BOZEMAN — On both Tuesday and Wednesday, Bridger Bowl had delayed openings due to frosty weather. Despite temperatures dipping into the negatives, there were still quite a few skiers, so let's go chat with some.
“Where are you looking to ski today?” I asked one skier. “Bronco. It has really good bumps,” he tells me.
Watch the story here:
I hopped on a lift with that skier, named Paul Stark—one of the few who braved the cold at Bridger Bowl Tuesday.
“That’s the closest I’ve ever parked! By about five rows,” he tells me.
Paul is from Fairbanks Alaska. He’s used to skiing in –40-degree weather. So, his suggestion for staying warm on days where temperatures dip below zero?
“Layers,” Paul says as he shows me his outfit. “Okay, right here I’ve got 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 layers of clothes."
But for many, no matter how many layers, it was still too cold to hit the slopes.
“The upside is there’s nobody else out here. You know you’re on a huge mountain with maybe 50 other people,” says a snowboarder I rode up with named Ben.
It may not be as low as 50 people, but Bridger Bowl tells me they had around 600 skiers, while their average for a Tuesday is around 2,700 skiers.
When I arrived around noon, main groomers were still untouched. There wasn't a soul in the bowl, chairs were mostly empty; in fact, the lodge saw a bigger crowd than any lift line. But for Ben and Adam, who were on the final day of their guys' ski trip? They weren't going to let the cold stop them.
“I probably could've used some sort of Balaclava or something for my face. But once the ice sets in it’s kind of like a shield,” Ben tells me.
But Ben’s mustache full of ice had me wondering. For the folks skiing at Bridger this week, is frostbite a risk?
“It can be, yeah,” Jason Revisky with Gallatin County Search and Rescue tells me. “Any exposed skin, especially when the temperatures are below zero, are really vulnerable to frostbite."
Revisky has been with Search and Rescue for around 30 years. He tells me about another concern with recreating in the cold.
“Hypothermia, same thing. We’ll get cases of people mildly, even maybe moderately hypothermic. That’s not necessarily life threatening, but they need to get out of the cold."
Which is why, when temperatures drop below zero, Revisky advises: “It’s not a bad idea to spend a little indoor time. Maybe get your laundry done or do some other household chores."
But here in Montana, if the hill’s open, the skiers will come. So, in order to prevent frostbite or hypothermia out on the slopes, Revisky advises the same as Paul.
“Successful layering. Having a heavier, long underwear base layer on."
Followed by an insulated layer, then an additional hard shell to block wind and snow.
“Gloves or mittens that are hefty enough and warm enough for the conditions. A hat neck gator. Something to cover your face,” Revisky adds.
Because proper layering can make all the difference.
“It’s cold. Certainly, colder on this lift,” was the attitude of Ben and Adam.
While Paul’s attitude? “This is not cold. This is balmy!”
