okay, first of all. i hope you are all finding this, and reading it. but also, look at the comments. ted stiener has been adding some very important information, including a youtube clip. although the snow is getting deeper and more fun, we have a seriously BAD snowpack, that needs to be treated with respect and care. i cannot over emphasize this! besides teds reports, i have talked with others, and searched around a bit myself. the november 28th ice layer is still around, and likely will be for the year. below it is nothing but faceted crap. it is BAD. did i already say that. well, it cannot be said enough. okay, enough lecturing. it is just too bad.
thanks to jon p and tedshred for signing up and writing comments. let's all get in on this and get the info out there.
skiing here does continue to get better, and hopefully we will see some more inbounds terrain open up on a daily basis. the weather continues to look good, although perhaps a bit too warm mid week. this of course could create a massive slide cycle.
at least the wind did not hit the high country. how is that possible? has anyone been into the middle fork, or the jewel, and if so, what have you seen and could you comment, please? here is some info from ted and gallatin.
so, parking at the Big. another year of bullshit. just got off the phone. $175 buys you a pass to the cedar lot. this is the middle lot, one below the bierstube. the birch lot, the one adjoining the bierstube is sold out. but $175? that is 35 days. not something really worth considering, in my opinion. on saturday, i arrived at the mountain at noon. there were 9 (yes that is a single digit number) cars in the cedar lot. what a f-ing joke. compare to oh, say fernie. they have tons of free, great access parking. and parking lot attendants, making sure the space is being used efficiently. (by the way, rumor has it they did not get the november 28th rain layer). or maybe compare it to the ice rink. like the ski area, you can buy a season pass, or pay daily, or buy a punch card. but pay for parking? no, of course not. so once again about 400 users will try to pack into the lower lot, that can safely hold maybe 100 cars. so how many locals have to get subjected to riding up chair six. and do any of us really use that lodge or those base facilities? no, of course not. they are for tourists. so let them park there, and let us park where we always did. but it will not be. apparently foley and his legions need the extra $15-20000 that they get from parking thru the winter. i am sure this makes their books profitable. not.
just took a look at the weather. getting warm, with chance of rain in town, but most likely snow in the hills. this should help consolidate the snowpack, and maybe bring in an avy cycle. which could be what we need. but an avy cycle does not mean something is then safe for the rest of the year. the facets junk can remain. but it should really help the inbounds skiing. see you up or out there.
Avalanche Warning
MTZ015-055-141230-
AVALANCHE WARNING
GALLATIN NATIONAL FOREST AVALANCHE CENTER
RELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
..Our snowpacks are not that different with the main difference being SW Montana has a bit more snow... But I am sure you saw (I hope you did) as I did that the slab that broke off in the Hyalite You Tube accident clip that the slab was maybe 2' thick at the most... We're setup for a very tender situation... Anyway, thought you would like to see this- Ted.
523 AM MST SUN DEC 13 2009
THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE
GALLATIN NATIONAL FOREST AVALANCHE CENTER.
ISSUED ON DECEMBER 13 2009 AT 05:04 AM
THE GALLATIN NATIONAL FOREST AVALANCHE CENTER IS ISSUING A
BACKCOUNTRY AVALANCHE WARNING FOR THE SOUTHERN GALLATIN AND
SOUTHERN MADISON RANGES, THE LIONHEAD AREA NEAR WEST YELLOWSTONE,
THE MOUNTAINS AROUND COOKE CITY AND THE WASHBURN RANGE IN NORTHERN
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. NEW SNOW OVER THE LAST 24 HOURS WAS
DEPOSITED ON AN EXTREMELY WEAK SNOWPACK. TODAY THE AVALANCHE
DANGER IS HIGH ON ALL SLOPES. AREAS OF UNSTABLE SNOW EXIST.
NATURAL AND HUMAN TRIGGERED AVALANCHES ARE LIKELY. AVALANCHE
TERRAIN INCLUDING AVALANCHE RUNOUT ZONES SHOULD BE AVOIDED.
YOU ARE URGED TO CALL THE GALLATIN NATIONAL FOREST AVALANCHE
ADVISORY FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION AT 406-587-6981 OR LOG
ONTO THEIR WEBSITE AT WWW.MTAVALANCHE.COM
THIS WARNING WILL EITHER BE TERMINATED OR UPDATED BY 6:30 AM ON
DECEMBER 14, 2009
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Hey Chris - My personal thoughts: I agree it is lame to charge for Cedar lot and they should open it to the public after some later hour, but if you arrive at noon on a Saturday it's hard to expect rock star parking.
ReplyDeleteThe Base Lodge is not just for tourists. It is an amazing facility for local families, probably more so than tourists. I really don't find riding chair 6 to be that big a deal. IT's a quick trip. The layout of the mountain base is screwy due to topography but that's how it is.
It is important to remember how fortunate we are to have had an infusion of cash from Mr. Foley and others. Big Mountain could be in a real world of hurt if that had not happened. No new lodge. No new lifts. A possibly bleak future. There are many ski areas suffering these days or closed. We are really lucky.