It started to snow around 11 a.m. and the flakes were getting bigger and bigger as the storm settled in, by 1 p.m. a few inches had fallen and I was set to meet with Friso and Meg visiting from NYC. They were checking out Big Sky for the first time and have traveled to many other ski resorts the past few years.
Their first observation of skiing our area was both the size of the resort along with the relative lack of crowds, they always ski the Holiday week and even though Big Sky too had more people than average, the lift system kept people moving smoothly and with a few quick choices, you could find you’d have a run all to yourself with ease. 
The stories I picked up from Meg and her husband told me they should be able to handle plenty of terrain, but for a starter for me to get warmed up I opted for a nice, long, rolling cruiser of Elk Park Ridge, one of our quintessential intermediate slopes that is lengthy and full of options. The new snow was really nice as we worked our way on the run, I was pleasantly happy to glance over my shoulder and see them both right on my trail, they were both strong skiers and I knew our tour would be fun. We stuck to the right side that was a mixture of the new snow, the groomed track along with some of the packed powder right off the ridge.
We got to the bottom of Thunderwolf and skied right to the chair for our next lap, which I figured with their adventurous spirit could involve some trees. I lead them toward Hangman’s where we caught the left road to find Congo. By now the snow was really picking up (see the photo) and we stopped a few times to savor the perfect pitch and soft snow. 
From the base we went up Swift Current, this time I figured to up the pitch a bit and we went toward Rice Bowl. After getting about three quarters around the cirque, we jumped in to find really soft and creamy turns toward the bottom. After popping out the trees we headed back to the hidden entrance to Buffalo Jump. Friso was eyeing the rock outcroppings but I skied around the right side and we played in the playground of kickers and whoops through the sides and belly of Buffalo Jump.
We finished our afternoon tour with a run down Lobo that was the perfect finish for the afternoon. They had been skiing all day and were starting to prepare for the après/dinner plans. I was happy to explore the mountain and show off a few secrets that truly show the depth of how much variety we have in ski terrain.
We’ll see you out there,
Dax
