Here We Go!!

Just got word that the Griz chair is going to run Tomorrow and Sunday!  Remember, early season conditions will exist; please respect any and all closures.  Also, this probably is not the weekend to go ride on that brand new pair of skis or brand new board; let Ullr bless us with a bit more of the white fluff first.

See you out there!

Let the fun begin!

Lookout Pass is open today and this weekend...here is a look at their conditions.

Lost Trail is reporting 15" of snow on the ground, Discovery says they have 12" on the ground up top and 8" at the base, and Snowbowl is reporting 14"up top and 8" at the base.

I also got word that Lolo Pass has some skiable spots (24" on the beargrass) that may be worth checking out too. As always, ski and ride with care; early season conditions are in full effect!

Groomer

November 17th, 2011 Special tasting of Groomer
The debut of Bayern's new beer 'Groomer" to celebrate the Bowl's fiftieth anniversary.
4-6 pm at Bayern Brewery

Winter is coming fast.

Looks like Mother Nature is serving up a big heaping load of early season snow for us here in west central Montana. SNOTEL sites are recording in the double digits: http://www.missoulaavalanche.org/2011/11/november-13-2011-update/

Remember, if it's steep enough and deep enough to ski, it can avalanche!

Please be aware during these early winter months. Now would be a great time to look into taking an avalanche class to learn something new or to refresh what you may already know. We all get a bit rusty during the off-season.

Really? You can go to jail for that?

Just came across this article on Lou Dawson's blog (wildsnow.com) and thought I'd share. Food for thought; what do you think?

http://www.wildsnow.com/6084/avalanche-death-conviction/

And So It Begins

Just saw on the interwebs that Wolf Creek ski area in Colorado will be open tomorrow! That's right, according to their website they just picked up 36" from a recent storm.

Check out their website...

And their webcam...and

Pray for snow!

It's that time of year again...

I'm not sure about you but as soon as the weather starts to cool off and the rain becomes more frequent; as the wildfires begin to flicker out and the smoke clears out of the air in the valley; I find myself gazing toward Snowbowl more often. I can't help myself, I keep thinking about all the snow that has yet to start flying. My mind wanders back to seasons past and I begin to feel a sense of giddyness that typically happens with the anticipation of floating effortlessly through the latest offering from Ullr; when you feel snow flying into your face and coating the inside of your collar.

It's almost Winter!

Ullr smiled on us last season...he was pleased with the scent of Burning Dog and the collective energy of a few hundred hardcore skiers and boarders rallying around a fire at Big Sky Brewing Co. watching gratuitous powder scenes presented by none other than the Powderwhores themselves. Does this time of year get any better? Only when it starts snowing, I guess.

What are your goals for this winter? Will you sign up for the next harder level of lessons? Learn more about back country travel? Purchase your first transceiver, probe, and shovel (and learn how to use them)? Will you ski steeper lines, drop bigger cliffs? Or will you teach the next generation about your love of the lifestyle and take your kid(s) skiing for the first time?

I call it a lifestyle because for so many of us, skiing is so much more than a "sport" or an "activity." We are not only skiers when there is snow on the ground, we find ourselves looking at possible skiable lines in the middle of summer. We skip down trails thinking about skiing a line of moguls. When we are inundated with smoke from wildfires and the temperature is topping 95 degrees, we daydream about that one incredibly deep day last season and feel a shiver. Skiing gets into you mind, heart, and soul. It helps us identify ourselves and connects us to other like-minded individuals who share our passion for this lifestyle.

I'm a skier.

Season Closer

I hate to admit it but this season is almost over. Bummer. So, to honor the 2010/2011 season, I feel like we should do a quick recap. Lets see...

Earliest opening I can remember. Only E. Bowl, W. Bowl, and Griz Chute are closed on opening day; everything else is open. Lift evacs. Snow, snow, more snow. Holiday season. More snow. Post holiday skiing, more snow. Late searches and off area avalanches. Snowmobile craps out. Lift evacs, more snow. Getting close to spring...oh, right, more snow. Mid week dumps, more snow! Weather warming up? Nope, more snow. February snow depth at the top of the mountain: 110"...and counting! More snow. Wind events...then more snow. Warmer weather finally. Sunshine! And finally we are approaching the last weekend of operations for the season (two extra weekends of bonus skiing). Forecast...you guessed it, more snow!

This has been a pretty awesome snow year for us here in Missoula. It's a good thing Ullr was paying attention when we burned the effigy of the dog at the brewery in the fall. We head into the close of lift accessed skiing with over 110" of base at the top of the mountain which is somewhere in the area of 170% of normal snowpack for this time of year. Spring back country laps are going to be more pow than corn and runoff looks like it's going to be epic!

Thanks to all of the Bowlheads for a great season. Thanks Brad and Ronnie; the lifties, Pat and all of the maintenance guys who make a great season like this possible. Thanks Garland and friends in the Last Run Inn for keeping us thoroughly hydrated this season.

Thank you Snowbowl!

(did I miss anything/anyone?)

Think First!

Yes, I agree...lift evacuations suck! It is not fun for skiing public to be stuck on the lift nor is it an enjoyable task for patrol to rope everyone down. Yesterday the Griz chair stopped running for about an hour and we got to evacuating everyone as soon as we got the call. On my way hiking from the bottom with my rope team, I got to about tower 3 when what did I see with my own two eyes? I watched two skiers jump from their chair! It looked like maybe a father and (young) son team.

To everyone who reads this post, please read carefully. Jumping from the chair is not only stupid, it is also potentially dangerous! When the stopped chairs are suddenly unweighted, they spring back up and swing pretty wildly. This swinging-bouncing combination can derail the lift. So, to the father-son daredevils...please exercise common sense and patience in the future! you could have injured yourselves in the fall you took (which would have taken several patrollers away from getting everyone else off the lift) OR, you could have derailed the lift and potentially injured yourselves AND the 8 or so other skiers on your stretch of cable; thus leading to what we call a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) similar to the lift derail that recently happened in Maine.

Please, exercise patience and restraint. We appreciate your patience!

It's Been a While...

So, it's been some time since I last posted anything. Sorry about that.

There is tons of snow up at the Bowl. Last I looked, they were reporting a base of 109"! Skiing is great and looks like the temperature is going to warm up. Hopefully this will help stabilize the new load of snow we received earlier this week. The avalanche center is still reporting the avalanche hazard as Considerable in the high country so please continue to exercise caution in your travels.

This weekend we will be wrapping up our NSP Level I avalanche class with some snow pit analysis, transceiver practice, and a mock avalanche scenario. Shouldn't be too hard to find a debris pile in the meadows on Saturday; the Pros got a lot of slabs to rip out with their control work.

Anyway, have fun out there playing in all the snow that Ullr has treated us with this year.