fuck yeah bigsky and moonlight are combinding this year to make the biggest ski area in the US check out the artical on freeskier http://www.freeskier.com/freeskier/news.php?news_id=230
Big Sky and Moonlight Basin, Montana, have just announced they will unite forces for the 2005-06 season. This partnership opens up a staggering 5300 acres of skiable terrain on a single lift ticket. Reigning giant Vail, with 5289 acres, is forced to relinquish its title.
The marriage of the two resorts is sweet news for freeriders, since it opens up a huge swathe of the north face of Lone Peak, the North Summit Snowfield. “Probably one of the biggest impacts of this partnership is that there will now be lift access to terrain in Moonlight that you could previously only get to by hiking. It’s a very steep, challenging area, a lot of really intense couloirs and straight gully shots,� says Dax Schieffer, PR Manager for Big Sky.
There is some serious skiing to be had here, according to Big Sky local Pat Davis. “It’s really hardcore terrain, it’s going to present a lot of problems for how they’re going to patrol it. Not many people have skied it, maybe a handful - it would take a day to take one run, since you’re going from 11,000ft through really steep chutes.�
In previous years, Big Sky skiers could ascend the tram and look down the north face into Moonlight, but ski area boundaries officially prevented people from enjoying the awesome terrain that lies beneath. Skiers from Moonlight could hike up, with the galling knowledge that a perfectly good tram could take them exactly where they wanted to go. Now this ridiculous situation has been resolved, and riders can make the most of Lone Peak.
Schieffer is stoked: “I’m really excited because it’s going to be one more area to go on what is already really an unlimited palette of skiing. I’ve been here eight years and not a year goes by I don’t ski a run I haven’t skied before. This partnership just lays on even more choices.�
At this point, pass prices have not been announced. Local skier Davis says the cost of the new combined lift ticket could significantly affect how much impact the union will actually have: “It depends on how many people are going to be able to afford it. The ticket could go through the roof.�
The amicable relationship between the resorts comes as a surprise, because since Moonlight’s birth in 2003, the pair have snarled at each other over the ridge. While a few trails and one lift have been shared in the past, negotiations were not always peaceful. Talk of legal strife ensued, to the extent that the authors of resort guide Where to Ski and Snowboard 2005 wrote confidently, “Last season the areas overlapped, but next season it looks as though they will be completely separate.�
Although a joint ticket will be available, the two resorts are still going to be decidedly individual entities: Big Sky with its international vibe and Moonlight remaining more intimate and Western in style. The shared hope is to lure more visitors. Moonlight Basin Communications Manager, Hilary Fetter says, “Montana is a sleeper in the destination ski market. We’re hoping to put ourselves on the map in terms of our size.�
no me gusta acls
also known as pussyfooter
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