Northern Rockies/Alberta Big Sky 2017-18

[SShore]

Wait, what?? I thought BS was known for a lack of crowds?

Like James said, that is the Tram. There are only two cars on the tram, one going up and one going down at any one time, and they are small, so that line is always going to be long. I was skiing there all weekend also and never waited more than 5 minutes on any lift. Those not at one of the two base areas never had any wait at all.

 

[skidrew]

Wait, what?? I thought BS was known for a lack of crowds?

There aren't any crowds, and only lift lines at the tram. When you get up to the peak because of the tram constraint there are only ~15 people up there at a time (maybe a few more if people are just riding up for the view) - those folks go off and it's pretty empty by the time the next car arrives 3 minutes later.

 

[Talisman]

heard that typical skier count is around 8k on weekends.

A busy day during Christmas week is 7 K

 

[TonyPlush]

A busy day during Christmas week is 7 K

I'm not that familiar with the stats, but how does this compare?

Vail claims 1.6 million visitors per year. At 150 days in the ski season, that's roughly 11,000 skiers per day. Obviously there'd be a huge tilt towards Christmas/MLK/President's Day/Spring Break though, so I'm guessing it's not crazy to assume a peak of 30,000+ skiers on the busy days?

 

[Talisman]

I'm not that familiar with the stats, but how does this compare?

Vail claims 1.6 million visitors per year. At 150 days in the ski season, that's roughly 11,000 skiers per day. Obviously there'd be a huge tilt towards Christmas/MLK/President's Day/Spring Break though, so I'm guessing it's not crazy to assume a peak of 30,000+ skiers on the busy days?

Vail will sell ~27K tickets on a busy day Christmas week with about half of the BS acreage. Likely this past December set a new record for BS but the previous record was 7K. The main base lifts like the Ramcharger, Swifty & Six Shooter will have lines on a busy day, but nothing like Summit County on Christmas week.

 

[dbostedo]

Vail will sell ~27K tickets on a busy day Christmas week with about half of the BS acreage. Likely this past December set a new record for BS but the previous record was 7K. The main base lifts like the Ramcharger, Swifty & Six Shooter will have lines on a busy day, but nothing like Summit County on Christmas week.

Vail has about 90% of BS's acreage in total... are you saying that by Christmas, Big Sky usually has about double the area open that Vail does? Just curious, as that would surprise me.

 

[Talisman]

Vail has about 90% of BS's acreage in total... are you saying that by Christmas, Big Sky usually has about double the area open that Vail does? Just curious, as that would surprise me.

I wasn't clear and you are correct. BS happened to have more open terrain than Vail during Christmas week.

 

[focker]

Looking at heading to Bridger Bowl next season with the wife and 2 kids. We'll most likely ski 2-3 days at Bridger and 1 at Big Sky due to $$.

Then I had someone tell me you can get super discounted tickets to Big Sky by taking the tour of Montana State? Anyone know anything about this? Apparently if you take this tour you can get some sort of reduced price or discounted tickets.

Couple questions. Would Big Sky be worth only doing 1 day? We'd likely have a condo in Bozeman. My family enjoys groomers (Racing kids), exploring and tree skiing. Very little powder skiing experience outside of me personally.

 

[skidrew]

Couple questions. Would Big Sky be worth only doing 1 day? We'd likely have a condo in Bozeman. My family enjoys groomers (Racing kids), exploring and tree skiing. Very little powder skiing experience outside of me personally.

1 day at Big Sky is better than none! Realizing it's expensive, you can certainly get a very good taste in one day. Plenty of terrain available from the base area lifts, especially in the groomer/racing (intermediate runs off Ramcharger would fit the bill).

It's a bit over an hour from Bozeman, but the drive is beautiful so you get that benefit as well. Also, Big Sky now has dynamic ticket pricing, so if you're in the area for 3-4 days you can see if one of the days is cheaper than others and go for that.

 

[BS Slarver]

I’m hearing rumors that bigsky is full and Vail is much better

 

[focker]

1 day at Big Sky is better than none! Realizing it's expensive, you can certainly get a very good taste in one day. Plenty of terrain available from the base area lifts, especially in the groomer/racing (intermediate runs off Ramcharger would fit the bill).

It's a bit over an hour from Bozeman, but the drive is beautiful so you get that benefit as well. Also, Big Sky now has dynamic ticket pricing, so if you're in the area for 3-4 days you can see if one of the days is cheaper than others and go for that.

If I had the choice (or money) I'd most like to do 2 days at Bridger and 2 days at Big Sky to get a real taste of each. I'd image 2 days there won't even get us over to Moonlight basin area though. Andersite looks like it could be a full day endeavor all by itself.

 

[James]

Big Sky is very easy to navigate. Likely you'd eliminate Lone Peak if you're mainly into groomers and only have 1 day. The top isn't a place to stand around sight seeing. Unless they changed things recently. Definitely should go over to Andesite to do that large groomer left side on the map. You should try to go to the lodge at Moonlight even if only for a rest stop.

 

[SShore]

Would Big Sky be worth only doing 1 day? We'd likely have a condo in Bozeman. My family enjoys groomers (Racing kids), exploring and tree skiing. Very little powder skiing experience outside of me personally.

If groomers are you thing, Big Sky is a much better option than Bridger. For one thing it is so much larger and there are groomers off every persuasion (save Sun Valley style 3,000 plus vertical constant pitch variety), while the groomers at Bridger are somewhat limited. If you are lucky enough to hit a snowy week, a lot at Big Sky will still be groomed, while very little at Bridger may be.

 

[focker]

If groomers are you thing, Big Sky is a much better option than Bridger. For one thing it is so much larger and there are groomers off every persuasion (save Sun Valley style 3,000 plus vertical constant pitch variety), while the groomers at Bridger are somewhat limited. If you are lucky enough to hit a snowy week, a lot at Big Sky will still be groomed, while very little at Bridger may be.

Agreed. One look at the trail map for Bridger shows that off piste is the main option, but I personally love that and want to get my kids more into it. North Bowl looks amazing for example. There are enough groomers there to keep us entertained once our legs get tired from glade skiing. We might end up doing 2 days at BB and 1-2 days at Big Sky as I mentioned. That would be about perfect. Day off in between in Yellowstone.

 

[Talisman]

You should try to go to the lodge at Moonlight even if only for a rest stop.

Just managing expectations, the Moonlight Lodge is now 100% private unless you are member. The Madison "lodge" that is still open to the public isn't memorable but can make an easier start to the day if parking closer to the lifts and not having to walk through the Big Sky base is better for you.

If skiing BS for a day and want groomers develop a plan for the day versus aimlessly skiing side ways on traverses. Rule out Dakota and Sheddy. If you start at the main base hammer Swifty, Thunderwolf, Southern Comfort and Ramcharger until the groomers aren't to your liking. A few laps off of of the Powder Seeker if it isn't too cloudy and if you have legs migrate to Moonlight and do a few laps off of Sixshooter & Lone Tree groomers, work back to the base area and you will have done a lot of skiing. Hard to resist a tram ride and a look around the summit but that can kill 90 minutes of waiting to go up and then come down (no groomers off the summit).

I haven't been to Bridger in a few years and hear the parking fills up quickly on weekends and I don't know if more of the trails get groomed now. Bridger is lower in elevation than BS and the snow can get crusty if the valley has had a warm up.

 

[James]

the Moonlight Lodge is now 100% private unless you are member. T

Noooooo!......
Can't say I'm surprised, but that blows.

 

[Rio]

My pass is at Bridger Bowl. Bridger has enough groomers to keep most visitors amused for a few days. (Many people come here for spring break & never venture off the groomers for a week.) It also has a lot of intermediate off-piste off Alpine Chair and Powder Park Chair. Parking is a problem on powder days & weekends but not if you are there by 9:00.

Big Sky is expensive but its also huge and has a totally different feel. Its definitely worth a day or two. There are way more opportunities for high-speed cruising at Big Sky. The drive is anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes depending on where you are staying in Bozeman and road conditions. You have to add in another 10 to 20 minutes for the shuttle from the parking lot to the main area.

As for snow comparison, Bridger Bowl is mainly east-north-east facing so it's snow holds up well. Big Sky has exposures almost every direction and a greater range of elevation. You can almost always find some soft snow there but sometimes it takes a long time to figure out where it is. I really don't think snow quality is a factor between the two areas unless you know the mountains well.

 

[Talisman]

Noooooo!......
Can't say I'm surprised, but that blows.

That lodge was a little too deluxe, but when Moonlight was a separate area and I was in Bozeman that was where I liked to park so I could ski back to the car. The thinking by the resort is Everett's is the deluxe dining option for the masses now.

 

[focker]

My pass is at Bridger Bowl. Bridger has enough groomers to keep most visitors amused for a few days. (Many people come here for spring break & never venture off the groomers for a week.) It also has a lot of intermediate off-piste off Alpine Chair and Powder Park Chair. Parking is a problem on powder days & weekends but not if you are there by 9:00.

Big Sky is expensive but its also huge and has a totally different feel. Its definitely worth a day or two. There are way more opportunities for high-speed cruising at Big Sky. The drive is anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes depending on where you are staying in Bozeman and road conditions. You have to add in another 10 to 20 minutes for the shuttle from the parking lot to the main area.

As for snow comparison, Bridger Bowl is mainly east-north-east facing so it's snow holds up well. Big Sky has exposures almost every direction and a greater range of elevation. You can almost always find some soft snow there but sometimes it takes a long time to figure out where it is. I really don't think snow quality is a factor between the two areas unless you know the mountains well.

Great info. Thanks much!

 

[Rio]

Another advantage of Bridger is, if given enough notice, I usually can meet up on a Saturday or Sunday (and sometimes during the week) to give my infamous 10 cent tour of Bridger complete with hints on where to find the good snow during your stay.