Weekend Review - Vol. 11

March 9-14, 2022

Hello hello! Welcome to another special weekend review. We went skiing in Big Sky, Montana! 

We drove down to Chicago on Tuesday night. Millie was spending the weekend with Dan's parents, and they very kindly drove us to the airport on Wednesday morning. We were excited to meet up with our friends! The plane ride was beautiful - so cool to fly over the mountains. 

We arrived in Bozeman around 1pm. After getting our luggage, we loaded up our minivan with 6 people, 6 suitcases, and 4 ski/snowboard bags. It was very full in there! Lol. But our little minivan did awesome. We left the airport and headed to get lunch at Audrey's Pizza Oven & Freefall Brewery. We got some pizzas and it was delish! It hit the spot after our traveling. After lunch, we headed to Walmart to pick up some groceries before driving to Big Sky. I had looked/read online that the grocery options in Big Sky are both limited and expensive, so we decided to get what we could in Bozeman. We got some meals and snacks, and packed the car even more full! I was definitely snug in the back of the van, lol. Then we started the drive to Big Sky. It was about an hour from Bozeman, and it was soooooo beautiful. 

We arrived in Big Sky and unloaded into the Airbnb, which was right outside the town center and about 15 minutes from Big Sky Resort. Dan and I went to go get our ski gear from a place in town we were renting from. Last time we skied, my boots were really, really uncomfortable, so I was hoping to get a better fit this time, and the guys that helped us were awesome! Everything was much more comfortable this time. Or, at least as comfortable as ski boots can be. We made spaghetti for dinner (carb-loaded for our big day of skiing!) and hung out. 

Thursday morning we woke up to an extremely cold day! The temps were below zero, with the feel being even colder. We layered up, packed the car, and headed over to the resort. We parked, took the shuttle, and got our lift tickets which was an RFID card that was printed with your info that you kept in your pocket. Dan and I rented a locker for our stuff (didn't feel comfortable skiing with our backpack on, and I wanted to be able to easily change back into my regular shoes). Our friends mapped out their route, and we headed over to the conveyor belt lifts. 

It really was so cold! Once you started skiing, it gave you some body heat that really helped warm you up. I spent most of my time on these conveyor lifts/magic carpet. This was only my second ever day/experience skiing. We stopped for lunch and ate our packed sandwiches and snacks. We went back out and skied some more! Once back at the Airbnb, we made tacos for dinner and got in the hot tub! We were pooped after the day. 

On Friday, we woke up and headed back over to the resort to ski. The weather was much much warmer, which was a nice change! Although I layered too heavily and was sweating shortly after going out, lol. After removing some layers, I went on a lift and did a green run with Dan. I was nervous, and fell a few times, but I made it all the way down! We stopped for lunch again and met up with the group. Dan spent the afternoon skiing with our friends, and I ended a little earlier and caught up on some reading while enjoying a hot chocolate from the resort! After we finished skiing for the day, we drove back to the Airbnb and got in the hot tub. It felt great after the skiing! Then we went to Niseko Ramen where we got dinner. Dan and I ordered some mushroom bao buns that were amazing. The waiter brought us some spicy mayo to go with - so good. I ordered the regular vegetarian ramen and Dan got his spicy. It was awesome! The perfect warm meal after a few long days skiing. After dinner, we stopped at a grocery store to pick up a few things (we needed one more meal to cook). The grocery store definitely fit the reviews I had read online - expensive and somewhat limited selection. We got back to the house and played some Mario party. 

Saturday was our day off of skiing. We slept in and made a nice breakfast of pancakes to start our slower day! Then the group headed into town to check out the shops. We walked through some of the stores and picked up a Christmas ornament for our tree. After shopping, the rest of the group headed back to the house, and Dan and I headed over to a trailhead for a short hike. We went to the Ousel Falls Park Trail. It was so beautiful!

It was a shorter hike, but still some up and down. The elevation made us a little out of breath at times, too. The walk to the falls was gorgeous, and the weather was clear and warm. We purchased crampons before the trip and were glad to use them here. The path was a mixed of packed snow, slush, and mud, with some areas being a little more slippery with the snow melting! The falls were actually frozen over, which was surprising since we could hear water rushing the whole hike up and parts of the river were running/exposed. 

After our hike, we went back to the house. I finished my book (The Charm Offensive - super cute!). Then most of our group drove to Big Sky Resort where we had a ziplining tour booked. We walked up the base of the ski hills into a little trail through a small forested area. We did two ziplines and it was a blast! 

After our ziplining, we left the resort and stopped at Blue Moon Bakery on our way home. Dan and I got a pumpkin bar and a peanut butter bar, and they were both sooo good. Yes I took three bites before remembering to take a picture, lol. Back at the house we started working on dinner (burgers) after, of course, enjoying some hot tub time. Saturday night we played Charty Party which was super fun - kind of like Cards Against Humanity, but chart version. It might not sound fun, but I promise it was!

Sunday we got up and dressed for our last day of skiing! The morning started soooo snowy and it was hard to see. There was also a little layer of ice under the fresh powder since it had been so warm/sunny the day before, then it froze the melt overnight. We started low and slow on the bunny hills and took a break a little sooner to wait out some of the snow. It was also the busiest day, crowds-wise, we had seen so far with lots of families, people, groups, lessons, and ski school kids. The snow finally slowed down, which was a relief. After breaking for lunch, I tackled the green again and did much better. I did have  to clip back into my skis on the hill after falling, which was pretty tricky with the packed snow on my boots. I met back up with some of the group, it started to snow again, and then all of a sudden people started really emptying off of the lifts and runs. We learned there was lightning spotted and they had to shut down the lifts! Luckily we were near the end of the day and nearly done anyway. After loading back up in the car and a very slow crawl back to town on the icy roads, Dan and I dropped off our rental gear. The group made it back the house where we enjoyed our last hot tub evening! Then we packed up, had dinner, and played a little Mario Kart. 

Monday morning we got up, packed up the car, and left for Bozeman. We stopped at a Costco to fill up the car, and then drove to the airport. We got checked in and made it through security. Our flight home was pretty bumpy! Dan's parents picked us up (we were so grateful!) and then we got dinner with my family since my sister was in town. We drove back to Milwaukee and were very happy to be back home!! I watched the season premiere of Survivor 42 (so good) and we got our dirty clothes unpacked. 

This trip was so special and I loved getting to spend time with our friends! I'm not the best skier but I'm definitely improving, and I like trying a new activity. Thanks for following along! Have you ever been skiing? I'm accepting pointers and words of advice! Lol.