12/12/2012 4:44:00 PM
POWDER, POWDER, POWDER, AND MORE POWDER; holy cow! Today was a powder day for the Big Sky history books. When we first opened at 9am this morning we had already received 6+ inches of snow and this unexpected sneaky storm truly delivered. At a rate of nearly 3 inches an hour, we received 20+ inches of snow from 9am to 4pm covering the whole mountain in a fluffy blanket of pure MT cold smoke.
After finishing my morning meetings, I split and headed for the lift. Making no stops, I set my sights on Challenger and got my first face shots just off the J-Walk. The blower, over-the-head powder continued the whole way to the lift where I reconvened with my buddy Turner. While riding up, we watched the few other skiers on Challenger slash turns and bounce around as they skied under the lift. Once we slid down the unloading ramp, we skied away towards the top of 17th Green. I began to salivate when I looked down the run and saw countless un-skied lines to be had (at 1:00pm). Once I dropped in, every turn seemed to bury me under a cloud of powder. The next turn would reveal itself for only a moment before I went under again. Laps like this continued for the duration of my break and it only got better.
Lunch break face shots as epic as today are hard to top and 12/12/12 will always be a day remembered.
-Kipp Proctor
Tags: skiing, montana, big sky resort, yellowstone, yellowstone national park, big sky, powder, technical terrain, 17th green, face-shots, face shots, 20+ inches
Montana | Skiing | The Way I Ski It | General
12/10/2012 10:27:00 AM
OVER THE HEAD face-shots are always welcome on a powder day and the last few have been those kinds of days. Starting last Thursday night, Big Sky has seen a consistent storm pattern that deposited 12 inches Thursday, 7 inches Friday, 2 inches Saturday, and 6+ inches Sunday night much to the delight of eager snow sport enthusiasts. Ski Patrol has been hard at work matching what Mother Nature throws at them by continually opening more and more terrain and staying busy in the early mornings getting the mountain open. The low water content in these storms has delivered the extra fluffy snow we’ve grown accustomed to here in Big Sky and the forecast looks promising with a chance of snow every day through the end of the week.
Friday was the start to a great weekend with amazing skiing to be had across the whole mountain. Challenger and the Bowl were skiing particularly well with pockets of snow that were well over knee deep that buried you under every turn. My favorite turns of the day (and the first) were under 17th Green where every turn delivered a poof of over the head cold smoke. Reports like this continued through the weekend with new terrain opening on Andesite and the Tram/Big Couloir reopening on Sunday.
Consistent snow and amazing skiing has provided a start to be remembered this season. If Mother Nature stays on our side, we’re sure to be in hog heaven this season.
-Kipp Proctor
