Bridger Bowl 12-27-07

salida

salida

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More to follow, with a second day at Bridger and a day at Moonlight. Some ridge laps with vids to follow. Moral of the story is 20 some odd inches of pure cold smoke. Somewhere near day 30.

Headed to CO then Jackson at the crack of dawn.

Quick teaser. I'll use the new FTO vid uploader when I upload my own videos.

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Porter
 
Some Bridger Ridge stuff. Vids were from a Hidden Gully -> North West Passage apron, great run.

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Tony Crocker":9v4ghif7 said:
You want to avoid crowds during zoo week and have some pow to yourself? Go to Bridger and hike. =D>
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Definitely. :mrgreen:

NICE Porter!!!
 
Great stuff! Was this lift acess stuff or hike? When I was at school at CSU, whenever I went to ski video shows and Bridger came on (WM, TGR matchstick etc.) the place would go nuts. THere where quite a few Montana kids there as well as CO Bridger lovers I assume.
I will get there sometime,been seeing epic dumps there latly.
 
TRam":35rr1lx1 said:
Great stuff! Was this lift acess stuff or hike?
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The ridge is only accessed via a hike (avy gear required) from the top of the top lift. Unless you're part of the patrol, but that is another story. :lol:
 
The view in that video was very likely hike IMHO. Terrain looked very reminiscent of what Patrick and I skied up there with marketing director Doug Wales in January 2006.
 
Patrick":29fwax92 said:
The ridge is only accessed via a hike (avy gear required) from the top of the top lift. Unless you're part of the patrol, but that is another story. :lol:
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Yeah, watching those guys use the poma back in 2000 really frosted my flatlander ass.
 
It may be heresy, but I do think the public should have access to that poma, probably with avy gear like Delirium Dive. As Patrick notes, Bridger is not all that interesting an area without that upper terrain, and very interesting with it. So one or two runs per day up there really doesn't cut it. That's why even some locals like Hamdog spent most of their time at Big Sky/Moonlight.
 
OK, to clarify a bit. It's a bit late, but hey I've been out skiing.

The first video did not involve a hike. Some traversing (it was off of High T). The last two did involve a hike.

Tony, I disagree about the Poma. What keeps the ridge untracked for so long is that one does have to hike to it. It really does not take very long, and provides fresh days after the storm. Additionally, I could see someone getting up there who could afford a beacon, but still didn't have the skill to ski down. The hike really weeds out the ones who can't make it down.

With the opening of Slushman's (far skiers left) it should really increase the size of BB, and allow for some more good terrain reminiscent of the ridge. I believe the double (which is from alta) that is set to go in, will go within 2-3 hundred vertical feet of the top of the ridge...

As for Moonlight/Big Sky, I skied it the 29th after skiing BB the 27-28th and the snow was not nearly as good, while this is an isolated date, I imagine the snow could be appreciably better at BB most of the time. It just seems like they collect the snow by comparison. That being said, Moonlight/Big Sky certainly have great terrain that is easier to access. But there are number restrictions for the good stuff off the Tram (2 every 15 minutes for Big Couloir and 4 every 15 minutes for the North Snowfields. Also the good stuff at Moonlight requires a similar hike to Bridger.

Hopefully some videos to come of the couloir skiing at Moonlight, and maybe some stuff from steamboat for the last few days (where I shadowed patrol).

Porter
 
The first storm this year dropped 32 inches at Bridger and less than a foot at Big Sky. I'd expect Bridger's cover to be much better.

I'm in agreement with requiring the hike at Taos. But there the whole mountain is steep. You get bumps with the lifts and smooth or powder with the hike.

Nearly all of Bridger's steeps require the hike. Requiring the avy gear cuts down the traffic a lot, as evidenced by Delirium Dive at Sunshine. As far as people getting in trouble off that surface lift, there are lots of areas where that can happen, starting with nearby Big Sky/Moonlight.

I did that Bridger hike last run of my first day and skied like crap for the next three, before I realized I needed a day off if I was going ski decently at Jackson.
 
After reading the discussion on Main Chute at Alta, it got me thinking about this picture I was sent today. Here is one of our party skiing hidden gully back in December at Bridger...

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That's why even some locals like Hamdog spent most of their time at Big Sky/Moonlight.
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some folks don't mind paying to hike; go right ahead. plenty bc for free in that neck of the woods. sled or no sled. it's like skiing jackson to ski cody, north shore, etc. there is more to jackson than the ob and more to bridger than the ridge (but not much). enough to keep one entertained for a few hours. it was nice to go ride the ridge a few days a season though, but only when it was good. by "good" i mean 10"+, big base and mid week.

i opted to ride moonlight mostly and hike a lot on the headwaters, so yes, i payed to hike there too. not nearly as littered with humans as bridger though....at least the two years i rode there. then all the ridge hippies started coming and there goes the history. plain and simple, big sky is where it's at. no need to debate the area mtns because each mtn has thier own pro's and con's. personally bigger is better. bridger can be big some days.
 
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