Ripitz
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Triple Black Diamonds at Big Sky
- Thread starter Ripitz
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Ripitz
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- Dec 23, 2020
I’ve skied all of them except for only a few like Trident and Orbit. They take a little more effort and rarely come in enough to make the hike worthwhile. I think the triple diamond designation is fairly recent and most of my skiing there was before that. It definitely is a good call to rate those areas differently due to the high exposure. You can tumble down most of the double blacks like this one
but not the triples without severe consequences. You can tumble down the Big Couloir, as many do, when there is enough snow but early on or when it’s low tide there is a feature affectionately known as the cheese grater that is exposed.
This is looking down from the top of the Big Cooly. You can see someone just above the left ski tip who is not even to the dogleg yet, which is roughly halfway.
Dogleg looking up. Freebird ripping it. A little bit of the cheese grater is poking out.
This is from the dogleg looking down with the A-Zs in the background.
Looking up from Cueball just above the tram. You can get a sense of the size and scale if you can find Freebird.
As Marz pointed out there is an abundance of rocks sometimes hidden just below fresh snow up high and in the bowl. Challenger is known for that. A coworker of mine on her first day in Big Sky pointed it into the untracked, found the rocks and flipped over, chipping a big piece of her hip bone off. They pinned it back on and she stuck it out, healed and was able to finish the season riding again. The rocks are like shark teeth. My understanding is that Big Sky was really one of the first places that embraced wearing helmets outside of ski racing. They are very necessary especially if you are considering skiing these zones.
As far as experience goes Big Sky is a real special place. It has great terrain for all abilities. The peak is iconic and the scenery is breathtaking. The Headwaters hike is one of the most beautiful in America. A lot of my skiing there was before that hike was established. All of the A-Z chutes were hiked from the bowl. Before Moonlight was built Headwaters was poached from Challenger, which added a layer of excitement. It was known as Nashville bowl, Graceland and the Elvis chutes. Most of the terrain is commiting. Lots of billy goating.
Speaking of which, here’s one on Prudential Rock as seen from Lower Pinnacles.
Goat on the left, Freebird upper center right.
Once you get passed the boney cruxes you can open it up. Much of the run outs empty into big bowls and you can pretty much point’em. It’s amazing that they have that much terrain available to the general public without a guide. Some of it requires a transceiver, shovel and partner but a lot of it doesn’t. The patrol there is no joke. They do a great job keeping it safe.
If you make it to Big Sky and want to dip your toe, try Bonecrusher. It’s an often overlooked hike above Swifty with an awesome view to some turns rated single black. Short and sweet.
but not the triples without severe consequences. You can tumble down the Big Couloir, as many do, when there is enough snow but early on or when it’s low tide there is a feature affectionately known as the cheese grater that is exposed.
This is looking down from the top of the Big Cooly. You can see someone just above the left ski tip who is not even to the dogleg yet, which is roughly halfway.
Dogleg looking up. Freebird ripping it. A little bit of the cheese grater is poking out.
This is from the dogleg looking down with the A-Zs in the background.
Looking up from Cueball just above the tram. You can get a sense of the size and scale if you can find Freebird.
As Marz pointed out there is an abundance of rocks sometimes hidden just below fresh snow up high and in the bowl. Challenger is known for that. A coworker of mine on her first day in Big Sky pointed it into the untracked, found the rocks and flipped over, chipping a big piece of her hip bone off. They pinned it back on and she stuck it out, healed and was able to finish the season riding again. The rocks are like shark teeth. My understanding is that Big Sky was really one of the first places that embraced wearing helmets outside of ski racing. They are very necessary especially if you are considering skiing these zones.
As far as experience goes Big Sky is a real special place. It has great terrain for all abilities. The peak is iconic and the scenery is breathtaking. The Headwaters hike is one of the most beautiful in America. A lot of my skiing there was before that hike was established. All of the A-Z chutes were hiked from the bowl. Before Moonlight was built Headwaters was poached from Challenger, which added a layer of excitement. It was known as Nashville bowl, Graceland and the Elvis chutes. Most of the terrain is commiting. Lots of billy goating.
Speaking of which, here’s one on Prudential Rock as seen from Lower Pinnacles.
Goat on the left, Freebird upper center right.
Once you get passed the boney cruxes you can open it up. Much of the run outs empty into big bowls and you can pretty much point’em. It’s amazing that they have that much terrain available to the general public without a guide. Some of it requires a transceiver, shovel and partner but a lot of it doesn’t. The patrol there is no joke. They do a great job keeping it safe.
If you make it to Big Sky and want to dip your toe, try Bonecrusher. It’s an often overlooked hike above Swifty with an awesome view to some turns rated single black. Short and sweet.
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Harvey
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- Jul 15, 2020
This is incredible. I really appreciate it Rip.
Breaking this out is a no brainer for me. Definitely not letting it get buried in a Detach vs Fixed Grip thread.
We've got some others with Big Sky experience. I'm hoping they will add to it.
Of the 5000 acres, how much is triple black?
Breaking this out is a no brainer for me. Definitely not letting it get buried in a Detach vs Fixed Grip thread.
We've got some others with Big Sky experience. I'm hoping they will add to it.
Of the 5000 acres, how much is triple black?
Tjf1967
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- Jul 21, 2020
I was there 12 years ago and going back in January. It's marketing. I've been to a lot of resorts were if you fall you are in trouble. The tram was the most mind duck lift. The headwall hike was a scramble getting up to the far skiers left chute. Getting there if you fell to the left it was lights out. If you fell to the right you were getting hurt pretty good. They said I've been to places at snowbird. Telluride. Taos. Squaw. And others that are no fall zones. Big sky is the real deal but the triple diamond is marketing.
Ripitz
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- Dec 23, 2020
No doubt there are other places with rowdy terrain. I’m sure marketing has something to do with it. There is definitely a difference though in severity between what they have rated double and triple, so it’s not like it’s entirely bullshit. Maybe they are growing tired of picking up bloody gapers that tomahawked down something that shouldn’t have been attempted and this is their way of warning them. Maybe it will only make the gapers want to do it more.
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MarzNC
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- Jul 18, 2020
Not sure it matters.
For instance, Andesite Mountain by itself is probably bigger than a fair number of ski areas/resorts even in the west. It's not quite skiable 360 degrees, but pretty close. The backside going towards Spanish Peaks is green/blue, most of the trails and off-piste are blue/black, and there is terrain that is rated double-black and looks plenty steep from the top with trees that are clearly not gladed. Easy to spend the entire day there without getting at all bored.
The terrain off the Dakota and Shedhorn lifts also covers a lot of skiable acres of blue/black terrain that's good for probably more than a day if trying to explore it all.
As for the Big Couloir, these two videos are a good contrast in terms of snow conditions. Found on YouTube.
March 2019
Feb 2021
MarzNC
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- Jul 18, 2020
When a 12yo is breathing hard, you know it's very steep and requires mad skills to link turns without hesitation. In this case, pretty sure the kid is with an instructor. The man makes the top part look like a single black. His instructions are what made me interested in this video. It was posted by Ryan Delena's father when Ryan was 16.
Ryan Delena has plenty of "triple black" runs on his channel from assorted regions, including Tuckerman's.
Ryan Delena has plenty of "triple black" runs on his channel from assorted regions, including Tuckerman's.
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Ripitz
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- Dec 23, 2020
According to their mountain stats they claim 18% of the terrain is for experts only. Of that probably half is now designated as triple black. So 9% of 5,850 acres which is 526.50 would be my best guess.
As I alluded to before they consider it a warning as described in this Ski.com article.
this Montana ski resort broke the mold by creating its very own triple black diamond rating to warn guests about some of its especially challenging terrain.
According to Big Sky Resort Ski Patrol, “the methodology for designating trails as triple black diamond includes: exposure to uncontrollable falls along a steep, continuous pitch, route complexity, and high consequence terrain.”
skidotcomblog.wpcomstaging.com
Are you planning a trip Harv? If so, I’ll guinea pig your runs to show you where the rocks are. ?
As I alluded to before they consider it a warning as described in this Ski.com article.
this Montana ski resort broke the mold by creating its very own triple black diamond rating to warn guests about some of its especially challenging terrain.
According to Big Sky Resort Ski Patrol, “the methodology for designating trails as triple black diamond includes: exposure to uncontrollable falls along a steep, continuous pitch, route complexity, and high consequence terrain.”
The Ski.com Guide To Big Sky Resort’s Triple Black Diamonds | To The Mountains Blog by Ski.com | News, Weather, Info
It's in the name. Big Sky Resort is big and its massive terrain bears serious consequences. To honor that challenging landscape, which is epitomized by big mountain runs spilling off the stark Lone Peak, this Montana ski resort broke the mold by creating its very own triple black diamond rating...
skidotcomblog.wpcomstaging.com
Are you planning a trip Harv? If so, I’ll guinea pig your runs to show you where the rocks are. ?
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