Northern Rockies/Alberta Anyone have experience with Big Sky's Ski School?

[TonyPlush]

We have a group of 5 skiers coming to Big Sky for 4 days in March. The group is kicking around the idea of getting some sort of group lesson for one of those days.

We are all nearly identical skill level. We can ski any Western blues and most blacks with confidence. Can get down some double blacks, but it won't always be pretty.

We're all self taught, so this would be our first ski lesson experience. My main goal would be to pick up tips to make me a better skier, while also being shown around the mountain to cool spots we'd otherwise have trouble finding. If we could get intel on snow conditions or stashes to make our next few days on the mountain more enjoyable, that would be even better.

I called the Big Sky Ski School, who suggested the 5 person, full day family private lesson for $175 per person. They also mentioned the full day Guided Experience for $177 per person. The main difference being that the guided experience is more about mountain exploration and the family lesson would be more technique focused.

Has anyone done either a lesson or guided experience at Big Sky? Any advice for our group?

 

[martyg]

Look up a young man with the last name of Lyman. Don't know his first name - but I have met him.

His dad is one of our trainers, and IME one of the best trainers in PSIA-RM. I assume that skill st has been bestowed upon his son.

 

[James]

My main goal would be to pick up tips to make me a better skier, while also being shown around the mountain to cool spots we'd otherwise have trouble finding. If we could get intel on snow conditions or stashes to make our next few days on the mountain more enjoyable, that would be even better.

You're going to have to get clear about what you want. Tips about the mountain can be done on the chairlift. Trying to teach you something and exploring the mountain are a little at odds but not completely.
What area are you looking to improve in?

 

[TonyPlush]

You're going to have to get clear about what you want. Tips about the mountain can be done on the chairlift. Trying to teach you something and exploring the mountain are a little at odds but not completely.
What area are you looking to improve in?

Tough to say, as this is very much a "I don't know what I do not know" situation. As a self-taught intermediate/advanced skier, I'm sure I've got all sorts of bad habits that a trained eye would cringe at. Trouble is, I don't know which habits those are. I also don't know if I'm missing out on something subtle that would make my skiing far more efficient.

I feel like I can carve well on any groomer, ski moderate bumps with confidence, but struggle most with steep bumps / trees. I'm sure there's some sort of technique flaw that makes the last part my weak spot.

That said, our group only gets a few days out West per season. (about 7-8 western days per year, spread out over two trips) So having fun during our limited time definitely trumps drilling technique, unless that drilling makes the following 3 or so days exponentially more fun.

 

[TonyPlush]

Paging the always helpful resident Big Sky experts, @skidrew, @Talisman, @milkman, @SShore. Thanks guys!

 

[TonyPlush]

So having fun during our limited time definitely trumps drilling technique, unless that drilling makes the following 3 or so days exponentially more fun.

That said, if an advanced lesson or guided experience mostly just consists of skiing the same obvious lift serviced terrain we'd find on our own, I think the group would rather save the ~$800.

In that sense, I guess my question really boils down to, what should I expect in a typical Big Sky full-day private group lesson or full-day guided experience?

 

[SShore]

I took a full day Adult Group lesson a couple of weeks ago. There were maybe a dozen people signed up for intermediate lessons. They had a ski a bit and then divided us up onto three different groups. In the morning class I was with two other people in the most advanced class. One of the ladies only wanted to ski on piste so that is all we did. In the afternoon, I had a different instructor (got lucky and got Ursula) all to myself. We skied on piste, in the moguls and ended with a black tree run.

If I were in your shoes, I would book an all day private for your group and ask for Ursula, she is a legend at BigSky. Be specific as to what you want to do and if your abilities are sufficient, she will take you to whatever kind of terrain you want to ski and teach you how to ski it.

 

[Talisman]

Ursula Howland if you can get her for a private. When Ursula isn't teaching she is flying jets. There are some others Dick Fast for example.

 

[BS Slarver]

Look one of us up for the guided tour for $0

Plop down the money for the lesson to work on the “weak” spots

 

[Jilly]

Ursula or SkiSailor (aka Lauren).

 

[skibum4ever]

I recommend Ursula.

 

[Jack skis]

Never been to Big Sky before? It's a BIG area so I'd suggest the Guided Experience. You can get a lesson anywhere. Well, you can't get a lesson from Ursula anywhere, but I still think a tour would help you guys enjoy the area. My suggestion is based on about 10 years at Big Sky, much of working at the ski school, as was Ursula. Yeah, yeah, she was an Instructor and I was the janitor, but we still both worked for the ski school.

 

[skidrew]

In that sense, I guess my question really boils down to, what should I expect in a typical Big Sky full-day private group lesson or full-day guided experience?

I've done a number of lessons, but not the guided experience. As suggested by others, the two are going to provide different things. A sensible instructor will use the time wisely to maximize opportunities to improve technique. That may mean repeating certain runs or staying in a certain area. Just as an example, the instructor I usually ski with loves going up the powder seeker lift (to the Bowl) because it's really fast and rarely has lines, and there are several ways down of varying difficulty and conditions allowing him to teach various things. He might "push" me on some terrain elsewhere, but he's not going to waste a lot of lesson time on cat tracks getting us over to Shedhorn/Dakota, for example. Personally I think that makes sense - the lessons aren't cheap so best to get as much skiing in as possible.

If you want someone to help you explore the mountain, you're inevitably going to get less time for instruction.

That said, I think the lessons are cheaper than the guided tours, which is weird but how it is. So you could always ask the instructor to take you all around. Keep in mind that to the extent there are "hidden" things at Big Sky, most of that is going to be the nooks of trees in places you might not realize. It's pretty easy to find the groomers and more open advanced terrain just by looking at the map.

What you might consider is dividing the lesson into two parts. Spend the morning working on technique. Then ask the instructor to take you over to less frequented areas that s/he things your skill set allows you to ski. I find that I'm pretty gassed by a half-day lesson, so taking it a bit easier in the afternoon is welcome.