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mdf

entering the Big Couloir
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@MattSmith looks like your visibility wasnt any better than ours.
Did you enter from the very top instead of from the side? Looks like the other three in your photo might be standng where Unpiste and I enterred.
 
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TS
Tricia

Tricia

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@MattSmith you did us proud.
Awesome gathering and great time seeing everyone. Even better time skiing with those I had the opportunity to make some turns with. I have a few good photos to upload. Here's a start. A preview of "The Next Generation of Egans Are Ready for Launch".

I had the incredible opportunity to join the last day of the Dan Egan Steeps Camp and get an "early" run through the Big Couloir. I'm looking to pull notes, photos and videos together for a longer piece looking at the next generation of extreme skiers following their Dad's and Uncle's footsteps.

I was a little "Chris Farley" with Dan when meeting at the ski school. Remember that time you skied that line in Jackson? That was so cool...
View attachment 67465

My "grouping" for the morning. @MattSmith, Johnny Egan, Will Egan, Tristin (from the camp)
View attachment 67466

My new friend in the Lone Peak Patrol Station
View attachment 67467

Following Instructor Ben, Johnny, and Will into the abyss
View attachment 67468

Ready for launch
View attachment 67471


Dropped in. Tough viz. We were instructed to ski to Ben at the dogleg, check up and then ski to the base. My heart was pounding and legs were jelly.
View attachment 67473

Tram house from the dogleg
View attachment 67474

A really incredible experience. Some of the the more challenging skiing I've done to that point.

I hit Bridger on Monday. Wow - some good pics coming...
Steamboat Springs tomorrow!
 

Big J

Getting off the lift
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@MattSmith you did us proud.
If Big Sky was covered by my Epic Pass my wife and I would be there. Whistler is covered so we will go there as it is only a 3-1/2 hour drive from our house. Looks like all of you had a great time getting together. If doing Whistler in the future we would love to get together with all of you. Ski on!
 

mdf

entering the Big Couloir
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Three things, @MattSmith
First, :golfclap::golfclap::golfclap:
Second, if you came in from the top, those first 30 feet make it much more difficult than my run, so :hail::hail::hail:
And third, just idle curiosity -- did Egan's camp get a block of time and do its own flow control into the Couloir, or did you go through the regular sign in?

Hope we get to ski together again soon.
 

John Webb

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I hit Bridger on Monday. Wow - some good pics coming...
Steamboat Springs tomorrow!
I too hit Bridger on Monday -didn't know you were there ! Actually it was a bit too cold to ski much.
It was -29F at Bozeman airport Sunday. Monday warmed to about 0F at Bridger.

Tuesday was way better as it warmed to mid 20's. I was super impressed with the double black runs
off the ridge. Compares well with anything at JH or Snowbird. I did 4 runs Tuesday on the Schlasman's lift that takes
you almost to the top of the ridge- avy Beacon required. My last visit was 25 years ago before this lift opened in 2007.

The ski patrol could not figure out what to do with my old Ortovox F1 analog beacon. The lift sensors and some
of the patrol had digital beacons that could not see it. Other patrollers and the lift attendant saw it fine. They decided
it was working and gave me special permission to use the lift anyway. Many cliffs here you could kill yourself on !
Many runs comparable to what @MattSmith , @Unpiste, and @mdf did off Lone Peak at Big Sky. I passed on these !
John
 
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theNitza

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I’d like to echo a lot of what others have already said here. As my first large gathering, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Those fears were quickly assuaged after the first great day of skiing and camaraderie. There’s too many to call out individually, but thanks to everyone who skied with me over the course of the week and welcomed me into the group. I truly enjoyed my time out with each of you. A special thanks to the Grumps for sending all your white meat chicken my way and spoiling me my last night out.
Now I just anxiously await the next gathering and possibly finding myself in the NYT. I suppose it’s time I pull the trigger on that Ikon Pass.
 

MattSmith

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Three things, @MattSmith
First, :golfclap::golfclap::golfclap:
Second, if you came in from the top, those first 30 feet make it much more difficult than my run, so :hail::hail::hail:
And third, just idle curiosity -- did Egan's camp get a block of time and do its own flow control into the Couloir, or did you go through the regular sign in?

Hope we get to ski together again soon.
Hi @mdf - back at you :golfclap::golfclap::golfclap:

I wasn't at the top, top, probably about 1/3 of the way up. It was a nice drop off the cornice. Johnny Egan side stepped up to the top so he could get a launch off the cornice. He threw about 10 feet into the coulior and was gone in 4 or 5 turns. I have a great picture that I'm saving for the longer write up.

Egan's camp had a block of time and did their own flow control. It was very controlled, in my opinion. Each skier had the slope to themselves to the dogleg and then from the dogleg down. I'll have to check the video timestamps, but I'd estimate it took well over an hour to get 12 camp participants down. From what I could tell they were behind schedule and had to miss the hot chocolate meetup at Everett's 8800 (top of Ram Charger)

We waited a pretty good amount of time in the patrol house before we were cleared. Have a fun rest of season. Get out there and get it!
-Matt
 

Gary Stolt

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I too had a great time at the Gathering.
Thanks to the Pugs for organizing.
Thanks to the Grumps for the dinner party
Thanks to the Pugs for their House Party
Thanks to those who came for the first time.
Thanks to the Lodge at Big Sky for the special rates.
Thanks to the Man up above for all the good snow.
Congrats to Mike, Alfred, Matt and who else skied the Big.

Hope to see you all soon.
 

mdf

entering the Big Couloir
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I agree with Gary, thanks to everyone who made this a good time.

Looking at the trip reports, I realize how much of Big Sky I never skied, and how many Pugskier's I didn't ski with.
I love my friends that I only see on ski trips, and I love skiing with them. But I used to make more of a point of meeting / skiing with strangers, and I have gotting out of the habit. I'll have to remember to do that next year.
 

mdf

entering the Big Couloir
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Egan's camp had a block of time and did their own flow control. It was very controlled, in my opinion. Each skier had the slope to themselves to the dogleg and then from the dogleg down. I'll

There was a bit of a kerfluffle when we went. You get a time slot in in the small patrol building (not the main office in the tram building), and then either wait or, if there is time, make a lap. (We waited, and warmed up. My fingers were freezing. Also gave me time to go through my pack throroughly and find the one small Pugski sticker in the bottom, so I could tag the door.) At your assigned time, you check in, confirm your beacon is sending, and then go do your run.

We were assigned 1:45, but the 1:30 didn't show up so we were moved up. I headed out, but then Unpiste ran out and called me back. Turned out the 1:30 had gone directly to the gate without checking back in. And they somehow wound up with 3 people in the couloir at the same time. There is a spotter in radio contact with the patroller at the check in desk. I wonder where the spotter is? I suspect those three got a stern talking to at the bottom.
 

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