Maui Ski Bus

When the Beatles first came to the USA, screaming girls fainted at the sight of John, Paul, George, and Ringo. How could a rise to fame so fast not be met with such fanfar?  When MauiSkiBus returned to a mountain top ski area in northern Montana, the rise to fanfare was a surprise, with screaming happy ticket ladies, seemingly near to fainting at the sight of MauiSkiBus. No singing here, just a tropical ski bum, a bright yellow bus, and of course, the world famous Franklin. Maybe he was the ski beatle!

BlackTail Ski Area, at the top of a long gravel road, above Flathead Lake, Montana, welcomed MauiSkiBus with many that remembered the visit from 2012, from the owner, Steve; ski patrollers, Cory and Fletcher; to numerous other employees, but they all were a second to the ticket/cashier ladies. Smiles and screams of delight that MauiSkiBus had returned, even to the point of taking a photo and posting the crazy yellow bus on their website. A  60 Beatles worthy welcome.

MauiSkiBus promotes ski resorts to all, for all, to get out of the confines of ones home in the winter, to experience a lodge surrounded by snow. Yes, snow, that white stuff, that adorns green pine trees, melting from overhangs to make icicles of art, and may be a snowman. Turn off the bloob tube, put on a few extra clothes, and take a road trip, stopping at a ski lodge, no need ski/snowboard gear. BlackTail Ski Area’s entrance will have a greeting by wild turkeys, eyes watching you from the family of deer, and so much fun around the lounge. Adding to this feel, is the view. Falthead Lake, the Kalispell Delta, and over there, Glacier National Park. If the Beatles played here, would you come and visit BlackTail?

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign, bockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind, do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign? Driving around the western USA/Canada, MauiSkiBus sees beauty, mountains and mountains, and signs. Montana, especially, open beautiful scenery, huge valleys, and signs. Everywhere it seems are signs. Signs that deter from the beauty of this state, signs that detail a business that may be 75 miles away. Signs with blinding lights seen far away at night highlighting “stay here with free breakfast and wi fi”. Signs that are advertising this is an open sign. Montana Bill must have been drunk when he signed a law allowing so many huge boards to be signs.

Hot springs are all over the west and one in particular was more than just a place where many people just sit and soak. Bozeman, Montana, a state that should be ashamed of all the billboard signs located in pristine areas, has its own hot springs, situated between more signs. MauiSkiBus did a visit at Bozeman Hot Springs and found out that there was a yoga class offered.

Having access to the hot springs was a nice way to start the class, as MauiSkiBusSteve really needed to soak away. A simple class was taught by an elegant Emily, fit fun, and more that ready to do a difficult pose on top of MauiSkiBus post class. Hot springs are fine, Emily was a delight, just need Montana Bill to remove those signs when he sobers up.

7 hot springing ladies

1 clean tropical ski bum

A low resting heart rate means a fit, relaxed soul. Top notch free divers can be around 30 beats per minutes. Tour de France cyclists add a beat or a few more to this. MauiSkiBus hovers around 44. A winter sport can assist an heart to be around this resting heart level. This sport is growing, can be easy to do, or as hard as any endurance sport in the world. Most think of a skier/snowboarder, as one that rides a chair up, then slides down. Alpine is the most popular skiing sport in the world, however, it will not in most assist in a heart rate like a Nordic has. Yes, Nordic skiing is in the same category as any major endurance sport on planet Earth. MauiSkiBus embraces a day on the Nordic track or doing some trail blazing on skinny skis. A low heart rate helps for a long life. Wanna live to 100?

Big Sky, Montana has the largest ski resort in North America in one and just down the road is a Nordic ski area called Lone Mountain. A former homestead ranch now 100 years old, Lone Mountain Ranch is more than just a spot to play on skinny skis. Quaint rustic romantic huts, call couples to hold hands, under majestic pines. Need a family reunion spot? That can be had here too. A real sled ride with onsite horse, please keep Franklin away. Winter or summer, wild animals roam the surrounding area, maybe tracks can be found.

MauiSkiBus hit the Nordic trails as hard as the heart would pump, not soul to share, except for the numerous bobcat tracks. Lone Mountain was on the 2012 agenda, and Miss Denise was quick to respond to MauiSkiBus 2015. Did the return of MauiSkiBus raise her resting heart beat? Such a great time was had here, a very different feel in the skiing world. Lone Mountain Nordic Resort can cater to the cruiser or world class elite on those skinny skis.

Germs. Bacteria. Mold. Where is one of the easiest places for these to grow in all homes? Where it is warm, wet, and has dark shadows. The kitchen sink, more precisely, the kitchen sponge. Let a moist sponges sit idles for a few days and then take a smell. Rank, for sure to your sense of smell, or seared sense of smell. Wring out a wet sponge and taste this. Right! Gross.Sick. So it is with a toxic body. Gross. Sick. The answer, wring it out.

Twisting, turning, pressure, squeezing, wringing it out, all will work out toxins from ones body. Having a conscious mind that this is happening will assist in opening the valves, releasing these toxins, as expelling waste from your body is so important. Soft organs is what you want, not hard like a stone, so visit the stone of yoga in Big Sky, Montana, letting the ringing to start. Jen will greet you and Dani may direct you. Love flows here, as walls flow with the love of murals.

Yoga Stone of Big Sky, Montana, is in the open land of the Rockies, a newer studio, creating roots to grow near the base of a lonely mountain. Youthfulness is rampant here, smiles are abundant, and the body sponge will get cleaned, as yoga classes of deep poses reach deep inside. Yoga Stone is a fine example of a studio that has it presence now, but the future will be different, as the growing energy lies here, just waiting to be wrung into something bigger.

Four ladies

Two men

info@yogastonebigsky.com

1-406-570-3008

Fear. So many different types. Fear of flying, fear of heights, fear of dogs, fear of snakes/spiders, fear of public speaking, fear of _____, even fear of sitting near rocking anchored boats making one lady seasick. Yes, this did happen once on Maui. What about fear of being alone? Many people have never spent a week alone, not in isolation, just alone, no tv, radio, cell phone, no conversation at all. Spend at week at this Montana ski resort and you might feel that you are alone. Is that a ski fear? Alone, no one to speak with?

Big is the word, however, it might not be big enough to match the sky. The light of the moon came over to add to this already big ski resort, making BIG SKY, actually ginormous. The mountain named Lone is the base, the peak looks down on all, watching your every turn. If the Lone Mountain could speak, what would it say to you? If that was to happen, at least you would be able to have a conversations, relieving that fear.

Ms. Sheila wanted MauiSkiBus to visit soooo bad, however soooo many other media were to be on the slopes of Big Sky the same day, a visit  by MauiSkibus was close to not happening. Someone spoke to someone and MauiSkiBus kept the fear of being alone all around on Lone Mountain with a VIP pass. Maybe it was the mountain of Big Sky itself having a conversation with the media department?

Fear not at Big Sky, as some form of conversation will happen for you, just tip toe to the top of Lone Peak, over 4,300 silent steps above the crowds at the base. Maybe closed eyes will help with the fear of heights at Big Sky.

Alarm goes off. Oh, just a few more minutes. Hit snooze. Alarm goes off again. Dread getting up, out of bed, to start the day. Coffee starts automatically. The smell of fresh coffee, teases the morning nostrils. OK, now a reason to get up. This is the morning ritual for millions and millions. On MauiSkiBus, it is bit different. No alarm, a mental one was set. Awake, knowing that a commitment was made. Get up, move the double comforters, feel that cold air, often hovering around 15 degrees, or maybe 15 degrees below zero. So hard to get up and feel that rush of real cold air first thing in the morning. Awake and be well.

For many getting up early to get a work out in is under the first scenario above, for MauiSkiBus, it is the second scenario. Big Sky, Montana has an open feeling, inviting chilly temperatures from the north, maybe even the north pole. A yoga class bright and early is what was on MauiSkiBus’s morning schedule, Franklin barely opening one eye. In the heart of all of Big Sky is a center for all wellness, more than just a yoga studio. Visiting Santosha Wellness Center in Big Sky, bright and early, was a treat for MauiSkiBus, as legs and body were awake and well for the day to ski at the nearby Big Sky Ski Resort.

The adventure of MauiSkiBus in 2015 is more flexible than the rush, rush in the schedule of 2012. Even with this added flexibility, movin’ and grovin’ is still a must, making extra time to experience Santosha Wellness Center not realistic. So a great class was taught by Callie, sharing an elightened smile first thing in the morning, even before the sun had its sleep wiped away. Maybe a future morning will have some extra time for MauiSkiBus to really experience Santosha Wellnees Center, as Callie has crated so many options to play here. Coffee not needed to be well here.

Five bright eyed ladies

Three non-grumpy men

callie@santoshabigsky.com

1-406-570-2477

Stepping into so many different yoga studios the ski season 2015, MauiSkiBus seems to run out of things to write or explain. So simple will be here, however simple is not the word to describe a Darcy, owner of Wind River Yoga Studio, in Pinedale Wyoming. The entry way/front office area walls are plastered with newspaper clippings after clippings after clippings.  Yoga is now putting on sporting contests, where students travel near to home or far, far away, bringing a home name near the Wind River Range, that chimes in the minds of yogis in the Big Apple.

OK, so some yoga poses for beginners, alright, many poses for the beginner, can be past difficult. A professional athlete that is paid millions and millions would walk out of yoga classes, if they were to do many of the same poses that Darcy teaches her below and above ten year olds. If the same professional athlete would dedicate themselves to do these poses, what level would their sport ability to be raised? Even a top world class athlete should have no shame in not being able to do all the poses at first. Dedication Darcy can help them.

Oh, by the way, thanks Ms. Billie, the fit and fun ranch lady of Pinedale, for the turn on at a yoga studio with an owner so dedicated.

Nine ladies

One tropical ski bum

darcie@windriveryoga.com

1-307-367-3156

“How did you handle the post success depression?’,  was the question asked at the Explores Club in New York City. The year was 1999 and MauiSkiBusSteve, more known as DaSlippsSteve  had jus been inducted into one of the most prestigious clubs in the world. A world known psychologist had been listening to the conversation pertaining to the 47 solo windsurf adventure from LA to Maui, and knew what goes on in the mind of a successful explorer. How many time does one have to climb a mountain before it is established that the mountain was climbed? Once. How many time does one have to ski a mountain before it has been skied? Once. For six bucks.

The Tetons are the most well know mountain ranges in Wyoming and the Wind Rivers are not often spoken of. A bit more difficult to get to and the western gateway town is called Pinedale, also the gateway for the six bucks of a ski run. One run for six bucks is all the time that mauiSkiBus had to visit White Pine Ski Area, near Pinedale, Wyoming.

Skiers and snowboarders are the most popular users in the snow kingdom and another user is on the rise. Not using a snowboard, however using two skis, snowmobiles race to and fro, up and down, back and forth. At White Pine Ski Area, they happened to be racing up, up the slopes, timed to tenths, maybe hundredths of second, MauiSkiBus had to share this ski location near the rugged Wind River Mountains. Vrrmm, vrrmm, enjoy the ride!

A troubled person searches far and wide for the meaning of life, trekking across the driest deserts, foraging through the densest jungles, climbing numerous mountain ranges. Upon one range, the troubled person stumbles upon an ancient monastery, knocks on the weathered oak door, and with an echoing creak, the door opens, and standing there is a feeble old monk with beady eyes. “Yes, how may I help you?”, questions the feeble monk. “I have searched far and wide for the meaning of life. Do you know the meaning of life?”, asks the troubled person. The feeble old monk with beady eyes looks deep into the troubled person and states, “You are not ready for the meaning of life”, and closes the weathered oak door, echoing throughout the  ancient monastery.

Ski towns dotting the west have bedroom communities and one close to Teton Pass is Wilson, home of a tiny winy monastery, that cradles the pathway to the meaning of life. Air. Give up everything else and try to live with out air. Air is the first thing that all living things need and learning to breath properly, to be aware of ones breath, can be initiated by a Molly. The second most important is water and Cameron will greet you with your choice of tea, before getting started with proper air intake. These two ladies are airware of the first two meanings of life, making food third, expelling fourth, and proper rest fifth.

Jackson Hole Yoga Therapy, at the entrance to Wilson, Wyoming, is quaint in size, huge in knowledge, as a sponge of open mindedness resides here. Personal attention is the specialty, as private sessions abound here in this monastery situated below the famous Teton Pass. Drive on up, do some back country skiing, settle back down, and enjoy a cup of organic tea, before a session of knowledge on breath at Jackson Hole Yoga Therapy. By the way, Cameron is not feeble, does not have beady eyes, and the entry is not a weathered oak door.

Three female monks

Two male monks

1-303-330-8531

Cameron@jhyogatherapy.com

Pass. A car passes, so does a quarterback. A pass is used to get in. MauiSkiBus receives passes. Draftees get passed by. Pass the plate. Getting ready to pass, passed on by, then the past. Not here, as this pass can being passive aggressive. MauiSkiBus has ventured to this ski area in the distant past, as in 1982, and then again during the 2012 adventure, and again on a mountain bike trek in 2014. Always, the past was feared on this pass, as in Teton Pass.

Like it or not, many ski resorts have passes that one must pass through to arrive safely. Staying at home, confined to four boring warm walls, is not what skiers desire on powder days. First chair, first lines, epic snow conditions, and traveling over a pass is a given. Teton Pass, Wyoming, is a big backcountry base for Jackson, Wilson, and Driggs, skiers and boarders. To get up this pass, one with 10 % grades, can be on the strong side of dangerous. MauiSkiBus encountered this on a decent, after a great day of skiing at the Grand Targhee, Wyoming, not Idaho, as the drive up will seem to inform.

The ride up and over Teton Pass will bring all into Idaho and another drive up to Grand Targhee, will delight your eyes with astounding views of the western side of the Tetons. Jackson Hole itself may have the vertical, Grand Targhee has the view and catches the first flakes of snow being trapped by the massive Tetons. Cats live here in the form of back country cat skiing and the famous deep powder of Targhee will deliver many face shots. That can not be passed upon, so hit the pass, head up high early, as you may get passed by a yellow bus with Hawaii plates.