Terrain

 Big Sky Mountain Sports School has established guidelines which links skill levels with appropriate terrain. These guidelines are provided throughout the training curriculum. Each instructor is responsible for making sound decisions in terrain selection and safe use of the chosen terrain based on these guidelines. You can access the daily grooming report from ProCard.

Selection  

Select terrain within the comfort level and capability of the least competent skier in the group. Keep in mind weather, snow conditions, time of day and many other factors that make the relative difficulty of one slope variable from day to day. With this in mind, be informed as to current conditions when making terrain choices. Neither the tram nor special access terrain are available for use during group lessons. 

Tree Trails 

Know the current condition of each trail. Is the snow adequate? Is the snow hard and icy or is it soft? Are there obstacles such as stumps, deadfall, trees or rocks? These are among the factors you should consider. Become familiar with the changing conditions of the mountain - be observant and do your research. It may help to consult with other instructors who have been in a particular terrain recently. Have your students ski the trail with enough distance between each to eliminate collisions: a minimum of five ski/board lengths or more if conditions dictate. Inform the students what kind of terrain or obstacles they can expect so they are not surprised. Lead the group through the tree trail to set an appropriate pace and maintain group spacing. 

Jumps 

Check the condition of a jump before you allow students to ski/ride over it. Look to see if the landing is too flat or even uphill. Too flat or uphill landings can be unsafe. Be sure there is a safe run-out. Students should go one at a time over a jump. If one falls, he/she will need time to get up and safely out of the way. Be sure they stand safely out of the way of the run-out. Give students an alternate path to the safe meeting point and take care to make certain students never feel as if they are required/pressured to jump or do anything they are uncertain about or uncomfortable with.  

Features Etiquette - Harbor's Half-Pipe & Terrain Parks

  • You may take appropriate level 5 or higher students into terrain parks, following the guidelines below. Use sound judgment.

    • Park Safety and FS1 = Cow Poke and Explorer Park

    • Park Safety and FS2 = Cache Park

    • Park Safety and FS3 = Swifty Park

  • Know the current condition of the feature before you take students there. Should the conditions be fast, keep your students under strict control. Set up rules at the top of the feature before you enter it. Students should go in single file or one at a time, (as appropriate), they should not pass one another, tell them not to go too high on the walls and to ski in control.

  • Harbor’s Half-pipe can be fun and a good teaching tool. It is your responsibility to lead your students through Harbor’s Half-pipe, keep the group together and move at a safe speed. Have the students yell, “wipe out,” if one should fall. Extra care should be used when exiting the natural half-pipe with students. Remember—you are merging with other traffic. Sending students ahead without supervision is not acceptable.

Five Main Points of Park Smart

Park smarts is about all safety and having the knowledge to enjoy your freedom and the freestyle terrain.

  1. Start Small

    • Work your way up.

    • Build Skills.

  2. Make a Plan

    • Every time you use freestyle terrain, have a plan for each feature you are going to use.

    • Remember, your speed, approach and take-off will directly affect your maneuver and landing.

  3. Always Look

    • Before you drop. Before getting into freestyle terrain observe all signage and warnings.  

    • Use your first run as a warm up run and to familiarize yourself with the park layout and features  

    • Remember that the features change constantly due to weather, usage and time of day so it is important to continue to inspect features throughout the day.  

  4. Respect

    • The features and other users.  

    • One person on a feature at a time.  

    • Wait your turn and call your drop-in.  

    • Always clear the landing area quickly.  

    • Respect all signs and stay off closed features.  

    • Remember that respect is important both in the park, and on the rest of the resort. So be smart when you are heading down the mountain or to the lift and save your best tricks for the park.  

  5. Take it easy

    • Know your limits. Land on your feet.  

    • Ride within your ability and consider taking a lesson if you want to build your knowledge, skills, and bag of tricks.  

    • Stay in control both on the ground and in the air.  

    • Remember you can control how big or small you take the feature by varying speed and take off.  

    • Inverted aerials increase the chance of serious injury and are not recommended.