I ended up going to Snowmass twice. On Monday, it was so windy and cloudy that I never even saw The Cirque, the marquee terrain of Snowmass. When I woke up Wednesday to a few inches of snow and clear skies, I gave Snowmass [..]
What a glorious mess. Those kids at Aspen Highlands know how to throw an end of season party. It’s a neon colored mix of retro-wearing dirtbags, rich [..]
Due to some massive miscalculations, I realized right around my second trip down Highlands Bowl that it was also Buttermilk’s last day. With ski areas [..]
It’s not every powder morning you see a dude in a dress dropping a sick line down a 48 degree bowl, but if you get to Aspen Highlands on closing day, you might get [..]
It’s April and funds are running low. We had to return the Mystery Machine and The Snow Junkies have been reduced to a one man crew. With seventeen days [..]
Moonlight Basin has been my home hill for the last three seasons. Smaller than Big Sky, they won me over with their near empty slopes and the kick-ass Headwaters Basin. Well that, and their season pass was a [..]
Home sweet home. Big Sky has been base of The Snow Junkies for the last six years. Tucked away in a corner of southwest Montana, a group of us migrated here years ago to escape the massive crowds that plague Colorado slopes. Snow has been a scarcity here this season…except for when I showed up. Two feet during the week. Take that spring! Old man winter lives again.
The big draw is the 15 person bucket tram that takes you to the top of Lone Peak. Up here you’ll find bowls and chutes and powder up to your knees. On a big snow day, I usually skip the tram which fills up with hour long lines and head over to the rickety Challenger double. Steep faces and snow filled trees can be found over here. If the A-Z chutes are open, they’re worth a hike. Bring a pack…the trail across the ridge can be treacherous.
Click to see a larger map
Of all the sweet irony, my home mountain refused to cooperate with photography the two days I was there (and I was knee deep in fresh snow). I snapped a single photo from Moonlight Basin on the one day the sun came out. Want to see more pictures? Get your ass on a plane and come out to Montana. It’s one of the best resorts in the world.
Big Sky Resort
1 Lone Mountain Trail
Big Sky, MT 59716
| Snowfall | 400 in (1,016 cm) |
| Top Elevation | 11,166 ft (3,403 m) |
| Bottom Elevation | 6,800 ft (2,073 m) |
| Vertical Drop | 4,350 ft (1,326 m) |
| Area Size | 21 lifts | 150 trails | 3,812 acres (1,543 ha) acres |
| Night Skiing | No |
| Terrain Park | Yes |
| Halfpipe | Yes |
Heading out of Idaho to Montana, we had to stop at Lookout Pass and grab a few runs. This smaller area sits right on the Idaho/Montana border. Started in [..]
This is as close to the Canadian border as this trip is going to get (although stay tuned next season for 100DOW: The Canada Edition). And boy, did Schweitzer [..]
It’s Day 3 of the Idaho Leg and 100DOW is up in the panhandle. This seventy mile sliver near the Canadian border has three ski areas. The first stop was [..]
