coldsmoke
New member
Days 39-41: Missoula's Local Hill
With Grandma watching the kid, the wife and I had a free weekend. I was watching the weather over at Snowbowl, and it had stayed cloudy, temps in the teens and they picked up anywhere from 2-7 inches each day of the week. This was important as the area is almost entirely south facing.
Looking into East Bowls.
Looking south to Missoula.
Friday had light crowds and the snow was excellent in the East and West Bowls and all the runs from the upper lift. Snowbowl offers 2600 vert so it's no slouch for a mom and pop ski area. The only issue is you have to take 2 lifts to access it all.
Upper mountain cruiser.
This year they have a 110" base at the top so the spring skiing should be excellent.
The bar has great food.
Pizza from a wood fired oven.
We stayed the night in their slopeside hotel on Friday. Very basic and very clean rooms with no tv. $55 (with tax) gets you a room with a private bath. This is something very remote Teton Pass ski area could use.
Saturday we awoke to snowfall and picked up another couple of inches.
The sun came out around lunch and the lower third of the mountain was getting a little crusty with the top remaining very nice.
Paradise, a 3-mile cruiser.
There is also some great backcountry access from the top.
All in all, a great hill when the conditions are right. About a 25-minute drive from downtown Missoula, which is a university town loaded with great restaurants, breweries and bars. More info here: http://www.montanasnowbowl.com/
With Grandma watching the kid, the wife and I had a free weekend. I was watching the weather over at Snowbowl, and it had stayed cloudy, temps in the teens and they picked up anywhere from 2-7 inches each day of the week. This was important as the area is almost entirely south facing.
Looking into East Bowls.
Looking south to Missoula.
Friday had light crowds and the snow was excellent in the East and West Bowls and all the runs from the upper lift. Snowbowl offers 2600 vert so it's no slouch for a mom and pop ski area. The only issue is you have to take 2 lifts to access it all.
Upper mountain cruiser.
This year they have a 110" base at the top so the spring skiing should be excellent.
The bar has great food.
Pizza from a wood fired oven.
We stayed the night in their slopeside hotel on Friday. Very basic and very clean rooms with no tv. $55 (with tax) gets you a room with a private bath. This is something very remote Teton Pass ski area could use.
Saturday we awoke to snowfall and picked up another couple of inches.
The sun came out around lunch and the lower third of the mountain was getting a little crusty with the top remaining very nice.
Paradise, a 3-mile cruiser.
There is also some great backcountry access from the top.
All in all, a great hill when the conditions are right. About a 25-minute drive from downtown Missoula, which is a university town loaded with great restaurants, breweries and bars. More info here: http://www.montanasnowbowl.com/
