New Year's Eve Bash - Explore Big Sky

Word from the reSortS
big sky resort
Big Sky
By greer SChott
big sky resort
Big Sky Resort has been opening more terrain as the
season progresses, and the slopes are skiing great.
Even without a lot of fresh powder, the resort has
opened over 700 acres and the snow has stayed
soft—just take a few turns in the Bowl and you’ll see
for yourself.
Come check out what’s new in the Mountain Village.
The Solace Spa and Salon, a new 3,000 square
foot spa with seven treatment rooms, men’s and
ladies locker rooms, and full salon services including
hair and nails, will open this weekend. Two new
shops are open in the Village Center—CR.eations
yarn shop and the Willow women’s boutique.
New digital on-mountain signs now make it easier
to navigate the mountain, and as more terrain opens
skiers can check out five new gladed runs on Andesite.
Big Sky Resort has also opened a new winter
laser tag course—sign up for a game in basecamp.
Big Sky is excited for the upcoming season with
great holiday and winter events. Christmas and New
Years will be action-packed with food, live entertainment,
and special events like fireworks and skiing
with Santa. Check out bigskyresort.com/events
for complete details as well as January events like
SnoBar, an on-mountain party with a bar and dance
floor completely made of snow.
lone Mountain ranch
Big Sky
Lone Mountain Ranch’s nordic trails, outdoor
shop, sleigh rides and dining room opened in mid-
December.
New this year is a lower priced day trail pass at
$18. Also, the ranch will offer a day sleigh ride
with a bonfire, hot chocolate and cookies. Nordic
ski lessons and wildlife tours into Yellowstone will
also be available.
The ranch’s new executive chef and food and
beverage director, Bill Baskin, has returned to
Big Sky with his wife after a 10 year hiatus. The
dining room and saloon are open Monday through
Saturday for lunch and dinner, and will be open for
guests only on Christmas eve.
Join the ranch for their Grand Christmas Buffet on
Christmas day, featuring ice and cheese sculptures,
edible gingerbread villages, a large selection of
roasted meats, a seafood bar, and pastries. On New
Year’s Eve there will be two seatings in the dining
room with four and five course menus, fireworks
and live music.
This year the saloon will serve food and feature
live music three nights a week. It will also serve
a different burger each month, daily small plate
specials, and Montana beer and American spirits.
They are part of Lone Peak Brewery’s communal
beer program.
Other special activities begin Jan. 1, including a
Sunday brunch, Wednesday farm dinners with
wine and brew pairings, and trail buffets on Fridays.
Call the dining room for reservations (406)
995–2782. a.D.
52 december 16, 2011
explorebigsky.com
Moonlight basin
Big Sky
Moonlight Basin opened on Dec. 10 to sunny skies
and smiling faces. Conditions remain the same: packed
powder.
“We need more snow before the upper mountain
opens, but we’ve got people coming and enjoying the
lower terrain,” said ski patrol dispatch. The upper
mountain will open when snow levels permit.
It’s worth checking out Moonlight’s new amenities,
including the North Slope Deli, Jack Creek Grille and
Bar, and the new Moonlight Mercantile in the Lodge.
Also new is the "Freestyle Forest," a tight terrain park
with fun features and whoop de doo’s made of natural
features, and new gladed runs.
Join Moonlight during the holidays for Turkey for a
Ticket on Dec. 16, a Christmas Eve Service, and ski
with Santa on Christmas day.
It’s not too late to join the Gold Club, where members
can enjoy locker storage and pool, hot tub and workout
facility access. Members can also benefit from discounts
at Moonlight eateries, gear shops, boutiques
and accommodations. a.D
Maverick Mountain
Polaris
Maverick set a record in 2010/2011, for their highest
number of skiers with 9,599 visits. That’s not a lot,
which means more powder for everyone.
Summer crews removed more than 3,000 beetle killed
trees from trail edges and along the lift line. Working
with the Forest Service, they are developing a Vegetation
Management Plan to project the desired future
condition of the mountain. The plan will be a proactive,
science-based approach to forest management.
Maverick will increase ticket prices and season pass
rates this year to keep pace with operating costs.
“These are difficult decisions to balance the cost of
services and maintain affordable skiing in our community,”
wrote general manager and owner Randy
Shilling in the fall newsletter.
Mav’s voicemail says there’s at least 8-15 inches on the
hill, and they’re waiting for more snow to open.
discovery ski area
Philipsburg
Disco has been open weekends only, and opens Monday,
Dec. 19 seven days a week.
“We got lucky and picked up about a foot of snow in
early December,” said Ciche Pitcher, who is the ski
area’s vice president and resort operations manager.
“We’re in the same boat as everyone else right now.
While we’ve got some snow, we haven’t had anything
new in a while.”
The front side is open, and the weekend of Dec. 10 was
the busiest so far this season. Pitcher estimates they
need another 12-18 inches to open the backside, hopefully
by Christmas day.
Disco’s big news for the year: A new triple chairlift has
replaced the old blue Jubilee lift. The new lift is faster,
because they moved the bottom terminal up. e.s>
explorebigsky.com
Big Sky Weekly
rendezvous ski trails
West yellowstone
After a big push during Thanksgiving week, Rendezvous
nordic trails in West Yellowstone are cranking
along at full swing. The early snow allowed
Rendezvous to open all 35 kilometers of trails, including
five kilometers of new trails and connectors
that meander through the existing trail network.
The Yellowstone Ski Festival over Thanksgiving had
great turnout, said Dan Cantrell, the director of the
Yellowstone Ski Festival and the West Yellowstone
Ski Education Foundation. “In the past a good year
has been about 3,000, and I think we met that or
exceeded it this year.”
This is going to be a busy year, with a lot of new
stuff going on, Cantrell said.
On the weekend of Dec. 10, they broke in a new
biathalon course with a biathlon NORAM, bringing
international athletes to town.
The weekend of Dec. 17 hosts a SPAM cup with
divisions for everyone, and a National Guard biathalon
camp, and the brand new Kids n’ Snow program.
Designed to promote active lifestyles, the program
takes kids cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and
ice skating. All are welcome.
Head down to West with the skinny skis, because
according to Cantrell, the trails are “skiing really,
really well.” e.s.
bridger bowl
Bozeman
By Jamie kuJaWa
Bridger opened lower mountain terrain the weekend
of Dec. 9, running its Snowflake and Powder Park
lifts. With October storms the last two falls, Bozemanites
have gotten accustomed to excellent early
season conditions, but this year has been a slower
start.
This dry weather isn’t unusual, says Doug Wales,
Bridger’s sales and marketing director. Wales started
there in the early ‘80s, and he recalls the resort
sometimes didn’t open until mid-January.
Even so, Wales says, there were a “decent number of
folks relative to what we have to offer [on opening
weekend].” The vibe around the hill was optimistic:
People smiled as they loaded the quad, passes were
still being sold, and the reservations are up from last
year at this time.
Wales is also staying positive, and he encourages
patience. Skiers could be unloading at the Bridger
lift mid-station by next week, he says, as long as
overnight temperatures remain low enough to blow
snow.
“Powder tends to erase bad memories,” Wales
added, recounting how much things can change
after one storm. But until it snows, early season
conditions remain. Although hiking above the Powder
Park lift is allowed while upper mountain lifts
remain closed, it’s not recommended. Check with
ski patrol for updates and advisories.