The Way I Ski It: Big Sky Resort's Blog

Racers paddle the course of Big Sky Resort's 3rd annual Carboard Boat Regatta.

CARDBOARD floats… right?

Each year, teams of boat-builders find a wide range of answers to that question at Big Sky Resort’s Cardboard Boat Regatta, a race that tests the mettle and engineering skills of entrants as they attempt to paddle their life-size boats through a frigid water race course.  Late Saturday morning, curious spectators and spirited competitors congregated at Lake Levinsky for the 3rd annual race that kicked-off Labor Day Weekend’s Mountain Fest and Spruce Moose Festival celebrations.

At 11am, teams began unloading their boats for inspection, and as the crowds gathered they began to murmur incredulously. 

“Will that really float?”

“How did they build that?”

“Where did you find that awesome neon wetsuit?!”

On one extreme, the tweens of team Epic Fail entered the lovingly named Trailer Park Girl: a large, shapeless TV box caulked with foam insulation.

Other groups entered seemingly more seaworthy vessels, including Team Blue Bonnet’s Blue Beast, the first entry to feature a manpowered waterwheel, and the A-Team’s Malaka, an intimidating design incorporating a Polynesian-style outrigger for enhanced stability.

As starting time approached, each team stood poised to enter the icy waters of Lake Levinsky, running forward with their boats at the starting siren.  Although all the boats initially fought valiantly for position, only a few moments of jockeying elapsed before Team Lift Operators’ entry, Red Devil, stormed into a dominating lead. Modeling their design after a simple traditional canoe, the Lift Operators demonstrated the truth of the maxim, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

The Red Devil approached the finish line, and the two pilots paused briefly to assess their lead. Channeling their bravado, Team Lift Ops boldly turned their boat around, attempting an unprecedented move of lapping the competition  -  in previous years, not many boats have survived the course for even one lap.  As they paddled past the sinking Trailer Park Girl, Team Lift Ops performed a further unprecedented rescue operation, successfully hoisting Epic Fail’s pilot, Reno Klotz, into their cardboard canoe without tipping over their own craft. Unburdened by the extra passenger, the Red Devil passed the remaining three boats with ease, victoriously coasting across the finish line.

While Lift Ops raised the bar for cardboard boat performance, this year’s competitors also elevated the competition for style points. Big Sky's Sales and Marketing Team, Big Sky Lovers, combined function with aesthetics in their uniform design, with paddler Katie Grice wearing a dress over her wetsuit and paddler Jamie Leary modeling a radical vintage wetsuit design from approximately 1991. Unfortunately for the Lovers, their style sense didn’t translate to victory on the water, despite the impressive effort they put forth on the Big Sky Love Boat.

Back on dry land, limp and soggy cardboard lined Lake Levinsky’s shores, but onlookers cheered as Team Lift Ops was presented with the coveted Cardboard Cup – a gold spray-painted toy shark mounted on cardboard.  They’ll proudly display it for the next year, theirs along with bragging rights until they defend their title with a new boat at next year’s regatta.  For them, it’s proof of what can be done with a few old boxes, a roll of duct tape, and some innovation.  Who says cardboard doesn’t float?

-  Cameron Lord, TWISI guest writer

See the Red Devil in action:  Cardboard Boat Regatta 2011 Video

Check out the cardboard carnage from years past and footage from the weekend's Mountain Fest and Spruce Moose Festival.

The winning boat, Red Devil, starts a victory lap after schooling the competition.

Jamie Leary and Katie Grice won style points for the Big Sky Love Boat.

Red devil took the lead early while Trailer Park Girl lagged behind.

Jamie Leary and Katie Grice keep paddling despite a water-logged hull.

Team Lift Ops celebrates victory with the Cardboard Cup.

 
Big Sky's Rock Garden.  Photo by Ken Lancey.

WHEN MOST people look at Lone Peak, they see a perfect ski mountain.  In winter, I do too.  But when the snow melts and the rugged rock and dirt is exposed, I see the potential of Lone Peak to lend its terrain to more than just skiing.  I see the perfect dirt biking mountain.

So do Joe Miller and Jamey Kabisch of Big Sky XC and the folks at KLIM, who put on the Big Sky XC motorcycle races each year.  Unlike many ski mountains that lease their land from the government, Big Sky Resort’s land is privately owned.  That means that while we’re always environmentally responsible, there are less restrictions on what we can do with our terrain.  It’s not every day that motor bikers can get access to the likes of Lone Peak with features like the gnarly Rock Garden, a steep grade of pure talus skree, long straight-a-ways, and an enduro-cross course .  So when they do, they bring it.

This year’s Big Sky XC was round 6 in the AMA West Hare Scramble Championship Series, and bikers tackled the technical mountain course like never before.  The sound of revving engines and cheering fans rang through the mountains.

For me, it was the sound of pure joy.  I’m slightly addicted to all things two-wheeled,  from my days spent as a mechanic at Scooterville in Missoula to afternoons taking my Triumph Trophy through Montana’s winding roads.  Add some handlebars and horsepower to the rear wheel and and I’m in heaven.  So each year I make sure to stick around for the Big Sky XC, when our mountain transforms into a biker’s paradise, and I’m never disappointed.  

Check out the fun in the photos below and get results here.

-  Chad

Get more details on the weekend's events from MotorcycleUSA.com: 

2011 Adventure Touring Day 6

Big Sky XC Photo Gallery

Big Sky XC Results

Photo by Ken Lancey


Photo by Ken Lancey

 
Photo by Joe Miller

 
Photo by Joe Miller 

Kamman and his camera get up-close and personal with professional bull riders - photo courtesy of John Marshall

GROWING UP visiting Montana as a kid, I’ve always loved a good rodeo.  The sight of hundreds of cowboy hats lining the arena, the afternoon sun piercing through the dusty air, and the thundering sound of the bulls charging out of the gate - it makes you feel like a true westerner.  Nothing is more Montana than spending a summer evening watching cowboys get tossed around on monstrous bulls as the sun sets behind the mountains.

But while I feel like a tough Montanan safe in the stands, I’m no professional bull rider myself. In the ring I’m about as at-home as a cutthroat flopping around at the top of Lone Peak – well out of my element.

But that’s exactly where I ended up this summer when I filmed the Professional Bull Riders Tour on their stop in Big Sky. When I showed up to the rodeo grounds I was told that I would be filming the bull riders as they got on bulls in the chutes; I would be inches from the seething bulls as they exited the gates.

As the crowd filled the stands I ventured into the middle of the ring to get crowd shots for a live feed to the jumbo-tron.  My camera scanned the audience members, giving them five seconds of jumbo-tron fame, and I heard an announcement over my headphones: “Everyone ready? Twenty seconds to go!” 

Twenty seconds to what!?  Was a bull coming out?  In a moment of panic I spun on my heel, eyes bulging in anticipation of a brutal bull charge.  But as I turned I could already see Erik Morrison, the other camera operator, laughing at me through the safety of the solid steel fence – it was 20 seconds until the cowboy introduction, the bulls weren’t due out for another 15 minutes.

Relieved and slightly embarrassed, I headed back to relative safety next to some burly cowboys and watched as the first rider mounted a massive bull. I leaned in to get a close-up as the rider wrapped himself around the animal.  Just then, the gate opened.  The steel frame of the chutes rattled, the bull was sent into a rampage, and I nearly fell off my little platform as a wave of dirt was hurled into my face.  Shaken, I tried to act cool, painfully aware of the unflinching cowboys around me.  I quickly realized how tough and talented these riders really are, able to face huge, strong, unpredictable, and fuming bulls – this stuff was truly scary.

I spent the rest of the evening standing inches away from groaning, snorting, bucking bulls, trying to get closer for every shot as the dirt, slobber, and literal BS began to cake over my skin. But it’s that kind of true grit that defines the cowboy experience, and I soaked up every last bit.   Now this was a good Montana Rodeo. 

-  Chris

Mad Chad McDealy cowboys it up in this footage that played on the PBR jumbo-tron

Find out more about the Big Sky PBR from explorebigsky.com, and check out their PBR videos too.

 
My footage on the jumbo-tron

Photos courtesy of John Marshall, Alyssa Leary, and Whitney Ilten.

 
Big Sky Resort's Zipline Tour takes you accross three separate lines past views of the Spanish Peaks

IT'S ALL A matter of perspective.  We’re at Big Sky Resort in Big Sky Montana at the edge of the first Zipline of the morning. Did I mention I’m supposed to fly 425 feet through the air—60 feet above the mountain tops at 25 miles per hour?
  
No sweat says my young cousin's nine-year-old Ethan Sitzman and his six-year-old sister Hannah, who are geared up, like I am, with safety harness, helmet and carabineers that will attach us to the cables. I’m told they are so strong they could hold the weight of a small car, but I’m still nervous. 
  
I flash back to the disastrous time I had in Costa Rica when I hit a tree zip lining.
  
No worries, says our guide Bre Houston. We don’t even have to brake.  “We do everything.” Also along to lend moral support are our guides from Austin Lehman Adventures. The Montana company is known for its Greater Yellowstone trips and we’re testing out an itinerary for next year.  
   
I take a deep breath and I’m off flying above the tree tops screaming at the top of my lungs across what locals call Cat Alley.
  
The kids can’t stop laughing because I’m screaming. Their mom Jayme opts out of this first one because the height is making her legs shake. Nothing wrong with admitting when you are frightened, we tell the kids. 
  
“Make like a star fish if you want to go slower and cannonball if you want to go faster,” another guide, Adam Glick, tells us, assuring me it gets easier with each try. 
  
He’s right. The second Zip line, Coconut Grove—490 feet above the ground and 350 feet long-- is more fun. The kids go upside down. Jayme gives it a try and everyone cheers.  The third  and last of the day,  Moose Drop,  still is 350 feet above the ground but I actually enjoy the ride and am greeted by caramel apples by our Austin Lehman guides at the end. 
  
Kids as young as four - as long as they weigh 45 pounds and are tall enough for a harness to fit properly - as well as people in their 80s have zip lined here after a half-mile hike—well worth the $63 for the entertainment and the feeling of accomplishment.
  
Ski resorts like Big Sky are doing all they can to attract summer visitors—in this case encouraging those heading to Yellowstone National Park to stop along the way.  In addition to the zipline, which is  also open in the winter, there’s a bungee trampoline, a high ropes course with eight different elements, paint ball, a rock climbing wall, and mountain bike trails down the mountain, not to mention all of the spectacular hiking all around here less than an hour from Yellowstone National Park. 
 
Since Yellowstone is just 46 miles from here, Big Sky Resort, with affordable condos and plenty to do, can be a good home base, especially if park hotels are sold out.  Sign on for a guided hike or just take the chair lift up and meander down the mountain. 

Our gang gives our morning at Big Sky resounding thumbs up—the kids had so much fun they couldn’t decide which was the “funnest”—ziplining, bungee trampoline, or the rock wall.  As for me, I was just glad I confronted my terror and survived.  
    

-  Eileen Ogintz, TWISI guest writer, family travel expert, and syndicated travel columnist.  Check out other stories from Eileen at takingthekids.com and in her new series of guides for Taking the Kids throughout the Western United States, now available for the NOOK and Kindle with chapters about Yellowstone and more from 99 cents.

Check out Big Sky's Zipline for yourself. 

   
Hanna and Ethan zipline!  Photos courtesy of Crystal Images.

 
With 24 breweries, Montana ranks 3rd for most breweries per capita, just behind Oregon and Vermont.  Photo courtesy of the Montana Brewers Association. 

IN A TOWN with a resident population of about 2,000 people and no major supermarket, you don’t expect to find a microbrewery next to the village post office. 

But in Big Sky, Lone Peak Brewery has been pumping out delicious craft beers since October 2007 – before the unincorporated town even had its own high school. To locals, this doesn’t seem so strange.  Beer is a part of the true Montana experience, the beverage perfectly paired with everything we do here; what’s a good day on the mountain without a Cold Smoke après ski, a day of fishing on the Gallatin without a river-chilled cold one in between casts? 

There are 24 breweries in Montana, and while that might not sound like a lot, it’s enough to put Montana at number three when it comes to states with the most breweries per capita.  Granted, there aren’t many “capitas” here – Montana is home to less than a million people - but a stat like that just goes to show what we’ve known for a long time:  the people that are here sure do love their beer.  

So it makes sense that Big Sky Resort would celebrate with a Brewfest each summer, gathering regional breweries together to celebrate the wonderful world of IPAs and hefeweizens, summer ales and oatmeal stouts.  Last Saturday eight craft breweries with over 16 different microbrews on tap gathered in Big Sky to give everyone a taste of Montana and celebrate the important things in life:  mountains, sunshine, music, and beer. 

With beer permeating every aspect of our ski town, it's no wonder they call it a Brewski, but summer is the season for beer-lovers at Brewfest '11; McDealy and I take advantage Blackstar Brewing's photo booth inside the silver bullet trailer they drove all the way from Whitefish, MT.

ROAD TRIP!
Drive the Yellowstone Brewery Trail

For the ultimate experience in Montana brews, set out on the Yellowstone Brewery Trail – four days, seven towns, nine breweries, and a jaunt through Yellowstone National Park.  Cut down on drive time by tightening the loop with this weekend itinerary:

Day 1:  Bozeman

Arrive in Bozeman and hit the Bozeman Brewing Company for their signature Bozone Select, a light amber ale with a medium malt body gently balanced by a hint of hops for a clean, refreshing finish. 

Day 2:  Big Sky

Spend the day ziplining and downhill mountain biking, then refresh with a Nordic Blonde and a game of shuffle board (loser buys the drinks!) at the Lone Peak Brewery.  Back at Big Sky Resort, sample a Kettle House Cold Smoke on tap at Chet’s Bar and Grill or time it right so you’ll be there for Big Sky’s annual Brewfest, where you can sample beers from across the region and boogie down to live music in the Mountain Village. 

Day 3:  Yellowstone

Grab a couple growlers of Lone Peak IPA and Hippy Highway Oatmeal Stout from Lone Peak Brewery for your lunch stop at Old Faithful.  Head north from there for a dip in the Boiling River before exiting the park through Gardener and heading to your next beer stop – Neptune’s Brewery in Livingston where you’ll savor a Clipper’s Nut Brown Ale.

Day 4:  Bozeman

Cap off your brewery loop with a stop into Bozeman’s newest addition to the beer scene: 406 Brewing Company, named for Bozeman’s local area code.

-  Greer

See Brewfest action live in this video from Chris Kamman

Cheers to local brews and rockin' band Milton Menasco and the Big Fiasco!

  
Fireworks above Big Sky's Town Center 

THERE'S NOTHING more American than the Great Outdoors, and no better great American landscape than Montana.  So reaching my goal of an ultra-American Independence Day in Big Sky wasn’t so lofty.  Still, last Monday I set out for the record of most American 4th of July.

It started out with clear blue skies and a 10k race on a trail through tall grasses and wildflowers surrounded by mountains.  The same Mountains Lewis and Clark crossed on their epic journey West in 1805.  Not too shabby.

Next was rafting with Geyser Whitewater on the Gallatin River– the setting for Robert Redford’s classic A River Runs Through It where American heart throb Brad Pitt cast his line for the 1992 film.  Nothing screams “U.S.A.” like a Robert Redford film, and the Gallatin Canyon is an iconic American waterway.  Everyone sported red, white, and blue flare, and as my boat navigated the unusually high waters we cried out in patriotism:

“America!”

“The Liberty Bell!”

“George Washington!”

“The Bill of Rights!”

“John Hancock!”

“The Red Coats are coming!”

These were our battle cries through each raging rapid.  Raft America would prevail!

Post rafting was beer and BBQ time.  After a brief storm the hot sun came back out, illuminating a perfect rainbow on the golf course behind my house.  I drank a Bud.  I ate a hotdog.  I saw a moose.

Music poured from the Town Center 4th of July party, and when the sky finally darkened there was a spectacular display of fireworks.  I sang the National Anthem and pledged my allegiance to the American flag, then went to bed to the sound of bottle rockets, content in knowing I would wake up to another perfect Montana summer day.

Mission: Ultra-American Independence Day? Complete.

-  Greer

Check out the Big Sky celebration in this awesome video Time Lapse - 4th of July in Big Sky from Chris Kamman on Vimeo.

Raft America, guided by whitewater extraordinaire Danielle Chamberlain, celebrates our nation's birth and a successful run of the Upper Gallatin

July 4th 2011: A perfect summer day in Big Sky

Stars, stripes, and Bud Lights

Big Sky goes green for summer  - a grazing elk I spotted on my way to work this morning

IN MONTANA, there are only three seasons. Winter, wonderfully white with cold-smoke powder, blue skies, and snowy peaks; Summer, lush with waist-high wildflowers and sprawling green pastures; Mud season – no further description needed. 

So it makes sense that in April, after the mountain closes, Big Sky thins out until only the few stalwart year round residents remain, tromping through mud almost as deep as their Wellingtons are high. 

It’s that true Big Sky local who weathers the two months of capricious temperatures without high-tailing it to some tropical locale.  But most use May as a time for vacation, and for me, Mud Season conveniently doubles as Work Travel Season.  Last week I jumped on a non-stop to Phoenix for press meetings.

I stepped off the plane in Arizona into 95 degree weather with zero humidity, ruby desert mountains providing the backdrop for the nearby palm trees swaying in the light breeze.  In between work meetings I played a few holes of golf, reveling in the relentless sun, not minding the drenching sweat.  After a month of off-season Big Sky, this was just what I needed.  By Friday, I was dreading my return flight into the uncertainty of early June Montana weather.

But touching down in Bozeman, all I could see was color; during my week away, Montana had blossomed.  The entire Gallatin Valley was a deep, shocking green where horses were now out to pasture, and flowers bloomed on every other tree.  Back in Big Sky, the still snowy peak was just the backdrop to the perfectly groomed golf course that looked- dare I say it?- even greener than the one I had just played in Phoenix.  On the way up to work, I passed by a herd of grazing elk, munching on the fresh new grass.

While Phoenix was a great off-season getaway (and cheap too – my non-stop round trip flight was 130 bucks on Allegiant!), I now realize it goes both ways – were I living in Phoenix, it’s Montana I would escape to now that their temperatures are rising to beyond bearable.  Back in the mountains I put on my sunglasses and stepped out, sweat-free, into the perfect warm summer climate, and breathed in the clear, fresh air.  Welcome back, Montana summer, I’ve been waiting for you.

-  Greer

Check out Big Sky's many summer celebrations through September.

Summer returns to Big Sky: