The Best Places to Ski at Big Sky

The best place to ski near Bozeman is the Big Sky resort off Highway 191. It is the biggest ski resort in the United States and hosts hundreds of thousands of skiers each year. According to the Big Sky Resort website, there are,“5,850 skiable acres, 320 official runs, 38 lifts and 4,350 vertical feet of elevation.” This provides skiers with a wide variety of terrain and places to ski, but it can be hard to choose where to go. 

There are several good places to ski, such as the nice, winding runs off of the lift, Six Shooter 6, or the steep blues and blacks off of Thunder Wolf 4 and Ramcharger 8. Personally, my favorite place to go is up the lift, Lone Tree 4. This small lift is accessible by taking Six Shooter 6 and skiing down into Stillwater Bowl and making your way over to the lift base. Once at the top, there are long blue and black runs for intermediate or advanced skiers to take advantage of and have a good time. Along with the long, relaxing runs, there are usually not too many people on that side of the mountain which is why it is my favorite place to go.

The next great place is over on the other side of Big Sky near the lift Southern Comfort 4. You can also access it from Ramcharger 8. From the top you want to follow the run, “Yellow Brick Road” until you come to some signs that say “Freemonts Forest”, “Pomp”, “Sacajawea”, or “Lizette”. These runs go through a lightly forested area and have bumps and mounds perfect for jumps. There are usually moguls so prepare for some knee pain.

Sometimes when I’m bored, I make my way over to the south side of the mountain and take the lift, Shedhorn 4. This will take you up the side of Lone Peak, just below the dictator chutes. There is a road that allows you to return to the north side of the mountain or descend down to the Shedhorn Grill and some fun black diamonds.You can also traverse over to Dakota 3 to find even more fun runs.

I interviewed a couple of students to see what their opinions were on this matter. Firstly, I talked to senior Payton Fulton about his preferences at the resort. “I like Mr. K, and Fast Lane,” he said. Mr. K and Fast Lane are accessible from the top of lifts Six Shooter 6 and Challenger 3. Another student, freshman Nathan Kline, says he likes skiing the Bowl and Upper MorningStar. The Bowl is at the base of Lone Peak and you will need to take the lift Powder Seeker 6 to get to it. From there, you can ski down to Upper Morningstar and take that back down to the base of the lift.

This summer, Big Sky finished construction on their new Lone Peak Tram and from the pictures I've seen, it looks amazing. The new tram will have options for skiers looking to ski off of Lone Peak, or who are looking for a scenic ride where you leave your ski gear at the bottom and take the tram for the views. Big Sky says the tram will open on Dec. 17 and have a max occupancy of 75 people.

Big Sky is opening one day early this year on November 22nd due to the fact that we got an early snow. There will most likely be crowds so be there early and stay safe on the slopes.