We’re also excited to roll out some fresh features in our terrain park on Bear.

Our park crew has constructed two kickers and two rail-type features for your freestyle enjoyment.

Here’s a look at the top of the park.As you can see, experienced skiers and riders can go pretty big off these features.

But the goal of the Bear Park is for people to practice up, hone their skills and review the Smart Style code before moving on to bigger challenges.

The first step for any freestyle experience is to review the signage and the responsibility code. We call it ‘getting smart’ to smart style, and you can review the basics in the video below.

Starting small and working your way up is what our Bear Park is all about.

We invite you to sharpen your skills this weekend on Bear because we’re planning to have the first part of the Rodeo park ready by next weekend.

Have Fun!

April

Four inches is right in that decision zone for a lot of us, especially when it’s a 24 hour snow total and not the overnight accumulation. It’s so easy for doubt to enter the decision-making process. “What if it’s not that deep?” asks a voice in your head. “What if it’s all tracked out?”.

If the blue sky and bright sunshine didn’t wash the doubt away, then we feel for you. Why? Because today was one of those days when four inches skied like eight and those who didn’t question their faith in Brundage Mountain were rewarded with RICH BLESSINGS .

Untracked lines are always plentiful at Brundage mid-week, and cruising down this slope was like floating on feathers.

It’s been cold at night all week long, so that ‘four inches’ from yesterday teamed up with the ‘four inches’ from Monday to create knee-deep delights on the steeper slopes.

The open glades were full of fluffy, forgiving, fresh snow.

I almost felt guilty for skiing so many sweet, untouched lines with so little effort, so little competition.

But maybe the sunshine and spectacular slope conditions are a reward earned by those who visited today.

For their willingness to put aside their doubts, put off the day’s responsibilities…and put their faith in the mountain that always delivers.

- April

Photographer: Bill Wanrooy. Skier: Danny Arnold

As we watch more snowflakes flutter to the ground today, our powder pursuits are renewed.

No where is the powder more pristine and plentiful than in the backcountry surrounding Brundage Mountain.

This is our first week for guided tours through Brundage Mountain Snowcat Adventures. If you’re considering a trip, this short video may help you make up your mind. The video and the photo to the right are not from the archives. (They were both from this weekend.)

Here’s more info on the program and the incredibly affordable pricing.

- April

Stay tuned as more features will be built in the very near future.  Efforts are also in motion to put in the park on Rodeo…we’ll keep you posted on that.

Second, I can announce FRESH SNOW!!  Nearly five inches of fresh snow has fallen on the slopes and revamped our powder fields and our spirits.  Groomed runs are soft and silky, off trail, tracks are covering over and softening.

This photo was taken on one of our “Groomed” runs.

So was this….

If you looked hard enough off trail, this was to be found……

and this….

and this…

and this…

and this….

He is in there somewhere!

As always Brundage welcomes you to enjoy these new experiences as they become available.

KEEP THE FUN ALIVE.

-Cory

This year, it also brought an extra dose of enthusiasm to our slopes.

The six feet of fresh snow we’ve accumulated in the last two weeks might have SOMETHING to do with that.

Our slope conditions have stood up beautifully to the carnival crowds.  We can thank the single-digit overnight temperatures for freeze-drying the snow left by Thursday’s storm. Light, fluffy powder lasted all the way through the weekend.

But people found other ways to express themselves in the spirit of Winter Carnival.

Our mascot, Bruno Bear, danced through the streets downtown during the Mardi Gras Parade.

You can view more great photos of the parade in this slideshow from the Idaho Statesman.

We found some of the most colorful carnival expressions at today’s Kid’s Snowcastle Experience.

Inspired by the snow sculptures on display all over town, these aspiring artists put their own creative spin on the concept in our base area.

First, they used molds to sculpt the castles into shape and add some flair.

Then, they personalized their castles by adding bursts of color.

While this group was busy leaving a festive mark in our base area, many of our other visitors chose to leave their mark higher up the mountain, in the form of smooth, graceful tracks traced through the soft, forgiving powder.

For others, a more heart-felt message emerged.

But in the end, the greatest expression was displayed in the skies above us.

As nature’s final act of the day stole the show.

- April

We’ve had 6 inches of fresh snow in the last 36 hours and more than two feet of new snow this week. (That’s on top of 50″ last week…)

While I always feel fortunate to work and play at Brundage Mountain, I met some out-of-town visitors this week who helped remind me of just how lucky we are. It was yesterday morning when the first light bulb went on. We had 2-3 inches of fresh powder on the ground when the lifts opened, and our upper parking lot wasn’t even half full. A visiting film crew was gearing up for the day as the clock ticked down to ‘first chair’. Puzzled, they asked me, “where is everyone?”.

“Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that,” I said.

We’re so accustomed to our light mid-week traffic that it’s easy to forget what an unusual blessing this is. These visitors, no strangers to ski areas large and small, simply couldn’t believe how simple it was to find untracked powder lines ALL DAY LONG.

That blessing carried over to today. It snowed all day yesterday, then temperatures took a nose dive overnight. With so little traffic, slopes were hardly tracked. This morning, we woke up to bluebird skies and knee-deep COLD SMOKE on the slopes.

Still plenty of untracked lines, even on slopes visible right from the chairlift, and snow quality even better than yesterday when the snow was ‘fresh’.

Even the groomed runs are sublime. The corduroy is unbelievably smooth and so cold it SQUEAKS when your skis zip over those perfectly laid lines.

These are the kind of conditions some people wait ALL SEASON to enjoy at other ski areas. And even then, they are conditions you can only find for the first couple hours after first chair (at those other areas), before the masses gobble up all that powdery goodness.

So when first time visitors come to Brundage, their awe and wonder can’t help but remind us to count our blessings and remember just how lucky we are.

- April

Courtesy: John Slattery

Winter has made an incredible comeback in the past two weeks. Here at Brundage Mountain, we’re riding a long winning streak of powder days (check out our photo gallery), and that translates into an exciting backcountry bounty, as well.

With 5-6 feet of new snow on the peaks beyond Brundage Mountain, our 19,000 acre backcountry Snow Cat program is ready to roll. Our first trip of the season heads out tomorrow.

Courtesy: John Slattery

If our prolonged autumn has you aching for some pristine powder redemption, here is your chance.

The best part? Our trips are extremely affordable. They are also filling up fast.

Check out the video below and then make your reservation today!

- April

Important News for Bogus Basin Season Pass Holders:

Brundage Mountain is offering you a DOUBLE DISCOUNT for the month of February!

Show your Bogus Basin Season Pass at the Brundage Mountain ticket window any day from February 1 through February 29, 2012, and you’ll receive $10 off a full-day lift ticket in any age group. That’s double your normal discount! Bogus Pass Holders save $5 off a late arrival ticket.

The morning dawns and the sun comes up, warm memories of the previous day’s bountiful powder wells up in us.  If only we could relive the powder day….at Brundage we do, even the day after the storm.

The forecast is calling for up to 12″ of new snow by the end of tomorrow.  So we look forward to yet another wonderful powder day and yet another wonderful day after…

KEEP THE FUN ALIVE

-Cory

64 inches of new snow has fallen since Monday, January 16. The resort had only received 59 inches of cumulative snowfall prior to last Monday. That means more than half of the entire Winter’s snowfall has come in the last week.

The very latest snow totals are available at: www.brundage.com/the-mountain/snow-report/

“It’s amazing to see how the mountain has been transformed in just the last seven or eight days,” said resort spokesperson, April Russell. “But we are thrilled to see it and our visitors are incredibly happy to ski it.”

Seven inches of light, fluffy powder fell overnight last night, providing some of the best slope conditions in recent memory. (Photos attached).

As of 1:00 pm on Monday, January 23, 2012, the Brundage Mountain snow base ranges from 63” – 72”.

Forecasters are predicting another sizable storm to hit Brundage Mountain Tuesday Night – Thursday.

Pinpoint Forecast:

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=44.996853743106165&lon=-116.1309814453125&site=boi&smap=1&unit=0&lg=en&FcstType=text