Big Sky
Let me just start this post out with saying I have not been up on the slopes for over six years and have not skied in over twelve years until last week. I grew up skiing with my family every winter; we lived close to the mountains so it was always a fun winter activity. Around junior high I switched to snow boarding and then as life does happen a few winters passes and before you know it years go by and I hadn’t been in so long!
Tanden and I headed over to Montana to meet up with some dear friends who winter in Big Sky. To be honest I wasn’t planning on skiing at all, I had just tweaked my knee a few days before and more wanted a little mid-winter break to be with friends. Once we arrived and talked with our friends about how amazing the mountain was I ended up renting some skis, which I am so glad I did!
Our first full day there we were trying to get acclimated to the elevation (6,6200 at the town square) so we went on a nice snowy hike to Ousel Falls. It was a simple short hike (less than two miles) that was so beautiful! The waterfall was mostly frozen, which was absolutely breathtaking and unlike anything I had ever seen. I highly recommend checking this place out if you are ever in Big Sky. There are “slides” in between the trail for a faster departure, which is fun and unique so make sure to wear snow pants if that is appealing to you!
Our second full day we skied Big Sky. It is known for the biggest skiing in America! It was pretty crazy how much terrain there was and I barely covered any of it! It was really fun getting back on skis and thanks to help from Patti and Abby I was able to pick up on some of my old ski “skills”. Man oh man was I sore after that though day! The runs are so long compared to what I used to ski so that was a challenge in itself but it was such an awesome experience!
The next day we got to ski at the Yellow Stone Club which is basically 13,600 acres of private powder. Our friends are members there so we were able to go with them. This exclusive community was one of the most extravagant experiences I have ever had and everything was top notch to say the least! Due to not skiing for 12 years my entire lower body was spent pretty quickly into this day so I did not get to ski as much as I would have liked, but it was still beyond amazing and so much fun!
I even got to see my good friends from CDA our last evening and catch up, which was so nice! We had such an amazing winter get-away it was hard to come back home! I do love Coeur d’ Alene but in the winter sometimes the slowness can get a little dull! Good thing we are headed to Northern California next week for some more adventures! Feel free to leave a comment with any questions, hope this makes you want to grab your snow gear and head to Big Sky because witting this sure makes me want to go back!
xx nichole