TR; this last weekend at Bridger

**mtcham** · 08-29-2009, 11:53 PM

This guy was checking out 3 Bears tonight.

**juanbendedknee** · 08-30-2009, 12:01 AM

ohhh yeah! I remember now- Thanks for the stoke, I've got the mid-summer no-ski-sadness apparently.

**baseWeldr** · 08-30-2009, 08:41 AM

/edited for peacefulmorning pagetop stoke...

saddle peak, slushmans & a decent throw, bohart 8/30...

**juanbendedknee** · 08-30-2009, 12:29 PM

Does NW direct ever fill in to the point where you don't need to ally-oop the small cliffband in the middle?

**Eluder** · 08-30-2009, 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by juanbendedknee

Does NW direct ever fill in to the point where you don't need to ally-oop the small cliffband in the middle?

now that it gets skied allot it piles up by the end of the season. You could potentially billy goat through it most of the season but the ally-oop is the desired method IMO.

**tone capone** · 08-30-2009, 11:01 PM

Does NW direct ever fill in to the point where you don't need to ally-oop the small cliffband in the middle?

I remember making turns all the way through a couple times in late march last season before I left for two weeks. I was surprised that it was pretty mellow then.

**juanbendedknee** · 09-24-2009, 11:19 PM

Snow in the Bridgers Sunday...

Pray for snow!

**Norseman** · 09-25-2009, 02:36 PM

From the Great Falls office of the NWS:

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL
MONTANA...NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA.

SIGNIFICANTLY COLDER AIR WILL ARRIVE ON TUESDAY WHEN A COLD FRONT
PLUNGES SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE STATE. LOWERING SNOW LEVELS WILL LEAD
TO A BROAD MIX OF PRECIPITATION TYPES RANGING FROM RAIN SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS AHEAD OF THE FRONT TO A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW FOR
ELEVATIONS BELOW 5000 FEET WITH WIDESPREAD SNOW AT HIGHER ELEVATIONS
BEHIND THE FRONT FROM TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MID DAY WEDNESDAY.

Might be fun to see a little snow...

**Telemarc** · 09-26-2009, 09:11 PM

Sorry don't have much info other than a fire started about a mile south of Bridger Bowl around 5ish and people 5 miles north and south of BB are being evacuated.
Traffic is shut down to non home owners.

Let's send some good vibes out to all the folks up there and lets hope Bridger infastucture is ok....

**Norseman** · 09-26-2009, 10:59 PM

Fire news is all over the radio. Sounds like a stiff south wind is keeping everyone on their toes. Hope nobody loses a house... or a chalet or a favorite tree stash.

Edit: There's another thread on this development, search "fire in the bridgers". Might want to check both for new info.

This is the only news story on this so far. I'm sure much more will come.

http://www.keci.com/100-to-200-acres...r-Bowl/5307485

**mtcham** · 10-09-2009, 03:43 PM

For any new skiers in Bozeman, the Gallatin Avalanche Center has started their advisories. Have them emailed to you or check them daily to keep informed of the snowpack.

First avalanche on Sac tuesday. If you are not beeping yet-get a beacon, shovel, probe, partner and take the intro classes offered by the Avalanche Center (schedule is listed on their website) and practice with your gear.

Game on----Be Safe!

Today's advisory:
http://www.mtavalanche.com/photos2/photos.php

**jeremiahyawnson** · 10-09-2009, 04:18 PM

On the sick and twisted side of things...

Any bets on the when the first slack country death will occur this year?

I'm going to bet on the first week after Slushman's opens (specifically, carnage off of saddle).

Disclaimer: I realize that it is twisted to bring this up but maybe seeing this might stop some mag from being an idiot and dying. (In no way am I hoping for this to happen but i bet it will.)

**grubbers** · 10-09-2009, 04:22 PM

Originally Posted by mtcham

For any new skiers in Bozeman, the Gallatin Avalanche Center has started their advisories. Have them emailed to you or check them daily to keep informed of the snowpack.

First avalanche on Sac tuesday. If you are not beeping yet-get a beacon, shovel, probe, partner and take the intro classes offered by the Avalanche Center (schedule is listed on their website) and practice with your gear.

Game on----Be Safe!

Today's advisory:
http://www.mtavalanche.com/photos2/photos.php

thanks for the heads up.

**single** · 10-10-2009, 08:45 PM

Originally Posted by crazyskir05

On the sick and twisted side of things...

Any bets on the when the first slack country death will occur this year?

I'm going to bet on the first week after Slushman's opens (specifically, carnage off of saddle).

Disclaimer: I realize that it is twisted to bring this up but maybe seeing this might stop some mag from being an idiot and dying. (In no way am I hoping for this to happen but i bet it will.)

No way man. Thats messed up.

**hick** · 10-10-2009, 11:00 PM

Originally Posted by single

No way man. Thats messed up.

Yes, it would be messed up to place bets on such a thing, but the likelyhood of somthing like what crazyskier suggests happening is pretty damn high. People act like idiots on a daily basis up there. Sadly it is only a matter of time IMO.

**tone capone** · 10-11-2009, 12:49 PM

Lots of people want to ski powder around here, aint nothing gonna stop 'em at this point.

Nothings gonna change, probably just get more competitive and tracked out (and stabalized) faster. If there is an "accident" the statistics are that tens of thousands of safe runs will be had as well.

Don't worry, after this season I'm gonna do my part and try my best to resist the ease and convienience of a bridger pass in order to start doing something different. Hopefully there is enough room out there for everybody and all of our forms of travel in the snow.

**Sirshredalot** · 10-11-2009, 01:12 PM

Originally Posted by tone capone

Lots of people want to ski powder around here, aint nothing gonna stop 'em at this point.

Nothings gonna change, probably just get more competitive and tracked out (and stabalized) faster.

Skier compaction in resort-accessed backcountry locales is nowhere near adequate avalanche mitigation, especially for the sort of instabilities that tend to kill people in Montana. If it's tracked out, that does NOT mean that it's stable. Do not get lulled into that false sense of security.

I know that you exercise better judgment than that when outside playing, tc, but there are probably plenty of jongs and goobers who are eyeballing this thread.

**hick** · 10-11-2009, 05:52 PM

Originally Posted by Sirshredalot

Skier compaction in resort-accessed backcountry locales is nowhere near adequate avalanche mitigation, especially for the sort of instabilities that tend to kill people in Montana. If it's tracked out, that does NOT mean that it's stable. Do not get lulled into that false sense of security.

I know that you exercise better judgment than that when outside playing, tc, but there are probably plenty of jongs and goobers who are eyeballing this thread.

You summed up the stupidity very nicely. Tracks don't = safety.
Dig your own pit and make your own asessments of the stability.
Lemmings die all the time.

**tone capone** · 10-11-2009, 08:58 PM

Go ahead and dig pits on Saddle when there are hundreds of tracks and people dropping in everywhere. I personally don't think that at the point we find ourselves at now that it will provide you with a very legit scientific result. As far as deciding when to ski there now, even the real experts know that it is really difficult to evaluate. The fact is, there will be hundreds of willing kamikazes every storm up there as long as the lift is running. None of them will be me on certain days.

I realize that tracks don't equal garaunteed safety, but:
I think it is fair to consider skier compaction as one important factor in evaluating potential stability. Especially with the situation we find ourselves in on saddle peak, where we have been forced into a situation where we have limited ways of assesing stability because of how the slushmans lift has changed things. That doesn't mean just throw defensive skiing techniques and line choices out the window. That doesn't mean I don't take full responsibility for the situations that I put myself and my friends in.

We are in a unique situation and it calls for paying even more careful attention to recent weather conditions, carefully considering where each turn might put you, and yes, I think to some extent skier traffic. The terrain inside many ski area boundaries, including Bridger Bowl, relies on skier traffic to mitigate avalanche hazard to some degree.

Is that good enough advice for the jongs? I'm sure others have some insights as well. Speak up. What are your observations and opinions?

**Eluder** · 10-11-2009, 11:28 PM

Originally Posted by Sirshredalot

but there are probably plenty of jongs and goobers who are eyeballing this thread.

With the 500 more students at MSU this year I am sure at least 350 will be up there doing something stupid..... I wont publicly predict a death up there, but I can almost guaranty the will be roping some super gnar bros out of some tight spots several times this season.

Maybe some of their parents are still rich and will buy them peak passes.

**Sirshredalot** · 10-12-2009, 07:14 AM

Originally Posted by tone capone

I realize that tracks don't equal garaunteed safety, but:
I think it is fair to consider skier compaction as one important factor in evaluating potential stability. Especially with the situation we find ourselves in on saddle peak, where we have been forced into a situation where we have limited ways of assesing stability because of how the slushmans lift has changed things. That doesn't mean just throw defensive skiing techniques and line choices out the window. That doesn't mean I don't take full responsibility for the situations that I put myself and my friends in.

We are in a unique situation and it calls for paying even more careful attention to recent weather conditions, carefully considering where each turn might put you, and yes, I think to some extent skier traffic. The terrain inside many ski area boundaries, including Bridger Bowl, relies on skier traffic to mitigate avalanche hazard to some degree.

As you noted, one of the problems with trying to dig a pit, say, on the main face of Saddle just below the summit is that your pit is going to end up going through somebody's old tracks and your slab is going to be affected. You won't get a representative example of what stability is like 10 feet away where the tracks aren't the same. The other problem is that you don't climb what you're gonna ski - the first good look that you can get is when you hop over the cornice, and then you're totally exposed (unless you're on belay, I guess). Plus you couldn't pay me enough to actually hang out on that slope and conduct tests - there's too great a chance that someone with a case of XTremo Powder Fever will jump onto the slope on top of me.

I actually toured out on to the lower slopes of Saddle (straight out from the base of the lift, out and over the gullies and up a couple of the ramps/spur ridges) and dug a couple times last year before I headed up the lift to traverse over and drop in on some of the farther out stuff. This seems like a good idea. There are lots of representative slopes down there and it doesn't hurt to spend an hour or two skinning around out there, hitting some smaller lines and putting your mind at ease.

**tone capone** · 10-12-2009, 09:13 AM

I actually toured out on to the lower slopes of Saddle (straight out from the base of the lift, out and over the gullies and up a couple of the ramps/spur ridges) and dug a couple times last year before I headed up the lift to traverse over and drop in on some of the farther out stuff. This seems like a good idea. There are lots of representative slopes down there and it doesn't hurt to spend an hour or two skinning around out there, hitting some smaller lines and putting your mind at ease.

That's one thing you could do I guess. I would still question how representative those pits would be compared to the higher terrain, but it would be better than the alternative as you pointed out. I guess you could stay lower than all the runouts and then work up one of those spur ridges. Still alot of people skiing all over down there though. The whole situation kind of freaks me out really. One reason why this might be my last year up there. I don't need all of this stress, competition, and uncertainty to go with my pow. I've had some good years at Bridger, Maybe it's time to retire and and do hippy noodle turns laps in the Wilderness somewhere.

**workinforturns** · 10-12-2009, 10:11 AM

Man you guys sure do talk alot.

how about some more stoke from this last weekend, hahaha
me

layindowncarves

taken by matt of ben

lets get some more stoke up here, eh!

**workinforturns** · 10-12-2009, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by tone capone

One reason why this might be my last year up there. I don't need all of this stress, competition, and uncertainty to go with my pow.

it is what you make out of it. i have DBags step on my skis on the high T and snake my lines and shit, but what are you going to do? i just keep on telling those people to "have a good day, i hope the powder that you ski will make up for you being and ass hole"