Tram Life

No posts for a while cause I moved. Again. Now its just become a yearly spring migration.

I foresaw my demise at the end of a Valley shovel. Stroke or heart attack, dealer’s choice. Sunset riders lets you choose…

35 units. 1000 feet of walkway. 109 steps. One man one shovel. No snow blower. 9 feet in January. Fuck this. Big Sky sounds delightful.

In the Astro, I sojourned north Feb 4th. Weather looked good. Until I hit Jackson. Then snowpocalyps enveloped my modern-day stagecoach. Made it up Teton pass barely, one drive wheel spinning, small powder avalanches ghosting the front of the Astro. I think some bro pros actually jumped the damn thing while trying to descend. White knuckle an understatement into Idaho and through the storm. Why not stop? This wasn’t a vacation. I was headed to work and ski, and immediately begin a new life. Big Sky bitches.

Sounded too good to be true. A house with a yard. Dog. Garage. Space. Opportunity in a rising place. Vail was the spinning wheel with East Vail in the center as the draw.

I pulled in to big sky town. 6 miles from the resort. Rainbow Trout Run. Rockwellian.

The place is so frikin quiet. Every morning required, the avi bombs go off 6 miles away, dropped on either on Lone Peak or Headwaters. The noise travels from Big Sky, into my room, my subconscious and jolts me awake.

Then I saw the terrain. Good lord and baby Jesus. You dont get the consistent deep pow of EV here. It snows uphill here alot. The wind sculpts it and smooth and soft it a pretty good day. When you add the terrain, however its a hell of a mix.

Lone Peak From Headwaters Ridge

This is the focus of tram life, Not spending any time in places with such things, the tram line and physical bucket itself are at the center of the Big Sky dirtbag culture. Tram life encompasses both a social and skiing purpose. One, to get you to the top of Lone Peak. Gets you to the Big couli and other access. Two, its a social place where the locals greet each other and size up others. However, this is fashion gnar. Headwaters is the real deal…

Headie.

This in bounds hike to terrain is like nothing else. These ribbions trace through massive terrain. Three of these runs have mandatory exits. These are open controlled and named. 5 th class run is about 60 to 80 right now. Tee it up and enjoy. Plenty of patrollers waiting to pick up the pieces.

This shit haunts my dreams. I’ve skied some of it. Found myself on top of parts of it. Its my EV substitute yet totally different. It makes you think and has made me a better skier. Hang on to your potatoes. Watch out for Grizzly bears.

This place completes my journey to the ends of the road once again.