Big Sky to Jackson: A Ski-cation from my Ski-cation

Watch for Cliffs!

So Friday the 25th of February I set off to meet up with my cousins in Big Sky, Montana. I was able to ski the morning and then head south to go ahead and get then condo ready for Lee to arrive from Salt Lake City and Sarah from Whitefish. Saturday morning, Lee and I strapped on our skis and started exploring the “Largest ski area in the United States".

Nuckolls sandwich - Atop Loan Peak

Big Sky is a pretty cool place, there are 21 lifts spread out over 2 mountains. The bigger of the two mountains is Loan Peak and the summit is right at 11,500 feet. This is a big deal because there is a Tram that takes you straight up to the summit and then you have about 1,500 vertical feet that you ski down. Not only is it steep but there are a ton of rocks to keep an eye out for.

Cousin Lee hanging on for her life

Sarah enforcing the buddy system

After skiing, we went out for drinks and my birthday dinner. As great as the skiing was, the town of Big Sky is not the most happening place. We managed to find a sushi joint that not only offered SPAM sushi but also offered so us much Saki that it would have made an old Japanese man rip off his shirt and break dance.

Me on top of Loan Peak

On Monday, we skied the morning and then hit the road to head home. It was great to be able to spend my birthday weekend with my cousins and having a great time.

Watch for giant Snowballs

The drive from Big Sky, Montana into Jackson, Wyoming is nothing short of spectacular. It’s about a three-hour drive that takes you around the outer rim of Yellowstone National Park and right into the Grand Tetons.

Jackson Hole Resort

Once in Jackson I went straight to my friend Derick’s place and then to the Snake River Brewing Company to grab a few beers. Derick is an awesome dude and a great snowboarder. Its also nice that he has a good group of friends in Jackson, so right off the bat I had people to ski with. Derick had warned me about Jackson Hole as it was ranked the most challenging place to ski by Ski Magazine.

On the lift

Tuesday morning, I took it upon myself to see what all the hype was about Jackson Hole. After a brief orientation to the mountain I headed up. Its not that Jackson is a place where only experts can ski, but with over 50% of the mountain labeled with a black diamond, its easy to find yourself in a sticky situation.

Paul hitting a feature

 That night we met up with a friend named Alex. Alex and I ended up hitting it off right away due to our mutual love for heavy metal. I rarely ever listen to this type of music anymore but I used to be obsessed. After dinner we drank some and then headed to a concert where the shots were flowing and every good looking girl in Jackson came out to party!

Paul pelts Will

The weekend was a blast. A few friends were in town from Atlanta so we all decided to explore what all Jackson had to offer. After walking around town and checking out the Tetons we headed to the mountain village to drink some beer. The best part about Jackson Hole is that in the village, there are a ton of little bars where you can grab a beer for $3.50 a pint. This is typical until you find out what the locals do, which is head to this little hidden grocery store in the basement of a ski shack, grab a 6 pack of PBR tall boys for $5.81 then head back outside to stand around a homemade Igloo bar (made of Ice/snow) which holds a few kegs and is right in front of where a band is playing…Pretty nice way to end a day on the mountain.

The Grand Tetons

While skiing on Saturday we noticed a nice group of locals out fro an afternoon ski, naturally we joined them and ended up skiing with these locals for a few runs. The group consisted of about 20 girls all wearing day-glow tights and drinking beer. One dude had somehow worked his way into the group by offering to be the picture guy, and capturing the entire day with his nice camera... if that guy doesn't get lucky off that deal then there is something wrong with him!

Hot 80's Babes!

Saturday night we ate at the “Best Mexican place in town that Derick had never been to”. We all decided to order Jumbo Texas Margaritas and the night went down hill from there. We all browned out right after the food arrived but we do remember that the 7 hamburgers that we ordered off the “side item” menu never arrived, that you cannot look straight drinking out of a straw and that the kid that knew all the finishing moves on Mortal Combat when we were in 3rd grade has always and will always be the guy to beat. F’n Danny! The night ended poorly as we erased whatever was on the whiteboard in the front of the restaurant and drew a dictation (Only 2 people will know what I am referring to) and a shark.

Derick looking manly

After passing out at 9:30 we were all bright eyed and busy tailed when Derick woke us up at 6:30AM to let us know that there was 17” of snow waiting for us at the mountain and that we would need to get going if we wanted first chair. Moving very quickly we were in line shortly after 8AM. I even had time to head to the rental shop and rent a pair of fat powder skis.

Line Behind us waiting for first chair

We ended up being about 20th gondola up and the line did not shrink all morning. We ended up skiing the same line 4 times in a row. Hitting fresh powder the entire time.

Hiking up to the Bowl

Afterwards we headed to the “North Woods”, a deeply wooded area that was pretty much straight up and down. This is probably the most beautiful place I had ever skied, I felt like I was in Narnia. Once you get out of the woods you hit this long, steep gully that made me feel like I was skiing in a ravine. I could go on and on about Jackson but I will keep those stories for another time.

Derick hitting a jump

After spending a week in Jackson I have decided that it is defiantly a very desirable place to live and that the people there are so into skiing its not even funny. Before I left town we went and got the best breakfast burrito I have ever had… it had hash browns in them. On my way back to Whitefish I found myself excited to get back and explore the mountain more. The past few days of skiing have been the best ever, I have never had a day where I did not stay on the trail, now I cant wait to get into the trees and make my own trail.

Jared getting some air

I leave for Seattle on Sunday so I better get all this trail blazing outta my system by then… if not there might be blogs on all the skiing I do in Washington, Oregon & Northern California (which is where Lake Tahoe is).

Deep thoughts