during the holidays. this year it hasn't really happened yet. well, actually
late october dropped about a foot and half for big sky to open up for one
day on halloween(couple runs). so the start this year was promising, but
that was the end of it. i've been hunting snow in the backcountry a lot
lately. i've been getting lucky, but they've been about 4 hour tours just
to get there. lots of work! just last sunday i was at moonlight and found
a powder stash still lingering though. that place is fun.

i've posted my take on the three areas you can go to around here previously.
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards ... c.php?t=67

your best bet for finding powder will be at moon, and it will be more likely
than not that you will have to hike for it. moon is a north facing hill, so it
stays shady all day long on the Headwaters. this is good if there's some
new snow on it. otherwise, it will be hard as a rock(up high) and probably
closed for safety reasons; not avalanches. if no snow has fallen in the
past few days when you visit, then big sky might be a better option with
the southern exposure, but the upper mtn will still be firm, and the lower
elevations will have softer snow, but also probably pretty tracked up.
all you want, groomers and park. :roll:

read my last report on the conditions to get an idea of what it's like right
now, even though it's no indicator of what it will be like when you plan to visit.
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards ... .php?t=575

if you have backcountry knowledge and equipment i can point you in that
direction as well. a couple spots right next to big sky and moonlight. short tours.
longer more strenous tours around Bridger.
 
You may want to review the other Big Sky thread last fall: http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards ... c.php?t=57

Big Sky does not have a lot of margin for error in snow conditions. If it's marginal now the odds of it being good a month from now aren't great. Whistler's chances of recovery are much higher, for example. It doesn't help that you're arriving March 21 and a whole lot of the best terrain faces south. That is the time of year I was at Big Sky in 2001 and the skiing was pretty good. But Marc Guido was there 2 weeks before and thought it sucked.

I would be trying to go somewhere else if I were you. Like Utah or the Sierra.
 
Thanks for the excellent responses. I am a slave to my frequent flier tickets so no matter what I am flying into Helena. It was the only western airport I could get into without going to Portland or Seattle. So if Bridger / Big Sky are a bit thin that time of year what is the next best choice from Helena? North, South, East, West? I can drive a bit.

3 out of the last 4 spring breaks I skiied Whiteface Mountain New York- of those one was awesome, one was great 2 out of 3 days, and once it rained, we went to Gore for a day, and then left. It was in the mid-60's at Gore last year. So, I'm not real picky!
 
You ought to email J.Spin. There are several obscure Montana areas that few of us have heard of but that have decent terrain and probably more reliable snow than Big Sky. Big Mountain has probably had a lot of rain but seems to still have a base. It also faces mostly south, but pitch is upper intermediate/advanced and will be excellent for powder if you get fresh snow.

Going the other direction you have Targhee/Jackson. JH is usually deadly that late in the season with its bad exposure on steep terrain at relatively low elevation though. SLC is 6 hours from Big Sky, must be more from Helena. Idaho Falls might be another airport in low demand for FF miles. From there it's only 4 hours to SLC and one hour to Targhee.

Sun Valley is also within range. It has had more snow than normal and probably missed the rain because it's weather comes from the south. But it has been bone dry for almost 4 weeks now.
 
To say something positive about Bridger/Big Sky in late March....some of my best days ever!

I went to both places in March 26-30 in 2003. It was epic!
When I landed in Bozeman, there was about 12" on the ground at the airport and snowing hard.

Day 1
Bridger had about 20"+ the next day and was still snowing. Great, but no Ridge.

Day 2
Big Sky finally opened the tram - and the winds were just right to load the backside -- and there was about 40" new. Close to 4 ft in places. I skied the deepest powder ever -- waist deep. Even with fat skis it was waist deep. You could not turn except on the steepest places -- you would get stuck. Other parts of the moutain had about 20-30".

Day 3.
Big Sky. The powder on the north aspects and up high was good -- getting warm otherwise.

Day 4.
Tropical day at Bridger -- skied the Ridge. Conditions were turning to spring glue except up high.



Overall, Big Sky is a VERY ROCKY mountain. I went with 125" base, a great season and 30" new -- and there were still PLENTY of rocks to be found. Supposedly the wind affect this mountain a lot -- and I believe it. There is so much terrain here though!

Bridger was a really fun place. However, powder competition is really intense. Lots of students and locals from Bozeman (who all joked about their powder day flu) who can easily get there.
 
The odds of you getting the conditions Chris describes at that time of year at Bridger/Big Sky are well under 10%. And this year you're starting with a mid-season base far below average.

Have a car, be flexible and willing to do a lot of driving. Hopefully not as much driving as I had to do in January: Spokane to Lake Louise.
 
Well I'm not counting on great but I'll expect good. Consider that our home hill here has 250' vertical in a stretch. So I don't need great. I will be ready to drive and I'll poll Tony a couple days before I leave.

Plus I'd be lost with 4' of powder although my snowboarder son would be in total bliss.
 
Eyewitness reports are always the best. Poll hamdog and J.Spin before you leave. FYI I'm on my own possibly ill-fated trip March 16-28. I have determined that I can wait until one week ahead and bug out of Silver/Schweitzer for only $50 if it does not improve. In that case I will be home until March 20.
 
Frontrange,

I live in Helena. I have had powder days at BB and Big Sky in late March and also bullet-proof conditions, mashed potatoes, dust on crust, and awesome corn snow. Big Sky can have really good corn snow late season with southern aspects in the morning and northern aspects in the afternoon.

That said, this is the worst snowpack in Montana since 1977 and its getting a little too late for it to turn around. The good thing about Helena is that you can drive to many different places in a 4-5 hour radius. We just got back from Targhee where we had great conditions. You can also drive up to British Columbia but they are not having a good year either.

Lost Trail (about 3 hours) has a 50-60 inch base and there's also Showdown in the Little Belt Mountains (2 hours). I wouldn't make reservations anywhere, lodging won't be a problem. If you have time to have a beer when you get to Helena I could tell you the latest.

Tom
 
Thanks Tom,
Who knows what you'll get are typical late March conditions for me- when I go east in March! Now I finally get to go west and it's looking shaky. However, I'll count on luck and figure that the tides will turn and you'll get dumped on. I've seen it happen before. One way or the other we WILL ski something out there! And realistically- it WILL be better than what late March brings at Whiteface NY or Gore NY. If anything, the scenery will be great. I'll drop you an email before we get out there if the time works for a beer!

Tom
 
The only reason Bridger closes so early is because they are on a national forest lease. March is typically a very strong month for snow in MT, and winter in Bozeman is known to extend clear to Mother's Day. In fact, it usually dumps pretty hard the day after Bridger closes to the public. This is the day the hill is opened up just for the employees, and they almost always get a powder day - call it poetic justice. Unfortunately, the region is in the midst of a terrible drought. The jet stream has been sending storm systems north and south of Bridger and Big sky for seven straight years now.

That being said, March may be the best time to ski in Montana. Big snow possibilities, slightly milder temperatures, and even in lean years you can expect a decent snowpack covering all those rocks. Also fewer tourists, although there's generally plenty of elbow room at Big Sky year round. And you just might get a killer corn day in there, too.

Have fun!
 
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