{"id":423,"date":"2025-01-29T23:58:42","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T00:58:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypaytril.com\/?p=423"},"modified":"2025-02-17T12:26:44","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T12:26:44","slug":"mountain-review-bridger-bowl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mypaytril.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/29\/mountain-review-bridger-bowl\/","title":{"rendered":"Mountain Review: Bridger Bowl"},"content":{"rendered":"
MOUNTAIN SCORE<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n #7 in the Northern Rockies<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n 66<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n #46 Overall<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n See our criteria<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n 8<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Snow:<\/strong><\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Resiliency:<\/strong><\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Size:<\/strong><\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Terrain Diversity:<\/strong><\/p>\n 10<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Challenge:<\/strong><\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Lifts:<\/strong><\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Crowd Flow:<\/strong><\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Facilities:<\/strong><\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Navigation:<\/strong><\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Mountain Aesthetic:<\/strong><\/p>\n 1-Day Ticket: <\/strong>$82-$97<\/p>\n Pass Affiliation: <\/strong>None<\/p>\n On-site Lodging: <\/strong>No<\/p>\n Apr\u00e8s-Ski:<\/strong> Limited<\/p>\n Nearest Cities:<\/strong> Bozeman (30 mins)<\/p>\n Recommended Ability Level:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n World-class expert terrain<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Family-friendly atmosphere<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Local feel<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Lift ticket value<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Slow lifts<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Modest size compared to fly-to destinations<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Avalanche beacon required for some terrain zones<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Skiable Footprint: <\/strong>1,640<\/a>\u00a0acres<\/p>\n Total Footprint: <\/strong>2,000<\/a>\u00a0acres<\/p>\n Lift-Serviced Terrain: <\/strong>83%<\/p>\n Top Elevation: <\/strong>8,792 ft<\/p>\n Vertical Drop: <\/strong>2,702 ft<\/p>\n Lifts:<\/strong> 8<\/p>\n Trails: <\/strong>75<\/p>\n Beginner: <\/strong>22%<\/p>\n Intermediate:<\/strong> 40%<\/p>\n Advanced\/Expert: <\/strong>38%<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Dreaming of a local ski hill with world-class terrain? Bridger Bowl might be the hidden gem you\u2019ve been looking for. With less than 2,000 skiable acres and no-frills infrastructure, this Montana resort may not seem like a world-killer on the surface. However, Bridger Bowl\u2019s terrain makes for one of the most memorable experiences one can have at a ski resort\u2014provided one is proficient enough to handle it.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Bridger Bowl offers some of the most memorable terrain one can find at any ski resort.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n With 1,640 skiable acres, Bridger Bowl is generously sized for a local ski hill, although it is quite a bit smaller than most destination ski resorts. The resort starts out with one base area and widens out as it gets higher in elevation. Bridger Bowl also gets progressively steeper as guests proceed up the mountain, with the lower mountain almost exclusively serving beginner terrain, mid-mountain areas specializing in intermediate and advanced trails, and upper mountain areas home to an abundance of steep chutes and cliffs. In fact, several of Bridger Bowl\u2019s upper mountain areas are so perilous that the resort requires an avalanche beacon to access them.<\/p>\n Bridger Bowl is essentially the town hill for Bozeman, Montana, and luckily for those learning, it offers a reasonably strong experience for beginners. The lower-mountain Virginia City and Sunnyside chairs almost exclusively serve easier green runs, while the mid-mountain Alpine lift offers a handful of green trails as well, with the upper part of this terrain zone hosting some unique open glade areas for this ability level. Although all guests coming from mid- and upper-mountain areas need to funnel through the beginner zones to get back to the base, there\u2019s a wide enough variety of trails that no one run ends up attracting all the traffic. For skiers and riders who are just learning, the Snowflake triple chair and a handful of magic carpets provide access to a small bunny hill near the base of the ski area.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Bridger Bowl has some solid intermediate terrain as well. The Alpine, Powder Park, and Pierre\u2019s Knob lifts serve groomed blue-rated cruisers, while the Alpine lift offers access to some nice mellower glade terrain as well. The mid-station of the Bridger lift also serves some blues, but this area is mainly used for race training.<\/p>\n Bridger Bowl isn\u2019t exactly a destination for park rats, but it does have two terrain parks in its lower mountain that will keep freestyle enthusiasts reasonably satisfied. Features range in size from small to large and include boxes, rails, jumps, and jibs.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Bridger lift is the place to be for single-black-level trails. Past the mid-station, this lift does not offer any intermediate or lower ways down. This chair serves a series of advanced-level bowls and chutes that mogul up quickly, making for some particularly demanding runs. The Pierre\u2019s Knob and Powder Park lifts serve some shorter advanced-level trails as well, and these can be nice for trying out mogul terrain for the first time.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n While Bridger Bowl offers enough terrain to satisfy guests of all levels, the resort caters most to confident experts.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n But while Bridger Bowl does have a good variety of terrain for all ability levels, the resort\u2019s expert terrain is where it really starts becoming worth it to travel out of the way for. The \u201clower tier\u201d of Bridger\u2019s expert runs are marked with a double-black-diamond symbol. These chutes mainly exist off the Bridger lift via the High Traverse, and they involve particularly steep, high-consequence fall lines with very little room for error. Some of these chutes are lined by rocks, making for dramatic backdrops.<\/p>\n But where you really want to be at Bridger Bowl if you are a confident expert is on its Ridge Terrain. Denoted with a purple shade on the trail map, these terrain zones have no official trails, are fair game for all sorts of unmarked obstacles such as cliffs and chutes, and involve such highly-exposed terrain that an avalanche beacon is required to access it. It\u2019s worth noting that the name \u201cRidge Terrain\u201d is a bit misleading; in addition to the primarily-hike-only ridge itself, this zone also encompasses the Schlasman\u2019s area, a fully lift-served freeride zone at the far skiers\u2019 right of the resort. Since Schlasman\u2019s is fully part of this restricted area, guests will need a working avalanche transceiver to ride it, making it the only lift in the United States to have such a requirement. But there is good reason for this\u2014Schlasman\u2019s provides access to what might be one of, if not the, most unhinged lift-served skiable footprints in the world. There is genuinely crazy terrain off Schlasman\u2019s, with no warning markings within the area, mandatory straightlining or cliffs depending on where you end up, and very little guidance on how to avoid\u2014or find\u2014these obstacles if you don\u2019t know what you\u2019re doing. There are several regular expert-level routes down Schlasman\u2019s that don\u2019t involve this level of extreme-caliber terrain, but if you aren\u2019t familiar with the area, it\u2019s best to find an in-the-know guide or partner to avoid any unwanted hazards.<\/p>\n NOTE: We may receive a small affiliate commission if you click on the below links. All products listed below are unisex.<\/strong><\/p>\n Salomon QST 92<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Recommended all-mountain ski<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n V\u00f6lkl Kendo 88<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Recommended carving ski<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Faction Prodigy 2<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Recommended glade ski<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Black Diamond Helio 95<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Recommended expert\/touring ski<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n If you\u2019re looking for a level of extreme terrain that\u2019s even more bonkers than Schlasman\u2019s, a hike up the ridge itself may be the way to go. The Bridger Bowl Ridge hikes aren\u2019t the longest in the world, but they are quite steep\u2014especially as you get further away from Schlasman\u2019s\u2014so you\u2019ll want to make sure you\u2019re in good cardio shape to do them. But once you get to the top of these hikes, especially if you choose the one from the top of the Bridger lift to the C and D Routes, you will be facing terrain where you are highly likely to get cliffed out if you don\u2019t know where you\u2019re going, and you\u2019ll need to be able to handle extremely steep, narrow, and tight chutes at a bare minimum to get down. Several seemingly okay-looking routes involve mandatory cliffs once you make your way down, some of which are paired with mandatory straightlines before or after depending on the snowpack. Ski patrol will not \u201cclose\u201d any runs if the hike is open, so it\u2019s up to you to use your best judgment on which lines are sendable. If you are not supremely confident in being able to make tough turns in any situation, the ridge hike may not be for you. For both Schlasman\u2019s and the ridge, Bridger Bowl does have a photograph-based pamphlet to the terrain with unofficial route names, but this is by no means a substitute for experience in this area, and if you do not have such experience, you are\u2014as we mentioned\u2014best off finding an experienced partner or hiring a guide. One interesting quirk about Bridger Bowl\u2014as you are hiking up the ridge from the top of the Bridger lift, you\u2019ll notice a surface lift neighboring the hike path. However, this lift is reserved for ski patrol only, so you\u2019ll just have to watch patrollers pass you by as you earn your turns the old fashioned way.<\/p>\n Bridger Bowl may be a world-killer when it comes to extreme terrain, but the same isn\u2019t necessarily true when it comes to resort infrastructure. Now, everything at Bridger is well-maintained and in good working order, but all of the resort\u2019s lifts are slow, with Schlasman\u2019s being a double, Sunnyside a quad, and the rest being triple chairs.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Schlasman\u2019s lift, which provides access to Bridger Bowl\u2019s ridge terrain, is the only ski lift in North America which requires guests to have an avalanche transceiver to even ride it.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Bridger Bowl also has a number of convenient places to stop in for a break, although as with the lifts, they\u2019re more functional than fancy. The Deer Park Chalet and Alpine Cabin offer grab-and-go cafeteria food close to the bases of the mid-mountain lifts, although the Alpine Cabin can be a bit tough to find depending on where you come from. Food at the lodges is pretty average, but it\u2019s more reasonably-priced than what you\u2019d typically find at a destination ski resort, especially at the base lodge.<\/p>\n Bridger Bowl also lags slightly behind some of its destination competitors in terms of its snow totals, although its accumulation numbers are generally still quite respectable overall. With annual snow totals that typically range between 200-300 inches per season, the resort generally enjoys a reliable snow base, although some mid and lower-mountain areas experience thin cover during low seasons. Bridger Bowl has a lower summit elevation than most U.S. Rockies destinations, topping out at just 8,800 feet, and combined with its primarily-east-facing terrain, the resort is prone to sun bake if it\u2019s clear out with no snow in the past few days. If natural snow doesn\u2019t come, snowmaking operations are extremely limited, with the man-made snow capabilities that do exist concentrated in lower-mountain areas. Luckily, strong grooming operations keep Bridger Bowl\u2019s beginner, intermediate, and even a handful of advanced runs in a baseline level of good shape throughout the winter season.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n While snow is generally high-quality, Bridger Bowl doesn\u2019t receive quite the same accumulation as some competitive resorts in the Northern Rockies.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n When you get to Bridger Bowl, it looks pretty unassuming due to its small base area and mellow lower-mountain terrain. But thanks in large part to its lack of buildup and distinctive ridge, one will appreciate the Bridger Bowl feel more the higher one gets. The resort isn\u2019t big enough to feel truly isolating\u2014you\u2019ll be looking down onto the more family-friendly slopes from even the most remote ridge areas\u2014but its combination of a local feel and jagged terrain is really hard to come by at the better-known destination resorts.<\/p>\n But despite its modest size, Bridger Bowl does have a few issues when it comes to getting around. On top of the almost-complete lack of signage in the Ridge Terrain areas that\u2018s not exactly an accident, getting to and from the Schlasman\u2019s area isn\u2019t exactly easy either. Once you go through the access gate near the top of the Pierre\u2019s lift, it\u2019s easy to miss the turn to get to Schlasman\u2019s\u2014and accidentally end up back at Pierre\u2019s instead\u2014if you\u2019re not staying to the skiers\u2019 right past this gate. Leaving Schlasman\u2019s isn\u2019t exactly the most fun experience either, with some flat terrain required to get back to other resort areas. However, when navigating the family-friendly resort areas, things are a lot more straightforward. One nice touch is the Deer Park magic carpet from the base of the Pierre\u2019s Knob lift to the base of the Bridger lift, which allows guests to get to both the Bridger lift and the Deer Park Chalet without a lengthy sidestep or a run all the way down to the bottom of the resort.<\/p>\n NOTE: We may receive a small affiliate commission if you click on the below links. All products listed below are unisex.<\/strong><\/p>\n K2 Raygun Pop<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Recommended intermediate board<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n CAPiTA Defenders of Awesome<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Recommended advanced board<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n WRITTEN REVIEW
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\n MOUNTAIN STATS
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\n VIDEO REVIEW
\n <\/a><\/p>\nCATEGORY BREAKDOWN\u00a0<\/h3>\n
\nGOOD TO KNOW<\/h3>\n
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\n \u00a0\u00a0+<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Pros
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\n \u00a0\u00a0\u2013<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Cons
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MOUNTAIN STATS<\/h3>\n
\nVIDEO<\/h3>\n
\nMountain Review<\/h2>\n
Size and Terrain Layout<\/h3>\n
Beginner Terrain<\/h3>\n
TRAIL MAP<\/h3>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Intermediate Terrain<\/h3>\n
Freestyle Terrain<\/h3>\n
Advanced Terrain<\/h3>\n
Expert Terrain<\/h3>\n
Ridge Terrain<\/h3>\n
RECOMMENDED SKIS FOR BRIDGER BOWL<\/h3>\n
\nLifts<\/h3>\n
On-Mountain Facilities<\/h3>\n
Snow and Resiliency<\/h3>\n
Mountain Aesthetic<\/h3>\n
Navigation<\/h3>\n
RECOMMENDED SNOWBOARDS FOR BRIDGER BOWL<\/h3>\n
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