Rarely has so much bounty gone so unplundered as at Big Sky's Lone Peak the biggest place you’ve never skied. There’s rarely a lift line at this sprawling side by side Montana resorts, except when waiting for the marquee 15-person tram that takes skiers to the top of 11,166-foot Lone Peak. A big reason for Big Sky’s quiet is the perceived remoteness of the resort: although it sits only about one hour south of the Bozeman airport.

Big Sky is a destination ski resort if there ever was one, which means midweek skiers share the place with almost no one. The other reason is its sheer size: Those who do make the journey soon disperse over three mountains and nearly 4,000 skiable acres, with a correspondingly huge menu of terrain. From the resort’s tip-top, a snowboarder can drop into the black-diamond slopes of Liberty Bowl and ride all the way down to this winter’s new Dakota triple chair, which opens access to 200-plus acres of expert-level open bowl skiing. Less adventuresome skiers gravitate to Andesite and Flatiron Mountains, where large groomed boulevards like Big Horn and Madison Avenue are served by several high-speed quads.

But one of the most intriguing developments at Big Sky has been the linking with an adjacent resort, Moonlight Basin which shares Lone Peak; the joint Lone Peak Pass creates a 5,512-acre playground that gets 400 inches of snow a year with access to the gun-sight gullies that spill off of Lone Peak — and may leave skiers who’d been happily humming “Don’t Fence Me In” suddenly wishing someone would have.

Big Sky offers instant access some of the most diverse skiing and snowboarding amongst breathtaking vistas in the lower 48. Float down a 2,000 vertical foot, powder filled bowl beneath Lone Peak; Bob and weave through the Bavarian Forest; Ride the Lone Peak Tram for a bird's eye view of untamed wilderness.

Big Sky’s snowboarding facilities bring you world-class challenges no matter what your skill level. Their Swiss-made Zaugg Monster Pipe Cutter lets them fashion the only superpipe in the area. The Swifty and Pony Park are for people just getting their feet under them. The Ambush Park is for those who prefer not to have their feet under them at all.

LONE PEAK TRAM

The story of its inception is one of labor and love.  Before The Tram, Big Sky Resort was known for its intermediate terrain and light lift lines.  But a hankering for the extreme among Big Sky's core riders fueled management's decision to shun industry critics and install a tram to the summit, which would expand the resort's overall size by 50%.  This furthered Big Sky's skiable terrain by over 1,200 acres and increased the vertical to 4,350 feet, placing it among the top three ski resorts in North America.  Construction didn't happen without its share of logistical concerns, though.  The Tram was built with the aid of 3,000 helicopter flights and hundreds of specialized high-altitude workers.  Even heavy construction equipment had to be torn apart and reassembled at the summit.  Today, The Tram continues to transport technical skiers and riders to some of the most difficult terrain in the country while welcoming the less advanced skiers and sightseers to 360-degree views of three states, two national parks and dozens of peaks. 

 Moonlight Basin, Montana’s Newest Ski Resort

The Headwaters Chair brings skiers and riders in The Headwaters Terrain, some of the steepest inbounds terrain in the Rockies previously only accessible by hiking. Future expansion plans include 3,500 acres and 12 lifts, positioning Moonlight as an attractive addition to Montana's ski areas.

Moonlight Basin and Big Sky Resort have teamed up to offer joint lift tickets. Now, skiers and riders can access nearly 5,300 acres of interconnected trails and lifts--all with one ticket.

But Moonlight Basin is more than just great skiing and riding. It's a feeling - friendly, unpretentious, laid-back--a feeling that makes you feel as welcome as you do in your own home. Together with breath-taking scenery and exciting terrain, visitors are welcomed by unmatched friendliness and award-winning customer service. In addition to optional valet parking and other amenities, Mountain Guides are available for mountain tours and answer any questions you may have about Moonlight Basin and the surrounding area. A complimentary tour of the mountain is available to all first-time visitors at Moonlight Basin.

Fly direct from Los Angeles (LAX) to Bozeman, Mont.

Big snow fanatics rejoice! Starting this winter, you can fly directly from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Bozeman, Mont. (BZN), every weekend to indulge in more fluffy powder than you can shake a ski pole at.

The flights, offered by United Airlines, begin Dec. 20, with inbound flights to Bozeman on Saturday afternoons and a return flight each Sunday morning. You can either fly in on a Saturday and stay for eight days or fly out on a mid-week flight that connects in Denver.

So, in half the time it would take to drive to Mammoth Lakes, you can fly to Bozeman and eat powder at your choice of three major resorts, including Big Sky Resort, Bridger Bowl and Moonlight Basin. What’s so great about Bozeman? How does 400 inches of snow per year sound?

The United flights were arranged in a partnership with Big Sky Resorts, which will soon be offering lodging, airline and lift ticket packages.

Big Sky Resort has lots of powder and wide-open spaces - BY CHRIS ERSKINE • You wake up to a fresh handkerchief of snow draped over the mountain, 4 inches deep and as light as linen, atop a 5-foot base. You lug your skis to the lift. "Is it open?" you wonder, since so few fellow skiers are around. It's open. It's Montana. Get used to it.

This is the land where the circus doesn't stop, where skiing is an escape from the crowds and the traffic, where a ski lift doesn't have a line like Starbucks, 20 deep and a little ornery.

Talk about your sugar highs. Look at all that pristine powder, which swirls in the morning air like pixie dust. Big Sky Resort and neighboring Moonlight Basin offer creamy, six-mile runs where skiers and boarders can go 20 minutes without seeing another soul - on the intermediate runs. On the expert runs, high up the hill, you can go hours.

Add luxe slope-side accommodations, 400 inches of snowfall annually and Yellowstone National Park just down the road and you have the ingredients for one of U.S. skiing's best-kept secrets, which, ironically enough, was the brainchild of a newsman.-----------------------> more

Teton Village, WY. October 29, 2008) – Spectators watched and applauded as crews placed the first of two Aerial Tram cars onto the track cables today at JHMR.

Covered with specially made covers by Marmot, the first Tram car was moved from the upper parking lot to 150 feet above the nearly completed lower terminal, where crews then attached the hangar to the top of the car and then lifted it up by crane 80 feet and placed it onto the track cables.

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort will begin operations on November 29, 2008, and the new Aerial Tram will open for ridership on December 20th, following a not to be missed “Tram Unveiling Night Show” at 6:00pm on Friday, December 19th. Stay tuned for updates on the Tram Launch festivities, which will include dinner specials and parties at Teton Village restaurants and bars, as well as construction progress at www.tram-formation.com. Also listen to weekly updates and chances to win FREE lift tickets for the 2008/09 winter season with Fish on KMTN radio each Friday morning at 8:40am.

The new Aerial Tram at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort will be twice the size of the original, carrying 100 passengers. The sleek, new cabins, and visually inspiring base terminal only add to the faster and more efficient “cable to the sky”. As well as the journey, it is the destination that captures the spirit of the Jackson Hole Tram. Soaring 4,139 vertical feet in 9 minutes to the summit of Rendezvous Mountain is unrivaled in the ski industry, cresting the Tetons with an endless choice of ski routes below, not to mention incredible 360 views.

For 40 years, snagging a spot on Jackson Hole’s “First Tram” was one of Western skiing’s enduring rituals. Even though the lifts don’t open until 9 a.m., skiers and snowboarders traditionally started lining up very early to snare fresh powder. The ritual ended at the close of the 2005-06 ski season when the resort took the lift out of service.

It was a ritual for a reason that could be summed up in an equation: First Tram equals First Tracks. The tram that went into service during Jackson Hole’s inaugural season wasn’t America’s first, but it opened a serious, compelling and, yes, addictive mountain to some of the best skiers in the land —- those who could handle the most difficult terrain and most challenging conditions.

A Florida real-estate investment trust, CNL Lifestyle Properties, has agreed to buy the Big Sky Resort for $74 million within the next two years. As part of the purchase agreement, CNL has agreed to advance $68 million toward the purchase price as a loan to Boyne Resorts, owner of the Montana property. Big Sky Resort spokesman Dax Schieffer confirmed details of the agreement Friday.---------------------------> More

There can be few more spectacular settings for a mountain resort than Wyoming's Jackson Hole, with the Teton mountains towering above. Jackson Hole has ski runs suitable for skiers of all abilities. Beginners and intermediates will find plenty of terrain to suit their needs. Experts will be challenged by the 10,450-foot Rendezvous Peak that has a myriad of terrain and snow to offer

Getting There

Jackson Hole is located in western Wyoming near the Idaho border and about 40 miles south of Yellowstone National Park. The resort is twelve miles from the town of Jackson (the development at the base area is called Teton Village) and 250 miles north of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Grand Targhee is located in the Targhee National Forest at 8,000 feet in the high country of the Tetons and it takes an effort to get to. Famous for its elbow room and consistently superb ski snow conditions that produces more than 500 inches of snow a year, Targhee has two mountains to choose from.

500 inches of champagne powder a year! Grand Targhee is your Powder Paradise,in the Heart of the Tetons! Ski Magazine has called us, "A place that dumps!", and in their 2002 and 2003 Reader Survey, we were ranked #2 in North America for Snow. Skiing Magazine ranked us #2 for snow in their 25 Best Rankings for snow. We consistently rank #1 and #2, along with Alta, UT. The 2003 Ski Magazine Reader Survey ranked us #8 for value. Ski Magazine in their January 2003 issue rated us the #3 Family

Getting There

Grand Targhee is located 40 miles north of Jackson, Wyoming, and 87 miles east of Idaho Falls, Idaho. The Targhee Express provides regular bus service between Targhee, the town of Jackson and Teton Village (home of the Jackson Hole resort).

A friendly alternative to glitzy Jackson Hole
GRAND TARGHEE, Wyoming (AP) -- Bill Royall chose the University of Denver so he could take the winter quarters off from school and hit the slopes.Grand Targhee has an annual snowfall of nearly 500 inches, with up to 650 inches in the whitest of winters.................................His powder-searching ways continued after college, landing him in Vail for a few years before it eventually became too crowded, too trendy. A move to Aspen ended with the same claustrophobic result.
And so it went, Royall's quest for a quiet skiing sanctuary going on for years, taking him to places like Steamboat Springs, Taos, Sun Valley. And it always ended the same: moving out when the crowds moved in......................................The nomadic journey seemed to come to an end about 20 years ago when he arrived in Jackson, Wyoming, a place still oozing with that dusty-floor saloon charm of the Old West.....................................But, like all the other ski towns that had lured Royall with its charms, Jackson changed, attracting fuzzy-jacket-wearing out-of-towners to the slopes and trendy shops with pricey paintings and sparkly T-shirts lining the streets.
Then Royall found Grand Targhee.------------------------------ > More

Snow King Ski Area, nestled in the foothills of the Gros Ventre Mountains and at the very edge of the town of Jackson, offers one triple and two double chairlifts as well as a surface tow. The area is open for day and night skiing and has an extensive snow making system covering over 110 acres for reliable snow conditions. Founded in 1939, it was the first ski area in Wyoming and one of the first in the United States

Getting There

Snow King ski area is located right on the edge of the town of Jackson, which is 12 miles from the Jackson Hole resort.

Sun Valley, the oldest destination ski resort in the US, is entering its 64rd year of operation this winter. Home of the world's first chairlift (and reportedly the first hot tub!), Sun Valley is truly a unique and classic ski resort. Eighteen lifts (including seven high-speed detachable quads) give Sun Valley a staggering uphill capacity of 28,180 people per hour, keeping lift lines virtually non-existent. There are two ski mountains in Sun Valley, each affording its own point of view. Bald Mountain can be accessed at River Run on the south and Warm Springs on the north.

Getting There

Sun Valley is located 160 miles west of Idaho Falls (3.75 hours), 100 miles east of Boise, Idaho, and 300 miles north of Salt Lake City, Utah. Driving time from Boise is about 2 1/2 hours. Sun Valley Village, at the base of Bald Mountain, is one mile from the town of Ketchum.