Big Mountain vs. ???
Greetings.
My wife and I are considering a trip to Big Mountain in mid February, and I have a few questions. Is there enough there to keep us interested for six days of skiing? We are upper-intermediates in our mid-forties. We enjoy everything up through easier blacks, and would like to get some more powder experience. Long cruisers with decent pitch (think Snowmass) are a joy. Does it have the potential to be intolerably cold? I don't mind zero or five below, but -15 with a wind might be a bit tough! For lodging, I'm considering the Alpinglow Inn which appears to meet my criteria of moderate price, ski-in/ski-out, and outdoor hot-tub. Is this accurate? Any other suggestions? How's the nighlife? It's a more minor consideration. We like to hit a few good restaurants and bars, but no major partying. Any and all advice would be appreciated, including suggestions of other places to go. We want to go somewhere without long lift lines (think Vail) and with Rocky-Mountain snow, and we want to try someplace we haven't been before. The only other place we're seriously considering right now is Steamboat. For background, our favorite places (that we've been, anyway) are Snowmass, Alta, and Snowbird. We've also been to Vail, Beaver, Highlands, PCMR, Canyons, Deer Valley, Lake Louise, and Sunshine. Vail's terrain would have put it on the favorite list, but the crowds are ridiculous. Park City also has a lot of the kinds of runs we like, but the snow wasn't very good when we were there. Thanks again for any help! Mark |
Mark wrote:
Greetings. My wife and I are considering a trip to Big Mountain in mid February, and I have a few questions. Is there enough there to keep us interested for six days of skiing? My wife and I have been there twice, and we'd like to go back again. We had no problem with boredom over a week. The terrain is decent and varied, the snow is very good when it's fresh, the crowds are nonexistant, the village is pleasant and convenient. The weather can be gloomy, though. If you don't mind not seeing the Sun for a few days, you'll do fine. Bring balaclavas, they're essential on crummy weather days. Does it have the potential to be intolerably cold? I don't mind zero or five below, but -15 with a wind might be a bit tough! Cold snaps are rare at Big Mountain, but they can happen. The same is true for any area in the Rockies. For lodging, I'm considering the Alpinglow Inn which appears to meet my criteria of moderate price, ski-in/ski-out, and outdoor hot-tub. Is this accurate? Any other suggestions? A decent hotel with an excellent location. How's the nighlife? It's a more minor consideration. We like to hit a few good restaurants and bars, but no major partying. In the village, I suggest the Hellroaring Saloon. It's right next to your hotel. Plenty of dinner choices in Whitefish, too. Some photos from our Big Mountain trips: http://ski.terrymorse.com/trip/bigmtn0201/index.html http://ski.terrymorse.com/trip/bigmtn0104/ The village has been built up since we were there, so you probably have more dinner/drinking options now. -- terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://ski.terrymorse.com/ |
"Mark" wrote in message
... Greetings. My wife and I are considering a trip to Big Mountain in mid February, and I have a few questions. Is there enough there to keep us interested for six days of skiing? Easily. There's enough to get you into real trouble if you want. We are upper-intermediates in our mid-forties. We enjoy everything up through easier blacks, and would like to get some more powder experience. I showed up there with maybe two feet of fresh in the lot, there wasn't *anybody* in the lot until maybe eleven. They all had to work, you know. Now, it *was* a weekday. Long cruisers with decent pitch (think Snowmass) are a joy. Good choice. Does it have the potential to be intolerably cold? No. Not often anyway. I don't mind zero or five below, but -15 with a wind might be a bit tough! For lodging, I'm considering the Alpinglow Inn which appears to meet my criteria of moderate price, ski-in/ski-out, and outdoor hot-tub. Is this accurate? Any other suggestions? Don't know. Don't remember. The town is right down the road from the mountain. If you're driving, it's all a non issue, that little town is a *great* ski town, and there's a bigger one ten miles from that. How's the nighlife? It's a more minor consideration. We like to hit a few good restaurants and bars, but no major partying. See above. There's a bunch of things to do. Any and all advice would be appreciated, including suggestions of other places to go. We want to go somewhere without long lift lines (think Vail) Huh? and with Rocky-Mountain snow, Yep, maybe even lighter. and we want to try someplace we haven't been before. The only other place we're seriously considering right now is Steamboat. There's *nobody* in Montana. One million people in the whole state. The state is Huge. The rockies are only half of it. For background, our favorite places (that we've been, anyway) are Snowmass, Alta, and Snowbird. We've also been to Vail, Beaver, Highlands, PCMR, Canyons, Deer Valley, Lake Louise, and Sunshine. Vail's terrain would have put it on the favorite list, but the crowds are ridiculous. Park City also has a lot of the kinds of runs we like, but the snow wasn't very good when we were there. You could also have a giggle at Blacktail, I think it is. It's a more intermediate area, good beginner trees, lots of cruisies, could be fun for a day or so as well. It's maybe twenty miles from Big Mountain. The employess aren't allowed to take the fresh pow until noon. Thanks again for any help! Mark HTH. |
"foot2foot" wrote in message ... "Mark" wrote in message ... (snip) I agree with everything f2f said. For lodging, I'm considering the Alpinglow Inn which appears to meet my criteria of moderate price, ski-in/ski-out, and outdoor hot-tub. Is this accurate? Any other suggestions? Yes, it is accurate, it is right next to the lift. Has a sauna and resturant too. Don't know. Don't remember. The town is right down the road from the mountain. If you're driving, it's all a non issue, that little town is a *great* ski town, and there's a bigger one ten miles from that. How's the nighlife? It's a more minor consideration. We like to hit a few good restaurants and bars, but no major partying. There's no real night life on the mountain unless they reopened the bar with the bucking horse/bull. In town there are a few bars and one with pool tables, there are a few decent resturants in town too. See above. There's a bunch of things to do. Any and all advice would be appreciated, including suggestions of other places to go. We want to go somewhere without long lift lines (think Vail) Big Mountain is a great place to ski, don't under estimate the difficulty of their blue runs. Keep a copy of their trail map so you don't end up were yo don't want to be or over your head. It can get very foggy there too. If it is a clear day the site from the summit looking into Glacier National Park can be one of the most beautiful sites you will ever see, well worth the trip. JQ Dancing on the edge (snip) |
Thanks very much to Terry, F2F, and JQ for the three helpful replies.
We're convinced - I've booked the trip. We'll be at the Alpinglow from 2/5 - 2/12. Mark On Fri, 3 Dec 2004 01:41:16 -0500, "JQ" wrote: "foot2foot" wrote in message ... (snip) |
Terry Morse wrote:
http://ski.terrymorse.com/trip/bigmtn0201/index.html http://ski.terrymorse.com/trip/bigmtn0104/ Great pics, Terry! What type of camera do you use? Eviel |
"Eviel Dewar" wrote:
Great pics, Terry! What type of camera do you use? Thanks! Um, I think those Big Mountain photos were taken with an Olympus D-460 camera. That camera took an unfortunate trip to the pavement on a bike ride last year, so now I use a Canon Digital Elph. I like the Canon even more. It starts up faster, it has triple the pixel resolution, and it's smaller. I took last January's Tioga Pass photos with the Canon: http://ski.terrymorse.com/trip/tpr0401/index.html Although it's hard to tell the difference on a web page, the Canon photos look much better as 8 x 10 prints. -- terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://ski.terrymorse.com/ |
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