Univ Of Montana

N

Nati513

Member
I am going to the univ of Montana in Missoula next year for college and i am wondering whats the closest mountain near the campus. Whats the park like there? And if you go to U of M let me know how you like it. Plus K for any help thanks
 
Snowbowl is the closest mountain to U of M. There is a park like 5 weekends a year. Not that good. But if you join the missoula freestyle team they have a pretty dope park. Or you could volunteer to be a digger or something. But if you really want park and dont want to look up MFT then Lost trail is about 2 hours away.
 
everything he said is true. this is my first year at the UofM and i love snowbowl. i dont care that they dont have a prak because there is just so much natural stuff to play around on and it is really technical skiing. it is not a beginner mountain and there is very easy access to surrounding peaks if you are in search of powder. snowbowl is only 20 minutes away from the university also!
 
Do not come to Missoula if you like riding park in any way shape or form. It might as well not exist. Snowbowl has some fun terrain and some technical stuff as well but don't count on much snow. This year has been terrible beyond belief. Lost trail is ok if there is like a foot but otherwise count on short runs with fun terrain and long lifts and it being at least 1hr 30min from Missoula. Go to Bozeman if you like skiing, or Utah.
 
this is copied from another thread in this forum. link to thread. https://newschoolers.com/web/forums/readthread/thread_id/498002/

every single one will say the exact same things.

1.Claim: snowbowls park sucks. Fact: there is no park at the bowl. so therefore it can't suck. It also lacks groomed runs or grooming at all really. On the plus side there are very few little kids there, college freshmen in bright colors, or gapers. Snowbowl is for people who believe in "more carve less jib" style skiing and if they want to get gnarly aren't afraid to go there. The bar is also the greatest place in the world. period. anyone who disagrees I will fight.

2.Claim: Lost Trail is the greatest place in the world. Fact: LT puts on a decent park, gets pummeled with snow, and is pretty inexpensive. It's also so not steep in most places that it sucks if the snow gets too deep because you can't get speed. There is also a ton of families and small children there, and the percentage of freshman and highschool kids in bright colors is among the highest in the state.

3.Claim: Big Mountain is better. Fact: Big mountain in a lot of ways is better, it's got amazing terrain, deep snow and a solid park, and fast chairlifts. On the negative side the chairs are arranged in such a dumb manner that most of the time you spend skiing is run outs back to the chair instead of shredding top to bottom. That gets annoying as hell, and there is nothing to do in whitefish...

4. Claim: Move to Bozeman. Fact. Bozeman has a bunch of really big hills all located really close to it. It's also got the highest tourist content in Montana which kills coming to montana. Big sky is rad, but rocky and hella expensive, bridger is sick, but only the upper half, and it gets skied out quick. And MSU has way more dudes than girls, which is pretty lame, as well as the town which is geared a lot more around tourism than being a place to live. That might be fun for people under 25, but it gets old fast.

As you can see each place has its pros and cons. pick your style and run with it.

 
Thanks a lot everyone. I am not a huge park person i love skiing all terrain type stuff.so i dont think its going to be a huge problem for me
 
^that's actually funny that you think the skiing in missoula is by any means good. Maybe if we ever got snow it would maybe be decent.
 
haha not trying hard enough! I understand this winter sucked but there isn't even enough snow to build a decent jump at snowbowl because wait the snowpack is maybe 2 feet in spots haha. and ya pretty much because i know what a real winter is like and this wasn't it. But hey it's not like utah or bozeman had better seasons than us, or that the terrain is better or that there are way better riders to ride with at these other areas. If your looking for uncrowded places sure then shred missoula resorts but they are by no means hidden jems that's all.
 
Okay I was at the U of M last year, and am coming back this fall. From my personal experience here is my two cents:
Snowbowl: It's okay if you are too lazy to drive any further. If you go there will be gnarly terrain... just not the kind of terrain that is a "good" gnarly. There is ice, and un-groomed groomed runs. Oh and I almost got kicked off the mountain for using their park, because you have to sign up and pay like 300 dollars at the beginning of the year to use it. My advise, go somewhere else.
Lost Trail: It has some pretty legit terrain. However the runs are not very long. There is a somewhat good sized park (last year it had a three jump line and some rails) but it is almost 2 hours away from campus. I also noticed that there weren't very many good skiers at lost trail, but that could have been just on the days I went there.
Great Divide: I don't see any comments about my favorite resort so far. Don't go for powder or big mountain skiing, but the comps and the park that are at this resort are insane! I got a lot better at park by skiing at the great divide.
LOLO: There is a lot of powder, but it's a hike. I loved going up lolo and skiing powder this season. This is also a great place to build BC booters.
Overall, I'm from utah and the skiing in montana doesn't quite compare. But if you know where to go you will be having a blast all winter.
 
go back to park city then. or colorado. they like jump jocks and park rats a lot there. have you ever tried the east coast? hella good parks, and mad snowmaking!
 
This kid is a fag. Let me guess you know everything about skiing huh? You know only the best spots with the sickest lines and the deepest powder. Man your cool. Let me guess you probably like the best skier in Montana to? f'ing douche
 
I'm also the most serious person on newschoolers. Always. And I love hearing about people bitch about conditions more than just be happy about they have to work with.
everyone can move to jersey as far as i'm concerned.
 
because he is a fucking idiot who should get the fuck out of our treasure state and go back to the land of the mormon pussies
 
i really don't like you and your "better than everyone" attitude. you think you're so awesome because you don't ski park. some people like to ski park man, me included. that does not mean that these people don't like pow or any other type of skiing. its just fun to ski park as well. i would much rather take an epic pow day any day, but park is still fun as shit. even if people are complete park rats, at least they're doing what they love, which is skiing.
 
I really don't feel like i'm better than everyone I swear. I used to drive a groomer and build parks. I just don't like when people bitch about what they don't have. Look out the window and there are mountains and snow. thats all you need to enjoy skiing. It doesn't take much more than a down log and a stump with some snow on it to get creative.
All I'm saying is if you want to jib that bad make it happen. I spend way more time fucking around on the sides of runs bonking shit on shittty snow days than charging lines on deep days. But you'll never catch me saying "this place sucks" or wanting more. sure I'm not a fan of every hill in montana, and i really don't like riding park that much, but if it's all i have to work with I'm gonna do it.

 
Im not sure why people never talk about silver mt in idaho. It is just under two hours away so it isn't close but they have a pretty nice park and the lines are alway short. Also you loose an hour on the drive there so it gives you an extra hour of sleep in the morning. I really enjoyed it there this past season
 
^lolo as in lolo pass. Backcountry so no park hombre. Good pow, kinda low elevation so it sucked this year but generally real fun short runs.
 
I came to montana because I love montana, not because the skiing was better. And lolo wasn't the best this year but there is powder uptehre and it's a cool place to build bc jumps
 
Ill be in miller hall i think my room number is 347 feel free to stop by. I move in the 24th of august (next tuesday) so if anyone is there now seriously come stop by. Pm me
 
every one and there brother has their card here it seems ha, and im 21 so pm me for some sick rail seshes at my pad here soon!
 
This isn't seth is it? Either way let me know if you are ever down to have a sesh. I am willing to help you build rails or whatever you need, I work as a carpenter so I know my shit.
 
ya im the dude who randomly walked into your dorm last year and said," i got rails , and boxes a house and a truck, but no one to ride with today, wana shesh?" haha good to see your still in the zoo man
 
we got bob wards (next to southgate mall), gull ski (north broadway), backcountry racks ( off north reserve) , and then there are some small more telemark/backcountry oriented shops in the downtown area. i dont know where you used to live but u prob had better shops. i dont mind them, but ive never really been to very many places.... I dont really like one more than the other tho..
 
I'm a big fan of Gull. They always seem to be down to chat and don't really pressure you to purchase stuff. Bob wards is decent too and Trail head is in downtown, not freestyle, but I still enjoy looking around in it.
 
I no longer have your number... you should message me it. I get back on friday and I would be down to have a session anytime after that.
 
You guys should check out Lookout Pass on the MT/ID border. A locals mtn for sure, some of the most perfectly spaced trees, dirt cheap season passes ( bought at the UofM ski swap in Oct for $99 a couple years ago), and its got a park. It's 1.5 hrs away but the time changes from MST to PST on the way, so you leave at 8:30am and arrive at 9a.m. They get lots of snow too.

Also Discovery has some fun terrain to check out on the backside, its over near Phillipsburg. Your lift ticket at the end of the day is good for a beer at the local gas station/ bar too

Hunter
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top