Skiing Mt. Belmont at Great Divide

Belmont Bowl at Great Divide Ski Area

As mentioned, Great Divide is a surprisingly large ski area, spanning more than 1600 acres. Best of all, all of this acreage is skiable. Great Divide consists of a huge variety of glade skiing, open bowl terrain and quite a few “traditional” ski runs that range in difficulty from beginner to advanced.

At the summit of Mt. Belmont you’ll notice an interesting sight – at least one I thought was interesting. Great Divide Ski Area uses snow fences near the summit to catch the snow. What happens is that the winds, which can be pretty strong at times, tend to blow the snow around the summit quite a bit. These snow fences then catch the snow, conveniently depositing the snow right in the trails. This keeps these trails open and full of snow even during low snow years.

See Mt. Belmont Close Up Trail Map (large image)

Great Divide is divided into three different “ski regions”, for lack of a better word. The first region is the Mt. Belmont, which is what you see at the base area. The second region is called Rawhide Gulch, which is primarily a vast open bowl and is THE place to hit after a good snowstorm. And the third region is the newly opened area called the Wild West. Each of these “ski regions” is described below.

Skiing Mt. Belmont at Great Divide

The Mt. Belmont region at Great Divide is the most used portion of the ski area, if only because it is closest to the base lodge and is the terrain that you see when looking up. The Mt. Belmont region is serviced by three double chairs. The Mt. Belmont region consists of the widest variety of ski terrain in terms of difficulty levels. Mt. Belmont is home to all the beginning ski runs, some very nice, groomed intermediate trails and some pretty challenging and steep expert runs that have a tendency to be pretty bumped up.

For beginners, the Mt. Belmont region is the place to ski. It has its own beginner chairlift, the Meadow Mountain chair. The beginner runs on Mt. Belmont are excellent, being wide, well groomed and long enough to prevent more advanced beginners from getting bored. Some of these beginner runs also have very widely spaced trees in the trails, adding a nice variety to Great Divide’s beginner terrain.

Snowfence at the Summit of Great Divide Ski Area

Intermediate skiers will find many excellent ski runs in the Mt. Belmont region. You can access the intermediate terrain off of two different chairlifts. Two of the most popular intermediate ski runs at Great Divide are called Powder Dive and Belmont Bowl. These ski runs are accessed off of the Good Luck chairlift. Both of these runs, while short, are excellent intermediate ski trails. Snowmaking is also present on these runs, allowing them to have excellent bases even during warmer weather or during poor snow years.

However, while these ski runs are nice, most intermediate skiers will want to head up to the summit of Mt. Belmont on the Mt. Belmont double chair. From the summit of Mt. Belmont, numerous excellent intermediate ski runs can be accessed in the Mt. Belmont region. Some of the trails, like Snow Fields, are pretty open. Other trails, like Hardluck and Corkscrew, are more traditional ski runs that pass through heavily wooded terrain. Oh yeah, you’ll also get a great view from the summit of Mt. Belmont, too – so bring your camera if the weather is nice.

Regardless, intermediate skiers have a ton of trails to ski on when heading down from the summit of Mt. Belmont towards the base area. The trails have great variety and it is very easy to never ski the same run during the course of a day, too, which never hurts!

The "Drifts" on the Front Side of Great Divide

Advanced skiers will also find some excellent skiing terrain in the Mt. Belmont region. All of the advanced skiing in this region is accessed from the summit of Mt. Belmont. The advanced ski runs in the Mt. Belmont region tend to be steep and are generally bumped up pretty good. The trails are also frequently gladed. Excellent advanced ski runs in the Mt. Belmont region include Dark Forest, The Drifts, Huckleberry Hill and Surprise. Just watch out for some rocks and cliffs on some of these trails – especially if the snow levels are low.

Next Page : Skiing Rawhide Gulch at Great Divide

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