Montana Diary

Stories from the Road
March 10, 2017
Big Sky, Montana


This morning we awoke to warm temperatures and several new inches of wet snow on the hill. We made a run with Janet, who was skiing very well despite many years of being on dry land. We decided to make some runs as a group and headed for intermediate terrain. Unfortunately the mountain crew had not groomed many trials, and the wet powder made the going tough. We made the best of marginal conditions before skiing to Jack’s for an early lunch.

Our hotel here is very friendly. The Lodge is an older place with big rooms and a spacious great room with a bar and breakfast area. There is an indoor pool and several hot tubs in and out doors. The staff is very friendly, and a shuttle bus takes us to the slopes every morning. Not surprisingly the tariff is much less than that at Snowmass.

One of the marketing strategies of Big Sky is promoting big terrain with few lift lines. The ski company’s claim has proven true in my experience here. Part of the reason for low crowd numbers is the remoteness of Big Sky’s location. From San Diego we flew to Salt Lake City and then took an hour flight to Bozeman. Then we boarded a shuttle bus for the 42-mile trip to Big Sky.

There are a lot of college-aged people here skiing and snowboarding. We talked to a nice young man, who was here on Spring Break.  Studying chemical engineering, he was a poised, articulate person, who was fun. Several of the students we have interacted with have made dry, sardonic comments about the current administration, such as, “Enjoy the apocalypse.”