Uncategorized
Snowfall in the Misty Mountains
Published
11 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersBy Irene Henninger Big Sky Weekly Contributor
Porters Ski Area, on New Zealand’s South Island, had been closed for two full days. We’d gotten three feet of snow, and there were eight-foot drifts on the highway. The road was closed and the nine staff remaining, myself included, were completely isolated in the staff housing halfway down the access road.
Our plow driver was unable to reach us, so the snow cat operator started working on clearing the road with the groomer, making his way from the staff housing down to the highway.
By the afternoon, two patrollers had reached us from where they lived in Castle Hill Village, six miles away. We rode the snow cat up the road to do some preliminary avalanche control with explosives on the chutes above the access road. One slide path ran farther than it ever had before, according to records.
At Porters, the base area sits beneath several large avalanche paths. When a big storm comes in, it’s unsafe to access the base area due to the avalanche hazard. The road is only safe to just above the staff housing. Though the storm was beginning to die down, we could only continue clearing the lower road, still unable to reach the base area.
My partner, Doug, manager of Broken River Ski Area a little to the north, had other concerns. Broken River’s avalanche terrain is more easily accessible, so patrol was able to do control work and keep the rope tows spinning for guests already there, but the road was not passable with three feet of snow on it. One of the lodges didn’t have heat for three days. Doug’s solution was to keep the guests skiing hard all day, have dinner at the day lodge, and they’d be ready to happily crawl into bed upon return.
Although no one could drive on the highway, a Broken River club member who was staying in Castle Hill Village with his toddler-aged daughter got bored, being stuck in the village, and ski toured 10 miles up the road to Broken River with his daughter on his back, arriving there at 10 p.m., completely unannounced.
By Thursday, weather was improving and the roads were opening. With clear skies forecast for Friday, we were hoping for a good window to conduct avalanche control on the main mountain and open up for the weekend.
Waking up the next day to clear, calm weather, we were excited to get the ski area ready to open. We bombed all morning, and then shoveled the base area out all afternoon.
Porters finally opened on Saturday, just in time for a beautiful weekend powder day, the locals anxiously waiting to get up to the ski fields.
Irene Henninger is a ski patroller at the Yellowstone Club and is Assistant Snow Safety Director at Porters Ski Area in New Zealand. She is a Friend of Kingswood Skis, made by a local skier in New Zealand, and usually isn’t seen skiing without them on her feet. Since being in New Zealand is the closest thing to summer she’s got, you’ll oftentimes see her patrolling in a bikini at Porters.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
Upcoming Events
july, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
CALL FOR ARTISTS: Paint anytime from June 1-28EXHIBITION & SALE: June 29 - July 31Calling all artists and nature enthusiasts! Get
more
Event Details
CALL FOR ARTISTS: Paint anytime from June 1-28
EXHIBITION & SALE: June 29 – July 31
Calling all artists and nature
enthusiasts! Get your paintbrushes ready for an unforgettable experience at
Paint Under the Big Sky, a thrilling plein air event set against the stunning
backdrop of Big Sky, MT, Chet Huntley’s “The Last Best Place”. Don’t
miss this chance to unleash your creativity and be part of a vibrant artistic community.
What is Paint Under the Big Sky? PUBS is a plein air event for all painters of any ability (over the age of 16). Sponsored by the Big Sky Artist’s Studio & Gallery and the Big Sky Artists Collective, a non-profit organization whose mission is to foster a strong community of artists in the Big Sky area, the paint-out hopes to introduce painters to our extraordinary landscape for an opportunity to create, meet and have fun. Plein air painters record our landscape for generations to come.
Artists are invited to travel to Big
Sky, MT to paint anytime between Jun 1 – 28, and participate in the exhibition
and sale of paintings from June 29 – July 31.
Come join us! We have a great
place to paint and are welcoming and fun!
Don’t miss out!
Time
June 1 (Saturday) 1:00 am - July 31 (Wednesday) 11:55 pm
Event Details
Embrace the freedom and serenity of movement in nature with our rejuvenating morning yoga class on the Mountain Lawn. Allow the fresh mountain air and gentle guided yoga practice
Event Details
Embrace the freedom and
serenity of movement in nature with our rejuvenating morning yoga class on the
Mountain Lawn. Allow the fresh mountain air and gentle guided yoga practice to
invigorate your day of adventure ahead. Complimentary. Weather
permitting.
Time
June 1 (Saturday) 7:00 am - August 31 (Saturday) 7:00 am
Location
Montage Big Sky
995 Settlement Trail
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by GAS for ride information.
Time
June 10 (Monday) 6:00 pm - August 19 (Monday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by GAS for ride information.
Time
June 17 (Monday) 6:00 pm - August 26 (Monday) 6:00 pm