As soon as we left Jackson, it started snowing hard, and didn’t let up until we were about 10 miles from Big Sky. Bummer. It looked like the next day wasn’t going to be so great. When we finally showed up at the mountain, we found out that it had snowed 9” in the last two days, and most of it was untracked. Now that’s what I like to hear! We skied a few runs of great powder halfway up the mountain, but above us was Lone Peak and the tram going right up to the top. Staring at us the whole time was a run called simply “the Big Couloir.” It is about 1000 vertical feet long and 40 degrees the whole way. In order to ski it, you have to sign out with the ski patrol, who only lets two people go every 15 minutes. You also have to carry a shovel, probe and beacon and know how to use them. That’s awesome! Nate and I signed up as soon as we got to the top of the tram. When we dropped in, we found powder all the way to the bottom. It’s an intimidating run to drop into, especially the first time, because once you’re in there’s no turning back. You could probably hike back out, but that would not only be really hard, but everyone waiting in line for the tram would heckle you like crazy. Thankfully, the run wasn’t above either of our skill levels, and we both made it down in one piece. Once at the bottom, we both agreed: the best run of the year and one of the best runs of each of our lives. Over the next two days, we skied it three times.
We did also ski the rest of the mountain, and it’s now high on my list of places to return to. The powder lasted for two days (unlike Colorado, where it’s gone by 11 am) and there were all kinds of fun/scary lines to ski. There isn’t much of a town there, and we slept in a pullout outside town, but with a mountain that good neither of us cared!