Big Sky Ski Resort : Skiing Overview.gif)
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| The
view from half way up Lone Peak at Big Sky Resort |
Big
Sky has the widest variety as well as the most skiing terrain
of any ski area in Montana, spread over more than
3600 acres (all of which is skiable, by the way). Big Sky
also has more vertical rise than any other Montana ski area – a
huge 4350 feet. Admittedly, this vertical number is stretching
things a bit – you can’t ski it all in one run.
Instead, a better vertical rise measurement is from the base
lodge area (the Mountain Village) to the summit of Lone Peak – which
is 3650 feet – which is still a very sizable and respectable
number by any standard.
Befitting the
largest ski area in Montana, Big Sky also
has by far the largest lift network in the state. Big Sky
has 1 Tram, 1 Gondola, 3 High Speed Express Quads, 1 fixed
grip quad, 4 double chairs and 4 triple chairs (some of these
double and triple chairs are used to connect the resort to
condos, though). A couple of surface lifts in the beginner
areas round out this extensive lift network.
Big
Sky, as previously mentioned, is located in the Spanish
Peaks mountain range. More specifically, the ski area itself
is built on and around a mountain summit known as Lone Peak.
Lone Peak has a summit elevation of 11,166 feet and is lift
served. Lone Peak is a “skiers mountain” if there
ever was one. The top half of Lone Peak has some of the best
expert skiing in Montana spread over a huge expanse of wide
open terrain. Meanwhile, the lower elevations are flatter
but well rounded, allowing for a great variety of intermediate
and beginner ski runs.
This
page will provide an “overview” of Big
Sky. Following pages will go into detail about the types
of skiing to be found through the mountain.
Big
Sky resort is essentially divided into two “sections” for
skiing, for lack of a better word. The primary skiing sections
are the Lone Peak section and the Andesite Mountain section.
Each of these sections are overviewed below – more
detail about skiing at each is provided in later pages.
Lone Peak Section at Big
Sky Resort
The widest variety
of skiing at Big Sky is located on the
Lone Peak section. The Lone Peak section contains everything
from well groomed intermediate runs, nice and flat beginner
runs, and absolutely dazzling expert and advanced expert
trails. The Lone Peak section at Big Sky is served by a number
of lifts. From the base area, both a high speed quad and
a high speed gondola take skiers half way up the mountain
(distance wise). A beginner double chair also begins in the
base area, too.
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| The
Lone Peak Tram Car. This is the little tram that
takes you to the summit of Lone Peak. |
The
Lone Peak section at Big Sky is essentially divided into
three additional parts – the lower half, the top
half and the back side. Each part has its own unique characteristics,
which I think is what makes skiing at Big Sky so much fun.
The lower portion
of Lone Peak consists mainly of beginner
and intermediate runs through wooded terrain. These runs
by and large are all well-groomed, wide and fun to cruise
on. A little warning, though, some of these runs can be kind
of flat on the bottom. During warmer weather when the snow
is soft and sticky, it can take some effort to make it to
the bottom.
 See
Lower Lone Peak Ski Trail Map
The
upper portion of the Lone Peak section, which runs from
the top of the Gondola to the summit of Lone Peak, consists
almost exclusively of expert terrain. This upper part of
Lone peak is served by three lifts, the Lone Peak Triple
chair, the Challenger Double chair, and the Lone Peak Tram.
Regardless of which lift you ride, the skiing is all excellent – and
by and large only for experts. Indeed, there is only one
intermediate lift served run on the upper part of Lone Peak!
The
terrain on the upper portion of Lone Peak consists of everything
an expert skier could want – ranging from
death defying steep chutes to wide open bowl skiing. The
vertical on this section of the mountain is roughly 2500
feet, measured from top of the Gondola lift to the summit
of Lone Peak.
The
third part of the Lone Peak section is the “back
side”, or the southern exposure of Lone Peak. This
area, which is served by the Shedhorn Doublechair, receives
very little skiing pressure. Indeed, much of the use of this
chair is by skiers who miss the traverse back over to the
base area and have to use this chairlift to get back up to
it! Regardless, the trails off the Shedhorn lift are excellent.
They consist mainly of expert level trails but a few nice
intermediate ski trails are also available. The vertical
off the doublechair lift served portion on the south side
of Lone Peak is 1500 vertical feet (it is much more, though,
if you ski down from the summit – discussed later).
See
Map of Upper Lone Peak and the Back Side of Lone Peak
Andesite Mountain at Big
Sky Resort
The
majority of skiing at Big Sky is found on Lone Peak. However,
just to the east of Lone Peak – and rising
abruptly out of the Mountain Village Base Area – is
Andesite Mountain (summit elevation of 8800 feet). Andesite
Mountain essentially has two sides to it, what I will label
the front side and the back side.
See
Andesite Mountain Trail Map
On the
Front or Village Side,
a skier on top of Andesite Mountain will ski right back
down into the Mountain Village area at
Big Sky. This side of Andesite Mountain doesn’t have
the killer vertical like is found elsewhere at the resort
(1160 vertical feet from the top to the village area), but
it does have some of the nicest groomed intermediate runs
on the mountain. Additionally, since there is no “run
off” on the bottom – this vertical measurement
is a “true vertical”, not a misleading one. The
village side of Andesite Mountain is served by its own High
Speed Quad, the Ram Charger Express.
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| The
Dug-Out Restaurant on Top of Andesite Mountain |
The
back side to Andesite Mountain is
the east side - or the ski trail that you can see from
the road the leads to the resort. A skier who heads down
the back side of Andesite Mountain will
find an excellent mix of expert and intermediate trails,
with a vertical rise measuring 1,728 feet. This side of Andesite
Mountain is also served by its own High Speed Quad, the Thunder
Wolf Express. Additionally, compared to other areas at Big
Sky, the east side of Andesite Mountain is not heavily used.
Thus, in the rare event of big crowds at Big Sky, head over
to this area to avoid the crowds and lift lines that can
occasionally form on the front side.
Andesite
Mountain actually has two backsides,
one of which is designed more for beginners. This "second"
backside on Andesite Mountain has perfect beginner terrain,
with gentle slopes and wide runs.
The vertical rise on the back side of Andesite Mountain measures
1256 feet. For beginner skiers looking for some nice terrain
well away from the crowds found around the base area, this
is the place to come. This back side of Andesite Mountain
is served by a standard, fixed grip double chair.
Hopefully,
this overview of Big Sky ski area makes some sense – it
is always tough to describe a ski area in words. Regardless,
now it is time to delve into more detail
about the types of skiing found at Big Sky.
 
Next
Page : Skiing Lone Peak Summit
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