Day 4: Coming of Age: Bridger Bowl Montana
by Shanti Sosienski

It was negative 20, which is not uncommon for these parts in mid-January, so the time spent out on the mountain was like three runs, then head inside the old Deer Chalet A-frame mid-mountain lodge for hot chocolate. Then we repeated the process until our noses were numb and almost frostbitten.

Three years later I find myself at Bridger Bowl again in the bitter cold reminiscent of the excellent day I spent here three years ago. This time however, it is only negative 15, but with a wind chill on the top of the mountain of negative 30. The cold whipped in the day after we arrived in Bozeman depositing a foot of snow on the previous day. Jimmy, Ross, and I had experienced a Montana chill like this before, but for the rest of our crew this kind of cold was a whole new experience.

Sandwiched in between the Absorkas and the Crazies mountain ranges, Bridger's highest point is about 8,700 feet. There's a catch to gaining all of this 8,700 feet--you've got to hike the last 600 or so feet. This fifteen minute Stairmaster-like hike is affectionately known as the Ridge by locals. From the Ridge though, expert only cliff bands and powder fields reward those who make the trek.

Bridger Bowl is a special kind of resort. First of all it's a non-profit mountain, which until recently seemed very obvious in the lack of destination resort amenities. Six chairs, with only one of them being a quad, service the resort. And the mid-mountain lodge, until this season, was a dark, funky A-frame with a concrete floor. These days however, Bridger is beginning to take on the generic resort sheen with a brand-new mid-way lodge that was built over the summer. While I am not against change, it is interesting to watch a small, local resort like Bridger step-up accommodations and begin to draw in the cappuccino-seeking crowds. But we hadn't come to the resort to talk architecture and marketing, so there was no use dwelling on the changing times.

On our first day at Bridger it seemed like everyone in Bozeman had the same idea as us--to go snowboarding. It was a weekday (Friday) and the parking lot was full. The mountain was actually almost bordering on crowded and I spotted my first inkling of a line at the Bridger chair as the Powder Park Quad deposited us mid-mountain.

The mountain itself was still entirely Bridger Bowl though in spite of the changes and the unusual crowds. It was steep, deep, cold, and beautiful. Friday offered up plenty of sessioning hits off of the Bridger Chair and Pierre's Knob. And the second day we had on and off clear skies, which made hiking the Ridge at least once in the bitter cold a must. Upon reaching the top a few of us strapped in quickly and dropped, while the other half of the group began trekking out the Ridge. Eventually they reached maximum cold limit and had to drop in as well.

The turns were sweet and pure. Perfect soft powder, a little heavier than usual for Montana, but still nothing compared to the Northwest oatmeal we were used to. After two days at small Montana resorts, Bridger was a nice change. It's a decent sized mountain with a wide range of terrain. Open powder field, cliffs, natural halfpipes, and cat track kickers are plentiful. A little bit for everyone in our family. We came, we saw, we conquered, and after two pleasurable days, we regretfully packed our car up and pointed toward our next stop--Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

To find out more about Bridger Bowl check out their website at: www.bridgerbowl.com.

Day 3: Lost Trail On the Montana Landscape