WOOT WOOT! Nukin' in Missoula

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Originally Posted by RootSkier

It's also possible I have Stockholm Syndrome and just can't quit that one day in 2009.

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That was a good day.

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Originally Posted by Iowagriz

If the snow comes, I'll be skiing. It just won't be at the bowl. Root nailed it with Stockholm syndrome. But, I now have the time and have escaped.

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I'd still rather ski at the Bowl than anywhere within a 3-hour drive. And I'd rather drink post-ski beers at the LRI than anywhere within a 20-hour drive.

Also, the drives to other places can really suck. I guess Disco can be down to an hour and a half. Sometimes it even snows there!
I have had some horrid drives to/from Lookout. That snow is so wet. Or it comes down so hard I can't see past my headlights. Or all the 18 wheelers get stuck.

Yeah I bought one, just weekday though because i work saturdays and don't want to be up there on weekends anyway. Not sure i rode lifts anywhere else last year. Maybe 1 day at lost trail?

It's pretty funny that my best days skiing up there last year were before they opened and the day the power went out.

Picked up some passes today. Warm above the clouds, parking lot was near as muddy as spring. Please snow.Attachment 476661

Guess who's getting bar code scanners!

They mentioned that in the issue of Snowbowl good times. Will be interesting how it works out.

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Originally Posted by 406

They mentioned that in the issue of Snowbowl good times. Will be interesting how it works out.

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It'll work just the same but instead of looking up your number on a board they will just scan the bar code on your pass and when it fails they will try to scan it again, and keep repeating the process until it works or they just let you through.

So do the passes have bar codes and shit this year? Are they the same homemade shit with laminate-while-you-wait process and everything?

Good to see that the Bowl still hasn't gotten sign offs from the Forest Service, per the Missoulian today:

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Originally Posted by Missoulian

Montana Snowbowl Ski Area north of Missoula still lacks permission to
operate with barely one week remaining until the mountain's planned
opening day of Friday, Dec. 8.

As of Wednesday, the U.S. Forest Service, which administers the special-use permit
allowing Snowbowl to operate on public lands, had not given the ski area permission
to begin operation Dec. 8. The agency previously ordered Snowbowl's owners, Brad
Morris and his son Andy, to hire an independent, third-party inspection of all surface
and aerial lifts and rope-tows at the ski area, and to fix any problems identified,
before the ski area would be allowed to operate. Additionally, the agency ordered
Snowbowl to develop a plan to improve how its ski patrol and lift operators respond
to safety incidents.

Carolyn Upton, supervisor of the Lolo National Forest, told the Missoulian in
September that Snowbowl would need to prove it completed those tasks before she
could allow the ski area to operate this winter. The agency's increased scrutiny of
the ski area came after a series of lift malfunctions and failures in recent
years, including a March incident in which a man and his 4-year-old son fell
from an improperly modified chairlift at the ski area when the chair struck a
lift tower and broke apart. Snowbowl's lift operators and ski patrol failed to respond
to the incident.

On Tuesday, Lolo National Forest Public Information Officer Hilary Markin wrote in
an email that Snowbowl had not yet corrected all of the lift deficiencies uncovered in
the inspection.

"There are a few remaining tasks that Snowbowl is working to complete as follow-up
actions from the third-party lift inspections," Markin wrote. "Once these are
completed, Snowbowl will notify the Forest Service that the Preseason Lift Inspection
Certification has been performed and all deficiencies have been corrected.

"Once the terms and conditions of the special use permit are met for the start of the
season," she continued, "the Forest Service can authorize winter operations to begin."

It was unclear Wednesday if the ski area was on track to receive permission to operate
by its planned opening day of Dec. 8. And, like many ski areas across the West,
Snowbowl still lacked natural snow. According to the National Weather Service, the
ski area could get 2–4 inches of snow this weekend. Brad Morris was not immediately
available for comment Wednesday.

The Missoulian obtained the third-party lift inspection report in a public records
request. The inspection, conducted by engineer Harry McLean Jr., kicked off in mid
August, with the first report issued by early September. At the time, McLean wrote
that additional inspections would be needed to confirm chairlifts complied with
national standards.

The report identified deficiencies with all four of the ski area's aerial chairlifts:
Grizzly, LaValle, Snow Park and Transporter. Snow Park was the lift involved in the
March incident. A separate Forest Service inspection in the wake of that incident
found multiple deficiencies with the lift as well. Transporter is the new triple-seat lift
that opened last winter.

The lift deficiencies varied by lift and ranged from improper wiring of lift controls to
sub-standard or improperly positioned lift components. McLean wrote that the
Sunrise T-bar lift was waiting for parts and couldn't be inspected. He took a "cursory
look" at the rope tow.

McLean also compiled a list of actions for all four chairlifts to bring them into
compliance. The list included ensuring each lift control station had operating
telephones; ensuring lifts had operating stop-start gates; ensuring lifts had fire
extinguishers; inspecting the large cables, called "wire ropes," from which chairs
hang; labeling lift control buttons and confirming they work; and making sure lift
operators are trained, tested and certified.

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I am not sure why Brad wasn't available for comment, but I thought Andy had taken over as the main spokesman?

That is interesting that Transporter also had "deficiencies."

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Originally Posted by 406

That is interesting that Transporter also had "deficiencies."

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Yeah that one caught me by surprise. Since they paid Skytrac to install it, I'd imagine that Snowbowl could at least have the lift 'fixes' covered by them?

I thought this was a big 'ol nothingburger based on the reactions from everyone I spoke to....

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Originally Posted by RootSkier

So do the passes have bar codes and shit this year? Are they the same homemade shit with laminate-while-you-wait process and everything?

Good to see that the Bowl still hasn't gotten sign offs from the Forest Service, per the Missoulian today:



I am not sure why Brad wasn't available for comment, but I thought Andy had taken over as the main spokesman?

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Same old pass with a bar code.

From Snowbowl this morning.

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November 30, 2023

This is an update regarding Snowbowl's status as we prepare to begin the 2023-24 ski season. As of today, we currently do not have snow levels that would allow us to open any part of the mountain. Temperatures have allowed our snowmaking team to be busy in the past few weeks (see webcam snapshot below), and our maintenance crew has been busy in their annual preparations to get the mountain ready for our customers. Our lift department has been busy with hiring and training for the upcoming season and the entire staff is patiently waiting for the winter storms that will give us the base snowpack we need to open for the season.

As discussed in previous statements we have been working with an independent certified tramway engineer throughout the summer and this fall. He has spent several days inspecting, evaluating, and riding all our chairlifts. In addition, the Forest Service tramway engineer and Lolo National Forest staff have also spent several days, independently, inspecting the lifts, reviewing our quality assurance program, training curriculum, and proctoring training sessions.
All the inspections, certifications, changes, and corrections required by the Forest Service or noted in inspections by the independent tramway engineer for the safe operations of our lifts have been completed and submitted to the Forest Service. Additional paperwork was requested by Forest Service on Monday Nov. 28, 2023, which we are compiling. We still have our annual preseason lift inspection. Once this been performed, we can make the final preparations for lift service at which point we fully expect the Forest Service’s final sign-off to begin winter operations.

Weather permitting, we plan to open the mountain on December 8th. Please check our social media accounts for updates as we approach that date, and pray for snow!

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Originally Posted by S_jenks

Yeah that one caught me by surprise. Since they paid Skytrac to install it, I'd imagine that Snowbowl could at least have the lift 'fixes' covered by them?

I thought this was a big 'ol nothingburger based on the reactions from everyone I spoke to....

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Part of their contract with Sky Trac, is that Sky Trac is responsible for all maintenance for the first two years. It seems odd that there would be issues with it, however, a short-cut by Sky Trac electricians led to the hydraulic rams being damaged before the season started last year. While that was remedied, I suppose it's possible that there may be other gremlins lurking.

last call for upper Jumbo today

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d3151a28_b.jpg

12/8 seems awfully optimistic. Snow levels? There are no levels because there is no snow. If you need me, I'll be sobbing in the corner.
At least the lift thing is just final paperwork and sign-offs? Missoulian sucks.

It used to be, that the scheduled opening was the day after Thanksgiving, but they have moved it back because of the lack of snow that early. Now they shoot for a week into December. It is always tentative, depending on snowfall, and in this yearss case, an active permit from the Forest Service as well.

I seem to remember a lot of years back in the 80s/90s when the Bowl didn't get open until around Christmas vacation.

remember last year when they did open on the 9th but didn't really tell anyone they were actually going to open until like that morning?

Do we start a pool? I'm going with jan 5th. (i do actually expect them to open by then, but if not i won't be surprised either)

Picked up passes (now with barcodes!) this morning and would just like to congratulate the first failed contender of the season at Bartender's Corner, presumably from last night.

Strong work!

Lol

Also really like the quote on KPAX about "a new video or something" for the lifties. They really know how to talk to the press/public.

The bowl will be better than ever this year functionality wise! When it eventially gets sold all the haters will have all new things to bitch about... At the end of the day its one hell of a mountain. Skiing is fun and snowbowl has kick ass terrain! It is what it is fellas

Snowbowl authorized to operate and they are running the rope tow sunday.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c8a28d2c_b.jpg

In case anyone was wondering, it's bad up there. Gave up and walked down the bottom of paradise. Should have started walking earlier. No signs of snowmaking equipment on it. Maybe I should have tried longhorn.

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Under lavelle was ok. my ski bases are not ok.

Thanks. Somebody had to do it.

Lost Trail announced they plan to open tomorrow, Dec 14th. No details on which lifts will be running.

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Originally Posted by jamal

In case anyone was wondering, it's bad up there. Gave up and walked down the bottom of paradise. Should have started walking earlier. No signs of snowmaking equipment on it. Maybe I should have tried longhorn.

Under lavelle was ok. my ski bases are not ok.

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Hiked up there today for something to do. Went up Paradise run to about 6900ft before the snow got deep enough to be annoying @ ~10 inches in the open. Saw a few ski-attempt tracks which I guess included yours. Crash marks, upturned rocks n sticks mid-turn, and down-walkin ski boot marks all painted a rosy scene, lol.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...37473bfd_b.jpg

View from above
A Snowbowl regular asks those who manage the beleaguered mountain for some clarity.

https://thepulp.org/view-from-above/

I believe this video is from 12/21.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1IOw...E1MWVjZGVmZQ==


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Shamless plug here. My in laws have seven puppies they would like to sell. Currently 4 weeks old, so they would be of age (8 weeks) by end of January with first round of immunizations. Cross between a pure breed border collie and pure breed Great Pyrenees. Going to be an active loyal dog! Puppies are in Belt MT, I’m in the Flathead and happy to make connections. Happy to answer any questions! Happy holidays!

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I imagine a giant, gregarious, and hyperactive dog with a genetic predisposition to herd anything that moves. LOL!

I had that mix and he was 100% Great Pyrenees in attitude after a couple years. Mellow, slow moving, - did not herd. Not great on long hikes or biking which was fine by me. Very protective though of course. Ending up looking like like a GP mostly. I've seen other dogs of the same mix that looked like a massive hairy border collie which was cool too. Just anecdotal, I know, but ya never know what you are going to get, those two type of dogs are quite different IMO.

Kinda want another but current dog is more than enough mentally for me.

So much Wrong Form, unrepentant puppy mill ilk. Lower than the snow pack is.

How was the Tbar riding?

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Originally Posted by 2Harsh

How was the Tbar riding?

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Third hand info as I haven't skied up there and the person I received this info from hasn't skied up there yet, but the person He knew did ski up there and it was rocky. I say if you're really in need of skiing up there, take your worst rock skis.

Anyone been to lost trail or lookout?

I see showdown is letting snowbowl passholders ski for free now too, along with a few other places.

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Originally Posted by jamal

Anyone been to lost trail or lookout?

I see showdown is letting snowbowl passholders ski for free now too, along with a few other places.

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LT has been decent even with the shallow base.

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Originally Posted by Iowagriz

Over/Under for when Snowbowl opens this year. I'll set the line at Friday 1/12/24.

I wonder how many people took them up on their plea to prepay for summer improvements (or whatever that was about).

Who has the inside info on what is being required for the fixes in order for the FS to approve the opening? TV news tonight said that an independent engineer has to sign off on the lifts. That seems like a big hurdle for Snowbowl to jump over.

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They posted earlier today that they will open Lavelle and download Griz (edit: Sunday) . Looks like I was long on my prediction by a week. I'm not gloating at predicting a late opening, I just had a bad feeling after looking at the NOAA long-term forecasts last fall. That, combined with that Forest Service order, didn't instill confidence in them opening early.

For those skiing, I hope the snow is decent and that this is not just a business ploy to keep everyone's pass money for the year.

They just announced a Saturday open for Lavelle at 11am today.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...6e380119b1.jpg

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