Yellowstone National Park in the Winter — Skiing Big Sky, Montana

Four days of skiing at Big Sky, Montana

December 2013

Day 1: Skiing Big Sky, Montana

The Big Sky Ski Resort was around 45 miles (ca. 72 km) from Bozeman. The drive should take about an hour in good weather. It took us over 2 hours due to a tractor-trailer (lorry) getting stuck on the icy road up to the ski area.

The drive up to Big Sky was stunning. The road (Route 191) follows the Gallatin River through beautiful countryside. However, the road is windy and can be pretty slippery.

Montana’s Big Sky Ski Area bragged that it was the most extensive ski area in North America. I thought that title belonged to Killington, Vermont? But having looked at the piste map, I could believe its claim as there was a lot of skiing on the mountain.

Like Bridger Bowl, the area had about every type of skiing you could want. Off-piste, through to bowl, tree, glade, and easy skiing were available. The resort had a range of lifts from old, slow doubles to high-speed six-seater detachables and a cable car (tram). Big Sky was purpose-built and had many hotels and some eating places. We stayed in the Summit Hotel, which had ski-in and ski-out facilities.

The trails were all well signposted and maintained. There were several ‘thin spots’ (limited snow cover with some rocks poking through the snow). But generally, the trails were well-groomed, and even the ungroomed bump trails were in good order with very little ice.

One potential problem with the resort was that from the Summit Hotel, there were only two lifts up the mountain. I would imagine that queues at these lifts would be significant on busy days.

Day 2: Skiing Big Sky, Montana

Wow, day 2 was cold. It had been a long time since I had skied in such cold conditions.

The air temperature was -20 ºC (-3 ºF), and that was without factoring in the windchill. As a result, I only skied part of the day, as it was too cold to spend long on the slopes. I was wearing every piece of the warm clothing I had with me, including two sets of thermal underwear.

It was so cold that I didn’t take any photos. Again, despite the very low temperatures, the snow was in excellent condition.

Day 3: Skiing Big Sky, Montana

Day 3 was a great day of skiing.

Although the air temperature was rather low (around -16 ºC or 2 ºF), the sun was out, and the skiing was fantastic.

As the weather was good, we decided to go to the ski area’s highest point, Lone Mountain, some 11,000 feet (3.35 km; 3,350 m) above sea level. The views were spectacular.

To reach the top, we took a 15-person cable car.

The wait for the car was around 20 minutes, but it was worth it as the views were stunning.

Day 4: Skiing Big Sky, Montana

Last day of skiing, Big Sky.

After four days of skiing, I still felt that I had not scratched the surface of what the ski area had to offer.

Again, the weather wasn’t great (but what can you expect for January?), so I didn't take any photographs. Snow conditions were excellent, with well-groomed trails.

Summit Hotel and Hot Tub

The Summit Hotel at Big Sky was conveniently located on the slopes, so it was a ski-in and ski-out hotel. The hotel also offered a hot tub.

The photo below was taken in the hot tub.

It was great enjoying the warmth of a hot tub after a cold day on the slopes. I found it strange sitting outside in a hot tub when the air temperature was around -16 ºC (2 ºF). My hair froze.

The hotel also offered underground parking ($15 per day), two bars and a restaurant, plus an excellent ski-check service. It also had an over the top chandelier in the reception area.

The hotel was very pleasant with nice rooms. Room cleaning and ‘resetting’ were not that great, though, and we had to ask for extra supplies of coffee etc.

Summary

Big Sky was a great skiing experience.

It was a big mountain with some excellent runs that were well maintained and well-groomed.

Lift lines were short, which was great news considering the cold weather.

The mountain has a range of skiing, from easy to very challenging. Unfortunately, due to the weather (poor light, low clouds, and the cold), we only explored a small fraction of the mountain over the four days we stayed.

One ‘minus’, the mountain is quite isolated, and there is not a lot nearby the ski area. The closest towns were about 40 miles (ca. 64 km) away (Bozeman or West Yellowstone), and the resort, although boasting a big ski area, had very few places to eat out or to go for a drink. One other ‘minus’ was the servicing of the rooms in the Summit Hotel wasn’t great. We had to keep asking for fresh towels and extra coffee.