Big Mountain Ski Area.gif)
The Skiing at Big Mountain Ski Resort
Big
Mountain Ski Area is aptly named. Spanning more than 3000
skiable acres, Big Mountain provides a huge variety
of terrain for skiers of all abilities – with enough
of it to prevent getting bored even during a week of hard
skiing. Moreover, this “3000 skiable acres” is
very true – virtually the ENTIRE mountain is truly
skiable. Unlike many other ski areas, at Big Mountain you
are not confined to the trails. Indeed, the actual ski trail
network on the mountain itself is quite limited when compared
to the sheer size of the mountain. As such, if you enjoy
skiing off trail – whether it be in bowls, in the bumps
or in the trees, Big Mountain Ski Area is a great place to
ski at.
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| Skiing
on the Inspiration Trail |
Big
Mountain ski area also generally receives quite a bit of
snow during a normal winter. Average snowfall is 300 inches,
which generally packs down by the end of the year to a solid
base at the summit of between 100-150 inches. While early
season skiing can be a bit bumpy and rocky – usually
(but not always, depending on the whims of mother Nature)
by Christmas the mountain is fully open and has a very solid
snowpack.
Big
Mountain is essentially divided into three parts – the
front side, the back side and the Hellroaring Basin side.
Each of these parts is covered below.
Front Side of Big Mountain
The
front side of the Big Mountain ski area is obviously the “front” of
the mountain – or the part of the mountain you see
while standing in the village area. The front of the mountain
is quite large – yet only comprises I would say about
half of the total skiable terrain at Big Mountain. The vertical
rise on the front side of the mountain is 2078 feet (or the
vertical rise of the chairlift). There is very little in
the way of flat run-offs on the bottom of Big Mountain, so
as such this is a true skiable vertical.
The
front side of Big Mountain is where the widest variety
of terrain is found on the mountain. Beginner runs (green
circles) are found on the left side of the mountain – nicely
segregated away from the main intermediate and expert runs.
The
front side of Big Mountain contains all of the beginner
trails, which is nice. Better yet, for all skiers, the beginner
area of Big Mountain is well away from the intermediate and
expert trails. Not only does this keep more advanced skiers
happy, it also keeps beginner skiers happy to – since
they don’t have to content with advanced skiers swooshing
down the trails at high speeds. The beginner area on Big
Mountain also has two dedicated chair lifts that are easy
to get on and off – although they are rather slow.
As beginners feel more comfortable skiing – it is also
easy to skirt over and ski some nearby intermediate level
trails that many beginner skiers should be able to easily
make their way down.
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| The
View from Toni Matt at Big Mountain |
Many
intermediate runs snake their way down from the summit
on the front side of Big Mountain. Excellent intermediate
ski trails that begin from the summit on the front side of
Big Mountain include Inspiration, Toni Matt, Corkscrew and Big
Ravine. Numerous other well-groomed intermediate
ski
trails begin at the top of the Swift Creek Double chairlift
which is right next to Big Mountain sports, although the
vertical drop of these ski trails is significantly less,
at around 1000 or so vertical feet. Tip – If you like
to ski groomed runs, on weekends this lift usually doesn’t
have lengthy lift lines like the main High Speed Quad Chair
does.
Many
excellent expert level ski runs are also
found on the front side of Big Mountain. One of my favorites
is Good Medicine,
which offers excellent tree skiing while providing great
views, all at the same time. Other excellent expert trails
include Big Face, Langley, Powder Bowl, Schmidts
Chute, Elkweed,
and Fault 1-3. If you are from back east and like
to ski in “eastern style” glades, be sure to
also check out the short but fun ski trail called Woodlot.
And
if you feel really daring, Big Mountain has a couple of
double
diamond (true expert only) ski runs on
the front side. These are true double diamond trails – if
you are an intermediate skier, it is best to stay off these
trails as
they are steep, narrow and rocky. A bad fall could lead to
some nasty consequences on these trails. Good double diamond
trails on the front side include East Rim and Fish
Creek.
Note : There is one ski trail you probably want to avoid. Russ’s Street is the longest ski run on Big Mountain – but
it is also incredibly flat once below the summit. Some skating
is usually required on the flatter sections of this trail.
In short, use Russ’s Street only as a trail to lead
you to another trail or lift. Don’t plan on taking
this ski run from top to bottom – there are far better
trails to take than this one.
Chair
Lift System on the Front of Big Mountain
There
are many chair lifts on the front side of Big Mountain.
The main chairlift is a high-speed quad chair – called
the Glacier Chaser – that begins near the village area
and runs up to the top of the mountain. Unfortunately, it
is also the only chair that begins in the village area that
also makes its way to the top of the mountain, too. As such,
this chair can develop some pretty lengthy lift lines on
weekends. Generally, during the weekdays, this chair isn’t
too crowded, but be prepared for some lengthy lines on the
weekends.
Other
chair lifts that run every day on the front side include
2 beginner chairlifts, a double chairlift and the “village
chair” that both serves a nice beginner run and which
also serves as transport to get people up to the Glacier
Chaser Quad from the lower village area.
On weekends,
Big Mountain dusts off older triple chairlifts that do
not run during the week. Even on busy weekends, these
chair lifts are usually deserted of people – probably
because it takes over 20 minutes to reach the top when taking
the two lifts needed to reach the summit!
 
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