Day 20 - Got 5-7 Inches of New Overnight!

The 5 inches of new overnight has made the whole hill skiable again! It also made the roads very slick for the drive up to the hill, today. I saw two accidents, one involved a car flipping up onto it's side and the other accident just slid it's front end into the ditch. It was a super slow, safe, 40 mph wagon train all the way up to the hill. "Better safe than sorry," was the motto for both on the hill, as well as on the way to and from the hill!

I once again had great timing with the opening of Slushman's lift. Got an early start and had run after run on Slushman's skiing the fresh. A bit of a crunchy base under the new snow, but it was amazing how good it skied just 24 hours after being confined to the groomers the day before. The top of every chair was in a cloud thick as pea soup. Visibility got better and better as I descended each run. Slushman's was so fun, each time I came back to get into line, there was no line to get into! I was calling it, "The line that never formed!" After 6 back to back Slushman's runs, I was happy and tired enough to head on home. Ben and I have a wood working project to work on so I am very happy to have had a great early morning on the slopes in the powder and then home to spend some precious time with my boys.

Next weekend, is the last weekend. I have Saladin and Samia visiting us next weekend from Hamilton, so today was the last day of The 2010-2011 Bridger Bowl Season! Skiing 20 days is a good season and getting to go to Mexico, Maui and to Disney World, really made for a memorable 2010 - 2011 Ski Season on and off the hill! Now I can look forward to Blogging my Mountain Biking, Hiking and Canoeing season! The Seasonal Snowfall total for the year was 327" (27 feet) and the hill will close with 115" inches of settled snow on the ground.

Day 19 - A Groomer Day at B-Bowl

Today the snow is just set up like frozen mashed potatoes. To thick to manage, so to ski safe, one must be happy and enjoy the Groomed runs. Saw Becky and Matt Stricker in the DP Lodge. They agreed, exercise on the groomers was the plan. I skied for 2 . 5 hours and then visited Lil' Deb at the Silver Forest Inn.

I got to visit with Dana Daniels, the Comedic Magician, we had just seen as a family the night before, at the Ellen Theater. He and his comedic partner, Dick Hardwick, stayed at the Silver Forest Inn for a few days while putting on several shows all weekend. They had both been working at Disney Land for many years and had tons of material, 80% of which my boys had memorized and performed on the way home from the theater.

I took a few pix on the way up to the hill. The big Green has not happened yet, so my pix taken in town are showing the Brown foliage from last year. It is very common in Montana for the Initials for the Town or the name of the college or high school to be noted on a mountain side for all to see. We have a giant"M" for Montana State University on the mountain side which is also a very popular trailhead. I also stopped at my favorite field that I have often photographed to get some winter shots. I'd like to have photos of this area in each of our 4 seasons. Then I'd like to frame them and show them at my office as a seasonal gallery for my patient's to enjoy.

Day 18 - 5 New Inches overnight and pure sunshine!

I was up early on the hill this morning. With 5 inches of new snow, and needing to leave by noon, I was up early and in line with Pam and Turk this morning! First run was a Shack to Shack run and then down Sluice Box and back to Bridger. Totally untracked the whole way. 2nd run was over to Avalanche Gulch and got the right side untracked then over to Test Face. Someone got the middle line but my favorite, left side was deep and fresh! Caught the lower North Whirlpool untracked all the way by "Big Tree" and back to Bridger Chair. Skied the North Bowl by DRCS and got more untracked into Snow Job and the Nook. Powder Park on down to the Bridger/PK road. PK had no crowds and it was getting close to when Slushman's might open, so I did a Family Chute and a Gary One, South Bowl shot. Slushman's opened right on time and I was able to get three runs of untracked on Slushman's before the line began forming. Skied left side of Mundy's Bowl twice and then right under the chair into Slushman's Gully along the South Boundary line for more linked, untracked turns. The best 2.5 hours I could have had and then headed on home for some family time with Ben and Arlen. I did not have any time to stop and take pix today, so the pix posted were from yesterday. I have had an amazing quality skiing experience this season. When I wasn't able to ski, I have been to Mexico, Maui and to Florida. I really love palm trees, when I can't be skiing! It's great to be home!

Day 17 - Got back from Disney World last night, so at the hill today!

I got my GNFAC avalanche report everyday I was in Disney World, so I knew the skiing was going to be great today. Bridger has had 13 inches in the past 24 hours and I am ready to go up to the hill and ski some of the leftovers. The sky is so blue and the sun is out, making for perfect visibility. I skied the North Bowl, the Nook and Snow job. Snow is soft and very forgiving. Once I skied up Bridger Chair and PK, I decided to explore the trees below Bradley's. I usually get about 20 - 25 turns on Bradley's and have been getting 40-60 turns in the trees below Bradley's so... My Idea is to hike up the boot track trail just high enough to get the tree shots and then to hike Bradley's later to get some more turns. It turned out to be a great idea. I hiked just to the spot where the young people do their jumps and it turns out to be right where the untracked tree runs begin. I never crossed a track the whole way to the back boundary road! I went back and did it again, still not crossing a single track the whole way. I counted 56 turns in a row! My third time over that way, I did put on my skins and this time I skinned up above Bradley's, about a fourth of the way of the Ramp. Just high enough to ski the right side of the Lower Ramp, which was totally untracked and deeper than 12 inches, somehow. I then skied Bradley's and the trees below, almost missing the traverse back to the boundary road, with my enthusiasm for so many untracked turns. Once again, long untracked runs were the theme of the day!

Day 16 - 3 Inches New Snow Overnight on Top of 8 inches from Yesterday!

Andy called me last night saying he would be up with Jeff Blend from Helena. We made plans to meet at the bottom of Bridger at 10 AM and/or 11 AM. I got up to the hill nice and early getting first runs down Bridger Lift line and into the Nook. The visibility is improving with each run, wish I had brought my better camera. The Olympus will do just fine. Avalanche Gulch skied so well and Test Face was totally untracked when I got to it. Lower Avalanche Gulch and the Whirlpools were so deep! This snow is very light, seems to have dried out overnight! I decided to head over to PK at 9:45 to see if Slushman's might open, I heard some loud booms earlier as they did avalanche control work. Sure enough, they just flipped the sign and over to Slushman's I must go. I'll ski it till 11 am and will catch up with Andy and Jeff. I did 3 runs on Slushman's having untracked the whole way from top to bottom! My first and second runs down Slushman's, I can say were in my top 10 list of lift serviced terrain. Sunshine came out, snow was deep and untracked. I felt strong and really got in a nice rhythm, making a sine wave down the mountain! I had time for a Bridger run before meeting with Andy and Jeff. It turned out we were all on time and met going up Bridger Chair for our first run together. Bridger Bowl skied so well with the perfect visibility and all the deep, soft snow. We skied, had a snack in the DP Lodge and had a great time together until 1 PM, when they had to leave. I headed up Bridger Chair and skied a few more runs and then took the 3 Bears Traverse to the top of Alpine. The Traverse was so fast and fun with all the deep snow. I put on my skins and hiked up to Bradley's Meadow. Hardly any tracks, so I stopped at the top of my run and had some snacks, water and took a couple pix. I planned to ski the same run through the trees as I did yesterday. It was just as untracked as yesterday, only deeper and I actually got so jazzed that I missed the traverse to the boundary and got to cut my own traverse for a couple minutes! I did the "Longest Run" and had such a great, untracked run all the way to the bottom of the hill, I decided to ride the Quad and Alpine to go and do it all over again! I really believe I skied more untracked snow today, without crossing another track, than I ever have before at Bridger Bowl. This day will be in the memory banks for a long time and perhaps on this Blog for even longer! Ha, Ha!

I stopped at the Silver Forest Inn on my way home to get some info to Lil' Deb. http://www.silverforestinn.com/

She was not there so I just tok some pix and left her a note. No skiing next weekend, will be in Disney World for a week! Next Ski Days will be the 19th and 20th of March!

Day 15 - Afternoon New Snow

I waited for Arlen and Ben to come home from Acting Class with Tina Buckingham to go skiing. When they got home they had some of their acting buddy's with them so I headed up to the hill myself to get 2 hours of exercise. It began dumping when I got there, I mean the snow was pouring out of the sky. I had to shake the snow off me 3 -4 times each chairlift ride! I skied very hard in bounds enjoying each run getting deeper than the previous run. I made the very last chair up Bridger Lift and headed my way over to the Top of Alpine taking the 3 Bears Traverse. I had a great skin up Bradley's with what looks like 8 - 10 inches of fresh untracked snow all over the place. Just as I got my skins off, Rick Ladsinski, Turk and another Gary all showed up. We gathered before skiing our last run together. One by one, we tore up the new snow on Bradley's Meadow and then headed into the untracked forest below. Totally untracked, not even crossing another track we did the "longest run" by hitting a bunch of secret spots on our way down the hill - all were totally untracked! Five of us, just flying through the trees, was such a great feeling and such a great time. It was "side country" skiing at it's best! It was after 5PM when we got to our cars for the drive home to town. Tonight, should bring 2-4 inches more before tomorrow morning. It will be a great day to try for first chair!

Day 14 - Blue Sky Sunny Day, 3 inches of New, Overnight.

With 3 inches of new snow last night, I had a great day of skiing by myself today. Skied Bradley's Meadow again. The trees below were exceptionally untracked and with the sun shine, it was a fantastic time. I looked for Peter Soper and Charlie but no luck as of yet. I have a feeling he will give me a call tonight and I will get a chance to visit with him before he goes to Canada for his Speed Skiing Competition.